Glorious Gruissan

A long overdue update……

After our short stay in Germany and our dash to the sun and warmth of southern France we had arrived at Gruissan and a warm welcome from old friends David and Anne.

For those not fortunate to have been to Gruissan a short description might explain why we keep returning.

A street in the ‘old’ village of Gruissan

Gruissan, as seen from the hills

This ancient village is situated about 7 miles east of Narbonne on the edge of the sea. It is surrounded by a low lying landscape of étang’s, marshes and canals and has always been a fishing village. A large sandbank, now built on and accessed via a long causeway, almost cuts it off from the sea and creates a large calm lagoon. Some years ago a huge marina was constructed beside the old village and is now mooring for many hundreds of boats as well as apartments, restaurants, bars and shops. 

A forest of masts in the marina

There is an Aire de Camping-Car across the causeway and beside the enormous beach but our favourite is situated between the lagoon and the marina. Gentle and calm blue sea on one side, masts and rigging on the other. It is a large and very popular aire which always seems to have a good, laid back atmosphere.Called the Aire of the Four Winds (Aire des Quatre Vents) (GPS 43.10417º 3.09964º) it has the reputation, as the name would imply, of being very windy as cooler air rushes down from the nearby Pyrenees mountains to the south and the Massif Central to the north. This time however we just had gentle breezes off the sea to keep the temperatures comfortable for us northern Europeans.

We stayed for two glorious weeks and spent lazy days alternating between sun and shade, having lunches under the awning, then snoozing for much of the afternoon before a BBQ supper.

Fishing for his supper at sunset

During an evening walk around the marina we bumped into another couple we had met and befriended several years before at Gruissan. Graham and Kath are very experienced motorhomers and we hadn’t seen or heard of them since our first meeting. It was great to see them again and as they also knew David and Anne we were forming our own little Brit community in our corner of the aire.

David and Anne are super keen cyclists and kindly invited me to join them on a few rides. Riding around that area is bliss. Warm weather, mostly flat countryside and cycle paths everywhere make it an absolute pleasure to go for a fairly gentle and sociable bimble without worrying about traffic. David did persuade me to accompany him up into the Montagne de la Clape though. ‘Mountain’ sounds impressive and scary when riding a bike but these are really just rocky, pine covered hills which lie behind Gruissan. David is one of those strange cyclists that actually enjoy climbing hills (Chris Froome and Geraint Thomas are others that come to mind) whereas I will definitely avoid them if at all possible. Still, what I might lack in leg power I can make up with electric power so why not have a go. Even with my battery assistance, when we reached the top and stopped, I was puffing like a knackered old steam engine while David showed no signs of the steep climb. 

Note to self: Must get fitter.

Anne & David. Cyclistes Extraordinaire

After two weeks we moved a short way inland to Homps, (GPS 43.26885º 2.71742º) a small village on the Canal du Midi. It’s another place we have been several times before and we always like the view across the canal to the traditional buildings and roofscapes of the village.

Homps

Canal du Midi

This time it was really hot though and without that cooling sea breeze we found it a bit too hot to be comfortable.

With the weather still looking good we left the Med and started a very slow plod north towards home.

Driving up the A75, probably my favourite road anywhere, we climbed up into the hills heading towards Millau. Just before the famous viaduct we turned west and down into the valley of the River Tarn before climbing back up and on to yet another favourite place.

Lac de Pareloup ( GPS 44.20027º 2.77601º)is a huge man made lake situated some 2,500 ft up in lovely countryside. The Aire de Camping-Car has been formed from the previous Municipal Campsite and still has electric hook-up and water on the pitches. The only real difference is that entry is by credit card operated barrier so there are no staff on site.

A pitch with a view

Due to the altitude the weather can be changeable and sometimes chilly, this time it was perfect. Despite it being a weekend the aire was not at all crowded but there was lots of activity to watch on the water. On Sunday the local sailing clubs were racing and we counted almost 100 boats out on the lake. The mass of white sails against the deep blue of the water was a beautiful sight under a cloudless sky.

