A couple of nights in Matour

Sunday 8 September 2024

Nido's parked up a free aire on the outskirts of the village of Matour.  There's no fixed pitches - just go where you like on the grass; we have hedges on three sides, which gives a little privacy and also is less stressful for the dog.

We moved later to a more secluded spot

We arrived here yesterday after a very peaceful night's sleep at the vineyard.  This village was only thirty minutes' drive away so it was an easy transfer, stopping off for the obligatory baguette.  I've noticed that many of the villages have lost their boulangerie, but now quite a few new modern ones have popped up just out of town, usually with a couple of other shops by a roundabout.  I suspect the same people are running these boulangeries, but now in purpose-built premises with a modern kitchen and bakery and spacious shop fronts with coolers for the patisserie.  They're just as delicious; the baguette here was only €1 and very tasty.

On reaching Matour we parked up then went for a walk.  Right next to the aire are two MBX tracks, a large fishing lake, children's play area, tennis courts and an outdoor swimming pool, plus lots of marked walks for people of all abilities.  As we walked up the hill from the lake we noticed there'd been lots of tree planting.  A quick Google search showed the village is part of Natura 2000, a network of nature protection areas in the EU.  It's made up of Special Areas of Conservation and Special Protection Areas designated under the EU Habitats Directive and the Birds Directive - how refreshingly grown up and mature...if only the UK could be part of such an organisation!  I also found out that Matour has a scheme to help young people and families to build their own homes and share labour and resources.  Plus they're building assisted living homes for those with some physical and mental disabilities to allow them to live independently - this is grown up government at its best!

Our son would have LOVED this!

We spent the rest of the afternoon chilling, reading and snoozing in the shade; it was sunny and back up to 28'C, with the occasional clouds and a decent breeze.  However, a huge thunderstorm with heavy rain swept in during the evening and carried on until midnight, but we woke to blue skies.

This morning I took myself off for a bike ride.  I usually like to start off with a gentle pedal to warm up but today it was straight into a three mile pedal uphill before it flattened off a little.  But the sun was shining, it was warm and there was only a gentle breeze.  Reaching the village of Dompierre-les-Ormes, I finally found a café that was open!  So I sat there for half an hour over a couple of coffees, soaking up the atmosphere.  From there it was pretty much all downhill and I enjoyed the car free roads as I descended, slowing down at the hairpins and avoiding the gravel in the middle of the road.  After lunch we took Salty for a walk along some lanes and through the village.  He'd already had a good walk, taking a dip in the adjacent lake; apparently he also took fright when a frog jumped in front of him, leapt back and promptly fell in the lake!

Uphill....keep going!

Lots of this in France - farmers' protests

Finally a coffee stop - ignore my big ears in the shadow!

The vital post-cycle ride recovery phase!

Dinner was eaten outside and we've spent the evening watching a few of the YouTube vanlifers we follow.  It's been a peaceful and relaxing couple of days here. But time to move on...

Musketeers and surrounded by vineyards

Friday 6 September 2024

Nido's parked up at the Vignerons Des Terres Sècretes, a very quiet spot, surrounded by vineyards in the pretty village of Prissè.  The owners have kindly provided a free aire of six pitches and a free service point.  There's no obligation to buy, but they have free wine tastings and of course they sell the wines they produce, plus some wines from other local producers.  The wine tasting and sales room is very modern, with a large glass frontage inside showing the wine making vats.

The previous night it rained and was still heavy yesterday morning as we left Le Frasnois.  We drove out of Jura and into Burgundy, into a much softer landscape, very similar to mid-Wales.  With rain forecast for most of the day, I'd found an aire where we could park up and just chill.  On arrival at Sainte Croix-en-Bresse there was a space next to the covered seating area, which meant we could also hook up to the free electricity.  This small village is famous for being the burial place of Anne-Charlotte de Champlécy, wife of the famous musketeer Charles de Batz de Castelmore d'Artagnan.  The village has made the most of this claim to fame.  It's also in the region where the very expensive Bresse ducks are bred.

Free electric hook up!

We sat in and had lunch and I made some chocolate brownies in the Omnia oven; they turned out well!  When the rain stopped and the sun appeared we took a walk around some of the village streets, noseying at the houses and gardens, a favourite pastime when away in the van.  Dinner tonight was a chicken curry made with a Spice Tailor curry mix; they're very tasty and make cooking easy in a small van.

Before......

During....

.....after (couldn't rotate the image!)

With a free service point and electric we took the opportunity for hot (and longish) showers this morning before emptying and refilling tanks and carrying on.

After a quick food shopping stop in Macon, we carried on to the aire in Pierreclos.  For some reason we're tired at the moment so we all had a long afternoon nap.  Despite being a small village there was a lot of traffic so I found us somewhere else to drive, which brought us to Prissé, only eight minutes' drive away.

While Cathy was setting up the van I checked out the area and went into the shop.  It was quite busy with people wine tasting and filling up their car boots with cases of wine, so it must be good.  I had a look what was on offer and decided on a red wine produced in the village of Pierreclos, where we'd been only half an hour ago.

