Maurice on Manoeuvres

Our return to the UK coincided with the Country being battered with Storm Babet.  How did we cope? Well I am now sitting at home in Dereham, so we obviously survived the journey.  However, what was the last few days of our adventure like? Read on.

Wednesday was spent at Nonancourt listening to the rain dancing on the roof, whilst watching closely for any leaks from our skylight, fortunately the repair seemed to be holding up.   Late in the evening a small VW camper turned up and managed to squeeze into a very tight space between two badly parked vans.  It was occupied by a very young Austrian couple, who had been on the road for 7 months with the intention of “staying out” for another 5 months.  When quizzed as to how they were managing their adventure at such a young age, the explanation was that for one year they had worked for 50% salary and were now spending the other 50%.  Very interesting concept.

Thursday we relocated to St Pierre, putting us within striking distance of the Ferry.  St Pierre had plenty of space and even electricity was available.  Another British van was parked on the aire, Janet & Pete according to the livery painted on the rear.  It turned out they had already been parked at St Pierre for two days and still had to wait until midnight Saturday for their crossing.  They were beginning to discover that whilst St Pierre provides great facilities it is really isolated, in the middle of nowhere with no shops close at hand, so an extended stay can prove tricky.  They talked about a couple of pieces of equipment that might be worth considering in the future, the first was their heating system.  Our heater is good but as explained in previous posts it does drain the batteries quite quickly, they use a diesel heater which once it has fired up barely uses any battery power.  They originally had an Eberspacher unit, but have recently changed it for a “chinese” model.   Not sure it would work for us because we have limited weight capacity.  The second item they recommended is a General Ecology Nature Pure, water purifier. They have used one for many years and really praise its efficiency.   Nice idea but not cheap to fit, you could buy a lot of bottled water for the cost!

With all the warnings of Storm Babet being issued by the Met Office, I spent much of Thursday monitoring the shipping forecast and checking DFDS updates.  We headed to bed quite early, with our alarms set for 03:30.  I always find sleep very difficult when I know there is an alarm set, it is even worse when rain is drumming a constant beat on the roof.  Both of us gave up trying to sleep and climbed out of bed at 03:00, trying our best to get washed, dressed and packed away in silence.  We pulled away from St Pierre at 03:45 and with light rain misting the windscreen we picked our way very carefully towards Dieppe.  Fortunately, traffic was light so I could travel with full beam selected.  Dieppe border control was already open when we arrived at about 04:45, as we waited in the queue the ferry arrived from the UK.  That was the first worry over, if they had managed to sail into Dieppe then I guess we could sail back to Newhaven.  The traffic waiting for the ferry was really busy considering the time of day, but in their usual efficiency we were loaded and under way by 06:30 with the really surprising announcement that the sea state was “slight”.  Although there were a lot of vehicles on the ferry, the ship itself felt deserted, we sat upstairs in the bar area with only another handful of people, I think many must have taken cabins fearing a rough crossing.  With all the news about Babet we were firstly amazed at how smooth the crossing was and secondly could not believe to see the South coast bathed in sunshine as we arrived in Newhaven.

It was the journey home that turned out to be the nightmare and even that had little to do with the storm, it was just sheer weight of traffic.  Virtually nose to tail all the way from Newhaven until Thetford, there was a delay in Thetford because the Southbound A11 was closed because of flooding which meant Northbound traffic could not access a roundabout.  With patience and time we eventually managed to continue our journey.  We departed Newhaven at approximately 10:00 arrived Dereham 17:30.  I hate driving in the UK, there is just nothing nice about it, you have to be 100% focused on the vehicles around you and that is tiring in itself.

A very quick breakdown of our 34 days away.  We travelled 1458 miles spending £509.30 on fuel.  Our ferry turned out to be £214.40 because I misread the original tickets so had to pay an additional charge.  We spent £326 which included entrance fees to museums, food, drinks etc.  The total bill still averaged out at £30 per day which is still pretty good value.  It is the fuel which is the big hit, and that of course is relative to the miles travelled.  Now of course I will have to take into account the cost of my repairs and the list is now quite extensive;  Leaking skylight, Habitation step welding, shower tap leaking, repair of ladder damage.

In summary, this is the first time we have stayed exclusively in France.  We certainly found the Eastern region far more interesting than the “flatlands” of the West.  France generally is very sleepy, very difficult to get a drink after 20:00, if you’re not sat down for lunch by 12:30 forget it.  Mondays sees most shops closed.  Given that during our visit the Rugby World Cup was being hosted by France we found very little evidence of it through our travels.  It would not be rude to say that France is laid back, never in a rush to do anything – check out in a supermarket can take forever.  Having said that, we enjoyed our 5 weeks, very relaxing.  Chartres is a superb City, the Ain and Jura departments are well worth exploring with marvellous lakes and mountains, we were given a tantalising glimpse of Macon so might have to try and stop there one day.  I think if you only have a few weeks of travel available then France is worthy of a visit.  However, I think any extended visit would still see us venturing to the delightful Italy or equally delightful but far less expensive Spain.