A mass of sails

After the racing, evening calm

After four lovely days by the Lac we headed across the hills to rejoin the A75 and then north to the hilltop village of Montpeyroux, just south of Clermont-Ferrand.

The free aire (GPS 45.62493º 3.20109º) is part of the general parking for the village but there are water and dump facilities available. Water requires a jetton (token) from the Marie or Tourist Office.

After a stroll around the village we had a peaceful supper watching the light fade across the hills and the distant lights of villages below start to twinkle in the dark. It is a very pleasant and convenient place to stop for the night.

North again the next day and on to another favourite at Sancoins. The canal side aire (GPS 46.83404º 2.91575º) seems to become more popular every time we go there and this time, although we arrived in time for a late lunch, there was only one spot left on the canal bank.

The peaceful Canal du Berry

After three nights it was north again to La Mailleraye and another three nights by the Seine before our return home.

Cruising the Seine in style

It had been six glorious weeks and just over 2,000 miles. Apart from a couple of tiny showers, which weren’t enough to even dampen the ground, the weather had been perfect. We had met lovely people and had perhaps the best holiday ever……………..until the next time.

Has the weather gone bonkers?

After only 11 days back home from our last short French trip we were back through the tunnel and  at Cite Europe once more. After a pleasant meal out and a stocking up session in Carrefour the next morning saw us driving south on the well worn route to La Mailleraye-sur-Seine, among our favourite places in France.

Watching the ships go by

We stopped for four nights by the river, the first couple of days were very pleasant and we were able to sit on the river bank enjoying the views and the sun. On Sunday it rained for most of the day and then hammered down during the night. Monday morning was cold and damp as we got ready to move on. 

As we drove out of La Mailleraye it started to snow!!! This was the last day of April and the next day was Mayday, it was almost summer…….what the heck was going on?

If we were 3000ft up in the Alps it might be understandable but we were driving beside the River Seine, not much higher than sea level. It wasn’t just a bit of sleet or a tiny flurry either, this was serious heavy snow that was starting to lay on the fields and roadside. The temperature sensor was showing 2ºc, the windscreen was misting up despite the blower going full belt and snow was building up on both sides of the screen.

By the time we were well south of Rouen the snow stopped and very gradually the sky lightened and the temperature rose a little although the light rain continued.

We were heading to Sully-sur-Loire, a small town dominated by an impressive ‘fairy tale’ chateau.

As we approached the town, crossing the bridge over the Loire, the chateau certainly impressed with its towers and pinnacles. Turning across the front of the chateau we followed the road beside the river and at the end of the chateau grounds was our Aire de Camping Car (GPS 47.77111º 2.38407º). 

Aire de Camping Car at Sully

Negotiating the entrance took some care as it is a tight chicane guarded by huge rocks and stout posts. Once inside there was plenty of space with marked out bays and we found a good spot with a view of the river. The excellent aire is free with free water and waste facilities.

From the aire one can walk to the town through the grounds of the chateau which is in public ownership. It really is a lovely place and is now on our favourites list. Oh, another plus point…..a bread van called at the aire in the morning, just in time for breakfast. The croissants were wonderful!

Mirror image

Reflections

Blossom by the water

After two very peaceful nights at Sully we had a short drive through lovely countryside to another regular favourite of ours. Sancoins, with its free aire beside the disused Canal du Berry is always a pleasant place to spend a few days, particularly when the sun shines. It’s one of those aires where you can put chairs, tables and awnings out on the canal bank and enjoy the peace and quiet.

The aire at Sancoins

Enjoying the sun

Canal du Berry

We had several very pleasant days beside the canal at Sancoins where, at last the weather was kind.

After we left Sancoins we went south to our next stop at Montpeyroux, a small hilltop village just off the A75 between Clermont-Ferrand and Issoire. The free aire (GPS 45.62373º 3.199110º) is on the edge of the village in the car parking area and has wonderful views across the hills and mountains that still had snow on the slopes. As night fell we ate dinner watching the twinkling lights in the villages below and distant lightning flashing in the clouds.