We had a walk through the vines, following a trail of arrows and information boards placed by the Vignerons.  The panoramic views of the village, other vineyards, hills and forest was stunning and we enjoyed the gentle stroll.  Back at the van we ate dinner and drank the bottle of local wine before crashing out in the peace and quiet.

Breakfast in Switzerland!

Wednesday 4 September 2024

Nido's parked up opposite the church in the small village of Le Frasnois, close to Lac d'Ilay.  We ended up here after trying a few other aires which didn't really suit us.  Still it's quiet (except for the church bells that get very excited every fifteen minutes!).  

Yesterday we visited two great water-based places.  The first was the Source du Lison, where the river pours from a cave halfway up the limestone cliff. We were able to get quite close via a number of stepped pathways.

The next stop was the Source de la Loue.  Here the source of the river Loue again pours over a waterfall that cascades from a huge cave mouth halfway up a towering 150m limestone cliff.  It was beautiful and we followed the river downstream for some way, enjoying the coolness the waterfall provided.  The power of the water is used to power a hydro-electric plant and it must be quite a sight when the river's in flood.

Our park up last night was on the aire at the base of the medieval town of Nozeroy, which sits on a high plateau with extensive views all around.  The aire is just below the castle ruins and we had a great view over the plain below with mountains in the distance.  After supper, as darkness was falling, we walked around the small town.  It was eerily quiet; none of the shops, bars or restaurants were open, so we wandered around the narrow cobbled streets pretty much on our own.  The main square was very pretty, but reminded me of the square in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang when the Child Catcher appeared - it had that feel about it!

Sat on a bench above the aire watching a thunderstorm over the mountains

I set the alarm and we were up early this morning to drive to a Super U supermarket that had one of the outside laundrettes.  We had a fortnight's laundry and used both washing machines, plus an hour of drying time.  I also did a quick food top up.  By this time we were more than ready for a late breakfast.  As we weren't far from the Swiss border, we decided to drive to another country for breakfast!  The border crossing was seamless and a free aire just outside the village of Sainte Croix, we enjoyed sausage and mushroom baguettes with a big pot of tea - breakfast in Switzerland!

Admin Day!  Washing, sweep out, shopping

Breakfast in Switzerland!

Our next planned stop was back in France, but I found a route that took us through Swiss villages for about an hour before crossing the border again.  I'd picked this place as it had a pizzeria with wood-fired oven.  Unfortunately it wasn't open until much later this evening so we moved on.  On the way we stopped at one of the many pizza machines in France and bought two hot ones to eat later.

These and similar pizza machines are all over France and are pretty good

We tried a park up by Lac de Bonlieu, but it was very busy with cars as well as being wet, muddy and darkly enclosed by trees.  Le Frasnois was only a few minutes away though.  We took Salty for a good walk down to the lake where he had a good soak and an attempt to drink it all!  He'd been a good boy all day but was feeling a bit van sick I think, after all the hilly hairpin roads we drove today.  The pizzas went down well as we caught up with some YouTube and the rest of the evening was spent researching our route for the next few days, which will take us in to Burgundy.  It's been a welcome cooler day and it's raining now, with more forecast over the next few days.  So I'll need to put on a raincoat to walk Salty tonight; the first time this trip. 

Randonée de Faucogney-et-la-Mer

Monday 2 September 2024

Nido's parked up on a Municipal Campsite in the village of Pays-de-Clerval.  Our pitch overlooks the river Doubs.  It's a busy and popular campsite and decent value at €13.90 including EHU (and €1.50 for Salty - not sure what he gets for that though!).  After our exertions of yesterday we haven't done much today - more of that below.

We decided to stay on another day at Faucogney-et-la- Mer.  Although we walked to the fête last night, we didn't explore the old fortified village.  We also fancied a bit of a walk, despite the heat.  So before breakfast in the cool of the early morning we walked around the village, wandering down some of the narrow, empty streets.  I checked out a couple of circular walks on the tourist noticeboard and we bought a baguette for breakfast.  Back at the van the area around the football pitch and clubhouse was busy.  The BBQ was already lit and walkers were turning up, registering and heading off on one of two walks (randonées) - 10km and 20km, starting and finishing at this location.  

We'd decided on a walk that would take us up through the forest to St Martin's church, we we could see high up on the ridge above the trees. With a bottle of water and a few snacks we headed off, turning right out of the aire.  The marshall in a high-vis jacket wished us good morning and only as we walked down the road and turned off to enter the forest did we realise we were following the same route as the community randonée, marked by large chalk arrows on the ground and hazard tape tied to the trees.  We decided following their route would be a lot less stressful than trying to navigate our own, so we joined the walkers as we weaved our way steeply up the hillside through ancient deciduous forest.  The 10k route took us up and down hills, along tracks and roads, through ancient forest and past the many lakes and ponds of Le Plateau des Milles Étangs (Land of a thousand lakes).  These were formed as the last ice age receded and now make up a large area of water, swamps and peat lands.  The area is also known as 'Little Finland' as the many water spots and terrain are similar.  We walked past about thirty in total and I'm glad we did, as they're very hard to spot from the road and many are privately owned so out of bounds.  Near the end of the route, we reached a high viewpoint looking down the valley, down over the village and the aire with a tiny Nido to our left; I could just make out the woodsmoke from the BBQ!  The worst section was the descent from there back into the village, down a steep, stony and very slippery path.