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. 

We arrived in Autun with quite high expectations of a grand City, the aire in Autun overlooks a large ornamental lake and park area, everything looked pristine, the grassed area was being cut.  The cemetery to the rear of the aire was having a new path laid, our first impression was that of a City that takes great pride in its space.

The aire is very large and could easily accommodate 40+ motorhomes.  We parked between two vans, using the demarcation lines as guidance.  Given how much space was available on the car park both ourselves and our neighbour were horrified when in the early evening a small campervan wedged itself between us and them.  In fact, so close to our neighbour that they could not physically get into their habitation door, Luigi (more on that later), had to shuffle his vehicle across a few feet so that they could get into their campervan, ridiculous!

Tuesday afternoon Lina took a nap, whilst I walked down to the lake, she was not feeling so well, still recovering from her overindulgence of a “McFlurry”.  I sat for a while, watching a group of school children trying to master the art of sailing, whilst a grandfather was instructing his grandson on the skills of fishing.  Later that evening we both took a stroll around the lake, the whole area has been designed with recreation in mind.  Outdoor gymnasiums can be found along the path, a large sports complex with indoor and outdoor pools, volleyball, “childrens” cycle tracks, skateboard arena along with the usual watersports.  A really nice set up, we sat by the lake for a while just watching the world go by.  On the way back to Maurice we came across an ancient Roman amphitheatre, one of a substantial size and simply open for everybody to walk over.  On our return to Maurice, we sat outside enjoying the evening sunshine. There is a large Military School that sits in the grounds above the cemetery, occasionally the sound of mass singing would drift down the hillside.

Early Wednesday morning the campervan, that had squeezed itself in beside us, extracted itself and departed, making our neighbour even more angry because he had moved just to allow them to park for a few hours.  This started a series of actions between ourselves as we tried to communicate between each other, eventually google translate came to the fore.  It turn out that we were talking with Luigi and Josiane Rossi.  Luigi Rossi is French but it was no surprise to find out he had Italian parents.  He doesn’t speak English, only French, Italian and German.  They live in the Alsace department and Luigi was adamant that we should try and learn French.  He asked to exchange phone numbers and since then we have received Whatsapp messages trying to encourage us to learn, don’t know how long it will last but we will try!

Autun holds a market on Wednesday mornings so we nous avons fait nos adieux to Luigi and Josiane (gave our goodbyes) and headed into the City.  The streets were deserted, all the houses shut up, it was like walking through a ghost town.  We eventually reached St Lazarus square in front of the Cathedral, but still did not see anybody.  A quick look at google maps, how we ever coped before the internet I do not know – finding our way to the Town Hall.  Autun is a large City but its centre is quite uninspiring.  Many shops stand empty and boarded up, the market in the town hall consisted of a fruit and veg stall and a local cheese stall, outside was a flower stall together with one clothes stall, not so impressive!  The tourist office gave us the obligatory map explaining that the most interesting points could be found outside of the old City walls.  We walked back to the Cathedral, it houses relics believed to have come from Lazarus of Bethany, which promotes many pilgrims to visit.  The interior of the Cathedral has very clean lines and the column capitals provide very realistic sculptures telling some of the dramatic scenes from the bible.

Lunch was beckoning, so we returned to Maurice via an ALDI store and spent the rest of the afternoon enjoying the sunshine.  It was whilst sitting at the back of Maurice, overlooking the lake, that I noticed a plant growing near to the roadside.  I am no expert but from its distinctive shape I think it might be something more than just a weed, if you get my drift!

From our vantage point we could see in the distance what looked like a huge pile of stones, sticking up through the trees.  Our map informed us that it is a historical monument called Pyramide de Couhard.  Sign posts suggested it was a 20 minute walk, so before tea we hiked up the hill and through the woods to the clearing where the pyramid stands.  A very strange sight, it is literally a pile of stones, exploratory excavations have revealed nothing, nobody really knows the purpose of the pyramid.  Perhaps this was the first instance of somebody building a stone pillar that just got out of hand.  There was one advantage of walking to the pyramid, we had a marvellous view across the valley to the City of Autun. We found it difficult to get a handle on Autun, a very modern city on the outskirts, the old City walls and Cathedral provide you with an insight into life hundreds of years ago, whilst Roman remains show evidence of their occupation in France during the reign of Emperor Augustus.  Autun was a useful stopping point on our route home, not sure that we would return to this City again.

