Saturday 2 March 2013

Very cold overnight, ice and frost where the sun had not yet reached, but it WAS sunny so after the usual routine, back up onto the A75 to continue the run north. From Millau the road climbs steadily, peaking at over 3700ft.

However as we climbed so the weather once again decided to spoil the fun and once over the top we were engulfed in freezing fog with snow still lying in the fields and the trees frosted over. Brrrr!

Descending towards Clermont Ferrand the mist abated but the sky remained grey and cold. Once clear of this major conurbation we went back onto the D roads, which now became typical French, miles of long straight stretches interspersed with towns and villages. At our lunch stop we changed our plans for the route home to avoid Paris and instead head for Orleans and Rouen, mainly because there were few aires on our original route whereas there were plenty going via Rouen. To this end we noted what looked to be quite a nice spot at Moulins and after a bit of a fracas (trying to go to the wrong place!) found a very quiet ex-campsite by the river just over the bridge.

Still cold and grey, we’ll leave our usual exploratory walk tonight!