I'll take this muddy puddle over a clean stream any day!

Looking down on the aire

A very tired pooch!

By the end us and the pooch were completely knackered, but satisfied with our effort.  I have to say 'Chapeau' to the many French septuagenarians who fairly skipped up, down and around the route and returned to party hard at the outside bar and BBQ next to us!  They must make 'em tough around these parts - acclimatised to the hot, humid summer, yet able to cope with the cold, severe winters.  The party wrapped up about 8pm and we were soon all ready for a good long sleep.

It rained in the night, a steady rain for about a couple of hours, so it was a slightly fresher start to this morning.  We stopped in Lure to buy food and fill the LPG tanks before driving to a Camping Car Park site in Mandeure.  We serviced the van and tried to use our CCP card to enter, having first walked around to find a suitable pitch.  However it turns out this particular site needs to be pre-booked, not something I've come across before.  I tried this on their app, but I would have to purchase a 'Privilege Pack' to allow me to do this at an additional cost of €29, which I didn't want to do.  So we turned around and came to this campsite.

By now it was quite hot, so sat in the shade for lunch before taking a short walk along the river.  Dinner was a vegetable paella and, as we're on electric hook-up, all the things are on charge and we had a bit of a YouTube catch up at the end of the evening.  There's quite a few mozzies about, so we've had to shut the door and put the fly screens over the skylights.  

Tomorrow we head further south towards the Jura region and hopefully some wild swimming.  Nearly every where we've been the past few days forbids swimming in the lakes and rivers and we're desperate for a swim in some cool water.

Two nights in Val-et-Châtillon

Thursday 29 August 2024

Nido's parked up at on an aire in the small village of Val-et-Châtillon.  There's not much here except for a sawmill, a textiles museum (think northern England cotton mill) and a bus stop.  Sadly, like many villages - not just in France - there's nothing to keep young people and families here, so they move away and the shops and schools close.

  

We had a very peaceful night in Walschied and the drive here yesterday was not too long, through forests and hairpin roads.  I was surprised to see only one van here as it's such a lovely aire. It's free with the service point costing €3.50.  The five pitches are large, flat and bordered with hedges giving plenty of privacy.  I reversed into a pitch that gave us plenty of tree shade, yet enough sunshine to charge up the leisure battery from the solar panel.  After a quick cup of tea, we headed off on a marked walk that took us past the textiles museum and sawmill and into the cool forest.  Although not a long walk, it was interesting as it took in a lake at the end of the village and back along a clear, babbling stream to a small waterfall.  Both Salty and Cathy had a quick cooling dip before we returned to spend the afternoon sat outside in the shade reading.  I cooked some sausages and Cathy had earlier made a lovely tomato, onion, garlic and chilli salad (chillies from our greenhouse), eaten with a baguette we bought on the way in.  In the still heat of the evening, we took a walk around the village, saying "Bonsoir" to the locals as they chatted outside; a lovely atmosphere here.

It was a hot night be gradually cooled down and was lovely when I took Salty out for his morning walk.  I'd set my alarm for 0700 as the bread van visits the village - parking outside the Marie - between 0730 and 0745 and I didn't want to miss it!  Armed with a 'tradition' baguette and two croissants as big as my head I breakfasted and prepared for a bike ride.  Pedalling off at 0900 it was quite cool as I cycled up the hills through the forest towards Saint Saveur.  Out the other side, I was on the ridge and in full sunshine, so was already feeling the heat of the day.  My route took me through forests and fields, past villages and farms, a total of 2 hours.  I'd hopped to find a café but the only one on Google Maps was closed!  I did manage to find an ATM though, but it spat out a €50 note which, for anyone who visits the EU knows, shops are reluctant to accept.  Maybe the supermarkets will take it?  Back at the van the temperature was rising and it peaked at 33'C later in the afternoon, so we went for a very cooling dip in the stream - it was wonderful!

It almost takes as long to get the bike back on the rack, secured and covered as it does to ride it!

Good news - I've fixed the Cadac BBQ!  After my bike ride I took out the Cadac to try and measure what size grub screw I needed to look for in the local DIY shops.  When I picked the main body I heard something rattle; a few minutes with a tiny screwdriver and tweezers and I'd extracted the grub screw and refitted it.  So the Cadac was used to cook tonight's supper, keeping the heat outside the van.

It's another calm but warm evening. The sun has set behind the trees and we're sat outside making the most of the cooler air.