It is really surprising how quickly time gets away from you sometimes, especially when on the road.  It seems like only yesterday that we were enjoying the delights that are on offer in the Jura mountains, actually the fact of the matter is, it was only yesterday!  However, in these last 24 hours we have moved from the Jura department into the Saone et Loire, so we have much to tell.

The truth is that the last 48 hours has been a bit of a rollercoaster ride, especially along the undulating mountain roads of the Jura.  Our last post had us parked behind the Church in the hamlet of Charchilla. Early Sunday evening we packed away and moved just a few “clicks” down the road to Clairvaux-Les-Lacs.  The journey went well until we reached the town, the road leading to the aire is ridiculously steep and for some really bizarre reason they still felt the need to have speed humps, which played havoc with my attempt to maintain momentum meaning that by the time we had reached the summit the contents of every cupboard had been totally rearranged.  Once the cupboards were reorganised and we had eaten and tidied away it was really too late for exploring.

Once again the morning regaled us in bright sunshine, the valley below was filled with a sea of mist that ebbed and flowed on the morning breeze.  By the time we left Maurice and headed down towards the town all signs of the mist had cleared.  We walked out to the edge of the lake and sat for a while relaxing in the morning sunshine.  Below the surface of the lake is a collection of Bronze age “Stilt” or “Pile” houses, whose remains have been preserved within the organic materials provided by the waterlogged sites.  We then walked back into the town centre for a coffee before a visit to the Church and the strenuous climb back up the hill to Maurice.

Whilst the motorhome parking in Clairvaux is located high above the town, a service point can be found behind the supermarket on the outskirts, so that was our destination when we left Monday morning.  Whilst the service point was functional it was very muddy underfoot, so we tried our best to keep on dry land, which meant some of the tasks were performed quite unconventionally.  We were being closely watched by a French couple, so our antics must have seemed quite confusing.  It materialised that they had hired a campervan for a week and this was their first visit to a service point so were keen to find out how the the process worked.  We spent some time with them talking through different aspects, showing them around our motorhome, whilst also being shown their campervan.  They were really enjoying the experience and loved the area, they had travelled up from Avignon to visit family.  I think that next time they may be hiring a motorhome! They were most impressed with our open living space, strangely the length of both vans are the same size?

We bid them farewell and drove North towards our next stopping point, Chateau Chalon.  One good thing about having access to the internet when looking at maps is you get instant updates on traffic problems, and it would appear that our route to Chalon was closed.  Armed with that knowledge we reprogrammed the sat nav and continued merrily on our way, until just North of Pont du Navoy when the sat nav asked me to turn left onto the D5, NO, Not the D5!! Memories of that notorious journey across the high barren mountain of Corsica came flooding back.  Fortunately, it was nothing like that at all, in fact the road was reasonably flat with very little indication of any height fluctuations.  We passed the official road ahead closed sign “Route Barre”, confirming the data we had received earlier, but access to the village was still possible.  We arrived on the outskirts of the village and parked up on a small strip of land reserved for motorhomes.  Through the previous research I had read about the village I already knew that it sat on the edge of a gorge overlooking acres of vineyards.  Reading about something and visually seeing it are two totally different things, you turn the corner knowing what you are likely to see, but the reality of the view is just spectacular and the village just keeps on giving, every little lane shows you a glimpse of the valley directly below. Chateau Chalon produces a unique wine from the many vineyards below, known as vin Jaune (yellow wine) and it is bottled in a Clavelin, which is a 62cl bottle.  The reason for this being that the wine must mature in casks for 6 years and 3 months, after which time 1 litre of liquid will have reduced to 62cl.  Unfortunately, all the caves were closed so I could not either taste or purchase a sample.  A really quaint village with a great view and interesting wine industry but within minutes we had seen it all so decided to make inroads into our journey home and as such selected an aire in the city of Chalon-sur-Saone.

With the problem of a road closure we had to retrace our steps along the D5 following the deviation signs which led us into Lons-Le-Saunier,  adding nearly 30 km to our journey.  The drive to Chalon-sur-Saone was the longest drive we have done for a few days and we were both relieved when we finally pulled into the aire.  Not that it was much of an aire, we have been really spoilt over the past few days enjoying the luxury of lakes and mountains and the peace and quiet of the mountains.  Now we had a Mcdonalds and Bowling alley for our view and the constant traffic noise from a City centre ring road.  The bonus from that was being able to grab a hot chocolate and “McFlurry” after tea, although I think we might have over indulged with the ice cream.

