With only the Dutch biker on site in his tent we left the blinds half open last night, and this morning when we wake the leaves in the trees around us are glowing Autumnal in the morning sunshine. Over breakfast we re-check our route, as when we looked last night we thought we’d made a mistake. We set off at 10:10 with a long drive ahead. The first part of the journey is through thick forest which eventually gives way to lots of fields of white Charolais cat...

The courtyard is bathed in sunshine as we get up and the flowers in the huge planters stand out brightly against the stone buildings. For breakfast we try some of the honey we bought on Friday and it's lovely. As we are getting ready to leave Monsieur comes out of the house to water his patio- and rockery-plants. Ali has a little chat with him, pleased with how her French conversation is improving. At 10:30 we set off in sunshine and clouds with a temperature...

After a really good night's sleep we are packed and ready to leave at 10:05. This morning is a cool 14C but it is sunny as we head towards Le Mans and its Musee des 24 Heures - Circuit de La Sarthe. The museum is very well laid out in 6 sections. Starting wih 'The Heros' we pass each of the life sized photos of legendary people connected to Le Mans, some of which are accompanied by an artefact such as Tazio Nuvolari's leather helmet and goggles, Etorie Bugatti...

We rise at 7:00 [local time] after our fitful night. Leaving the cabin we head for the lifts to wait for the disembarkation clearance, but a steward tells us we can go down now. We have plenty of space and plenty of time, but soon the lorries are moving and we follow. We park and wait for the others as agreed last night. Chris and Roger set about fixing our buggy rack plug which got damaged by grounding on the Torpoint ferry's steep ramp. The plug is broken...

It rained heavily last night and it's still drizzly when the workers arrive but when we are ready to leave only the dog is around to say goodbye. We have around 170 miles to go today but most of it is dual carriageway and the traffic is fairly light except around Nantes and Rennes. North of Nantes the rain stopped and it got brighter by lunchtime. We stopped in Caulnes and got some bits in Intermarche then went to the nearby aire and made lunch. The aire is i...