Things are warming up, it stayed a steady 7C all night. The French couple leave about 30 minutes before we do.
The early drizzle stops as we set off for Chauvigny. We find the aire next to the cemetery, park and head to town down a few steep slopes to the medieval donjon.
It’s a huge cube of solid stonework, very imposing and threatening. Sitting nearby are bronze statues staring pensively at its unforgiving walls.
Around the corner are the remains of the fortress, one flat wall towering over all else. Jays and rooks fly about landing in the ready made perches in putlog holes.
The houses and shops were all once part of the medieval city.
Down another steep hill we have to squeeze around temporary fencing where part of a city wall has collapsed. Peering sadly from the pile of rocks is a modified Peugeot car with not a panel or piece of glass left undamaged.
The centre of the main town is a huge square where the Saturday market is being packed away. Everything is the pale sandstone of the area, and the square is overlooked by the enormous Marie [town hall]
We sit in the square with sandwiches before walking through the last few market vans and out onto the bridge. The river Vienne is wide and fast flowing here with eddies and currents crazing its surface.
The climb back to the aire is long and steady. Over coffee we debate staying here or moving on. We find there is a Bison farm FP only 7 miles away so we go there.
There are no bison on view and the shop is shut but we are shown where to park under some trees. Just as we are enjoying the peaceful setting another van arrives, the same one we shared the Passion with last night. We all wave and have a laugh.
The evening is much warmer than recent ones and the cloudy sky turns orange and deep purple as the sun sets.