This morning we walked into the City of Chalon-sur-Saone, a really picturesque old square that welcomes you and fills the area in front of the Cathedral.  The Cathedral itself is in very poor condition, internally its walls are almost black and the ceilings are crumbling.   This is a massive Church and any renovation project is going to be expensive and long term.  We have seen a few Churches now that are in need of work, I guess that the financial crisis and the colossal sum to rebuild Notre Dame in Paris will have an effect across the Country.  We walked through a lovely pedestrianised shopping area eventually reaching the banks of the River Saone where we sat and enjoyed coffee and cake.  Strolling further along the river we came across a statue of somebody called Nicephore Niepce, who? you may well ask.  Well after some delving I discovered that he was the first person to make a permanent photographic image, although I believe it had an exposure time of some 9 hours.  What would he make of digital photography now!  There is a museum to both his work and how photography has developed, but it doesn’t open on a Tuesday.  Chalon-sur-Saone is a really lovely City, a very relaxed feeling with plenty of cafes and restaurants.  The aire is not ideal but it gave us the opportunity to see the sights.  We have since moved on to the City of Autun which I shall hopefully report on tomorrow.

This afternoon the mercury has risen to 27⁰ C in the shade, which is exactly where I am now sitting.  I have a beautiful vista overlooking the Gorge of the Ain..  We are sitting in the car park behind the tiny Church in the village of Charchilla.  The gorge cuts a huge rift between the forest of trees that carpet the landscape in this area, at the base of that gorge lies the lake of Vouglans.  This morning (Sunday) we walked the 1.7kms down to the lake.  It was quite a steep walk, downhill every step of the way.  Which meant only one thing, it was going to be one heck of a walk back.  The last leg of the walk was more of a scramble as we followed a very rugged path downwards through the woods,  we exited the woods and out on to an area loosely described as a beach, with very little evidence of sand.  The lake on the other hand glistened majestically in the morning sunlight, a few boats were motoring on the lake, with not a breath of wind any hopes of sailing would not materialise today.  The area close to the waters edge is very much a holiday destination, with cabins built within the woods.  There is evidence of boat hire and snack bars, but at this time of year everywhere is closed up.  Even the water level has left for the winter!!!! Seriously, the high water mark is tens of feet above its current level, some substantial rainfall is required to refill this lake.  As predicted the walk back was draining, however totally worth it for the view and the exercise.

We started yesterday morning by watching the fog rise off the lake, there is something quite mesmerising when a mist lingers just above the water.  Once the sun had broken the horizon we inched ourselves up the precariously small road away from Lake Genin, our destination quite unknown, with limited internet access at the lake we had been unable to research a suitable location.  Our trip down into Oyonnax was smooth, the descent angle and time very similar to that of an aircraft’s approach into Heathrow.  On reaching Oyonnax we sought out a suitable stopping point and reviewed our options.  We selected to head over to Saint Claude.

The one thing that can be guaranteed in this region is stunning views along with steep hills, both these were in abundance en route to St Claude.  On entering the city we found a service point by the roadside, so we filled and emptied our water and waste respectively.  We had selected a large car park designated for motorhomes on the far side of the city.  This meant we literally drove straight through the high street, getting a good view of what the city had to offer, which at first glance seemed okay.  The car park turned out to be a huge area of waste land and we were the only residents.  The thing that concerned us most about the area was the amount of skid marks which were evident in the gravel, we had fears of a very sleepless night.

With that thought in the back of our minds I think it tainted our view of the City.  St Claude has been built on either side of a huge valley, it is famous for the manufacture of briar pipes and the cutting of diamonds, there is even a museum dedicated to both.  It is a massive conurbation which spreads along the valley, huge tower blocks dominate the skyline, many buildings in a bad state of repair.  The big surprise to us was the lack of French being spoken, Turkish seems to be the predominant population within St Claude, with many cafes and bars carrying Turkish names.  We even came across a wedding convoy, with easily 50 cars all blaring their horns and flashing their lights, nearly every car had a Turkish flag flying from its window or roof.  The Cathedral in St Claude is massive, a huge grand structure that proudly stands over the old town.  However, it was a big surprise to find its interior almost bare, very little historical artefacts, nearly everything had a modern twist to it, there was even a motorised scooter at the entrance of the chapel.  During our walk back to Maurice we made the decision to move on, we had seen enough of St Claude, a quick look at our trusty friend Park4night and we selected the car park at Carchilla, our current location.  This has been an excellent night stop, no facilities but a peace and quiet that has been thoroughly enjoyable.  Later today we shall move on just a few kilometres to the town of Clairvaux-les-Lacs, so look out for tomorrow’s report.