Dieppe and Rain is on the Horizon.

It has been some time since we had the opportunity to sit down and update you all about our travels.  You may, or may not be aware that our ferry leaves Dieppe very early Friday morning, so early in fact that we shall be close to British soil before the sun rises, although looking at the forecast it is unlikely that we shall be seeing any sunshine!  With that in mind the last few days have seen us concentrate on reducing the miles to Dieppe, we are now within range of the port with one more stop tomorrow afternoon.

We were not disappointed to leave Autun, a nice place to park the motorhome but the City just did not do it for us.  Our route out of the city took us via a supermarket, where we restocked the fridge and made a start on our beer and wine collection for the UK, we need to purchase enough to see us through the dark nights of winter until our spring migration, squirrelling away our supplies for our hibernation!!!  Upon leaving the supermarket we noticed a very mature motorhome parked a few metres away from ourselves, very much a “hippy” wagon with some great self painted images.  The motorhome was based on a Mercedes chassis so I could really relate to the classic words of Janis Joplin – “Oh Lord,won’t you buy me a” that are painted across the front grill just above the massive Mercedes trade badge.  Not surprisingly the vehicle was owned by a very mature “hippy” couple, who appreciated my interest in their vehicle. 

With still a few days before our ferry departure we were still able to keep our daily travel down to sensible chunks, and as such we drove west towards Nevers, stopping short of the City and parking in an aire in the village of Rouy.  A simple aire close to the main road, although we were untroubled by any traffic.  We had all the facilities we needed and spent the afternoon sitting in warm sunshine watching a nearby herd of cows come and go through a nearby tunnel which took them under the footpath next to the aire.

The following morning saw us heading towards Marseilles-les-Aubigny, we were once again rejoining the Loire river.  However, we had to pass through the centre of Nevers, I am convinced Maurice gave a shudder as we passed the City sign, we are both still feeling the pain of that tragic “bump” that we had only a few weeks previous.  The journey through Nevers proved quite easy and this time we managed to exit the City unscathed.  Our arrival into Marseilles was initially disappointing, the area seemed to be no more than a boating graveyard.  Huge barges abandoned on the quayside, just rotting away.  Fortunately, a few hundred yards along the road we reached our parking spot, which was far more pleasing to the eye, with a view of the Canal and some very nice “house” barges.  We took a walk along the canal side and through the village but there really is nothing to report, the village has a pharmacy and a school and that seems to be it.  What the village does have, is some youngsters who like to drive their cars very fast through the village.  There is a comment from somebody on park4night that states they were woken in the night by a car that passed so fast it rocked the motorhome, seemed a slight exaggeration but actually we can concur that vehicles passed so close and so fast that they did indeed rock the motorhome.  Early evening rain brought us a reminder that we have a leaking skylight as drops of water struck my leg, we broke out the bucket and clothes, must get that looked at!!

Now it was time to unleash the horses and let Maurice have a good run, the plan was to reach Sully-sur-Loire where we could ensure our tanks were both respectively filled and empty.  We are now getting into that time of the year where some aires start to turn off their water supplies, especially the further north you travel.  The journey to Sully was very good, passing familiar names that we had visited on our Southbound journey.  Turning into the road leading to the aire, which is sited behind the impressive Chateau, we were surprised to see the fields full of caravans.  A very unusual sight, we could only think it was some form of caravan club meet, there must have been over a hundred caravans.  This did give us concerns about the aire but we actually found a slot right at the front facing the river.  The day was very overcast and cold, we wrapped up warm and walked into the town but being a Saturday afternoon there was little to report and given that we have visited the town on numerous occasions we have little to add.

Sunday morning we carried out our full “ablutions” regime ensuring all waste was empty and fresh water was full.  We now had another lengthy drive heading north to Chartres.  We parked in the same car park that we had used only 24 days previous, we had done so much and seen such sights we could not believe it had been done in just 24 days!  Unfortunately, whilst emptying water I had “put my back out” so was in a bit of discomfort.  However, we still managed a walk along the river passing the Rugby club where a very serious match was just coming to a conclusion.  Chartres was cold, very cold.  The sun did little to warm either us or the motorhome and by evening we had to turn on the heating.  Fortunately, the heating is very efficient and we were soon warm.  The downside to having the heating on is that the batteries take a big hit.  It is a catch 22 situation, the nights are cold so you put the heating on, this in turn discharges your batteries which do not get any input from the solar panels because it is nighttime.  It can be quite disconcerting to see your battery voltages drop to 12.3 volts when you are so used to seeing them at 13 volts.

Monday morning did not see any improvement in temperatures, so once more we turned the heating on.  There was little sign of sunlight so once again it was a balancing act of heating on and off to keep the batteries in a stable condition.  Eventually, we took the courage to go for a walk, it was very fresh so we headed to the local supermarket for a bit of warmth.  We returned to Maurice for lunch and by early afternoon the sun eventually had chased away the cloud cover providing us with much welcome warmth.  We walked up into the City and was really surprised to find the place deserted, the City centre was virtually empty and only a few shops were open.  We sat in the main square outside City hall and enjoyed the sunshine for a while before returning to Maurice.  On our return we discovered a very old motorhome parked next to us, although very old it had a look very similar to our Mirage.  The only identification I could see on the van was a Fiat badge, I inquired with the owner if the van was an “early” Mirage, it turns out that it is a Fiat Tabbert.  I am convinced that the Mirage is a development of that brand because the styling is so similar.

We departed Chartres safe in the knowledge that we would use this stop again. Chartres is a lovely City with much to offer and see.  Our next stop would hopefully be Nonancourt, but not before we raided another supermarket to fill up every last piece of available space with some more liquid refreshment.  Nonancourt aire was once more very busy, but there was just enough room for us to squeeze in between a French and a British van.  Electric hook up sorted and lunch was on the go when a van parked at the far end departed, Lina sprung from the van to reserve the slot whilst I unplugged the electric and delicately manoeuvred Maurice from his tight space into the luxury of an end slot.  Electric back on, lunch served, all sorted.

Nonancourt is very familiar to us as we have used this aire many times.  It is interesting to return to a place over the years, you get to notice the changes.  At present a substantial redevelopment of the roads in the town is in progress, with new setts being laid and a new car park nearly completed. We walked out along the river next to the chateau and stopped off for a drink in the bar.   Our travels north have put us in the comfortable position of having a “spare” day, with the benefit of having electricity we decided to stay an extra day in Nonancourt.  Unfortunately, the weather is clearly deteriorating over the coming days.  With that in mind I thought it best to try and stem the flow of water through the skylight, on inspection it is clear that the sealant bead has lifted in places, allowing water to seep into the habitation area.  I had carried out a repair to the sealant last year but obviously the only real solution is to remove the hatch and clean the area before resealing and refitting.  Not a job to be carried out on the road, so this morning armed with two rolls of “Bodge” tape I delicately ascended the ladder onto the roof, remembering this is the ladder that is now only held on by three brackets because I “broke” the fourth one!!!  Anyway, multiple layers of tape have been applied around the skylight, and this afternoon we have had a deluge of rain which so far has not yet penetrated the temporary repair.  If it survives the journey home I shall be amazed, and if it does then perhaps it will become a permanent repair!!!

Well that puts us all up to date, we now have 36 hours before our ferry leaves and we return to the UK.  Although when we left the UK we had no real plans, we always intended to head into Eastern France, and we are really pleased that we did.  Having only scratched the surface of the Ain and Jura departments, we would love to explore more of the region, it is so different to the other areas of France we have travelled through.  If all goes to plan our next report will be from UK soil where we will give a full overview of our time on the road.