Snow capped hills. The view from the aire

Village map

Montpeyroux

Keeping watch over the valley

Lovely mellow stone houses

The following day we continued down the A75 before turning on to the N102 past Brioude and on to another lovely village at Lavaudieu.

The entrance to Lavaudieu

Place de Marie

Church tower

After a wander around and plenty of photos we continued south to our overnight stop on the free aire (GPS 45.07492º 3.76167º) beside the aerodrome at Loudes, not far from Le Puy-en-Velay. Although there is a parachute club there it was all very quiet with just two small aircraft taxying out and one of those returning to the hangar with a rough sounding engine.

The aire and airfield at Loudes

Fortunately, by this time the ‘bonkers’ weather was a distant memory.

To be continued………….

The best laid plans…………

The original plan was to stay in Spain and perhaps Portugal through the worst of the winter, returning home in mid February, when we had various domestic commitments.

What we didn’t build into our plan was the advent of a serious outbreak of flu sweeping round the world. Despite our flu jabs we both started to become unwell with what we first thought was a simple cold.

After only three nights and feeling a bit groggy we left Pinar San Jośe and drove east to Gibraltar. Heading for the port we stopped at the marina in La Linea where there is a very well located aire right on the quayside (GPS 36.15665º -5.35573º). With the imposing Rock of Gibraltar behind and the marina in front it was a pleasant spot for a night.

The marina at La Linea

 

We had a walk towards the border but the traffic was non-stop, not our sort of place, so we retreated back to the MoHo and put the kettle on.

Next day we headed north, past the busy Costa del Sol, where we had last visited well over 30 yers ago. We planned to spend Christmas and New Year at Totana where we knew there would be a bunch of Brits so we were making our way slowly there.

Our next stop was another marina, this time at Almerimar, a few miles south west of Almeria.

Almerimar Aire

 

Once again the parking was on the quay (GPS 36.69680º -2.79408º) so there were good views of the boats and across the beach behind. Had we been fully fit we would have really enjoyed that spot but by now we were both feeling rather wretched so we really couldn’t be bothered. We walked the short distance to a supermarket for urgent supplies of food but by the time we got back we were both exhausted.

View over Almerimar marina

After three nights we continued north to Totana and Camperstop Sierra Espuna (GPS 37.79397º -1.51099º). I had warned them that we weren’t in the best of health, we still thought it was just a cold, and they reserved a spot for us in the corner, our own isolation ward.

Rainbow over Totana

 

By now it was becoming increasingly obvious that we didn’t have just a cold and after a few days Kate decided that she just wanted to be in her own home. Just a few days before Christmas we started heading back to the UK.

Reluctantly leaving Totana on 22nd December we stopped overnight at Valencia, then took the long drive over the French border to stop at Gruissan, near Narbonne. Regular readers will know we very much like Gruissan and can happily spend weeks there in the summer. In winter it can feel a little bleak and windswept but on Christmas Eve the sun shone and, feeling a bit better, I even got the bike out and went for a ride. I only went a short distance but when I got back I realised how unwell I must have really been…….I was knackered.

Christmas Eve at Gruissan

 

Christmas Day was cloudy and breezy but we spent a quiet day and celebrated with a nice supper.

Boxing Day was back on the road and north on the A75, stopping for the night at Montpeyroux, just south of Clermont-Ferrand. The free aire (GPS 45.62465º 3.20044º) is close to the motorway but quiet and close to an interesting village. It was cold and getting dark when we arrived so we left the exploring for a future visit.

After overnight stops at Lamotte-Beuvron, La Mailleraye-sur-Seine and Cite Europe we finally arrived home on 30th December.

It was not quite the winter trip we had visualised. First the weather had been worse than we expected, then getting what we afterwards realised was probably Australian Flu. All in all a bit of a disastrous trip but hey, you can’t win them all.

My apologies to regular followers for my tardiness in updating the blog. When we first got home we just didn’t feel like doing anything but as we felt better other domestic things intruded.

On the bright side, the days are starting to get longer and spring will soon be here. The ‘itchy feet’ syndrome is starting to make itself felt and we will soon be back on the road.