Once more we’ve enjoyed a silent night on a France Passion. The owners of the two French vans that arrived last evening go up to the shop but return empty handed before leaving. When we leave Ali tries the shop door to say goodbye but all is locked up.
We need a service point today so we head to Pontmain past endless fields of maize except for a few herds of cattle. There is barely a car on the roads, supermarkets are closed and France seems deserted.
Approaching Pontmain town centre we are faced with road closed signs. Behind barriers we see food stalls and barbeques being set up. The aire is full of cars and we are waved on by a policeman. Ali googles ‘public holidays’ and discovers today is Assumption Day, or Mary goes to Heaven day.
We find a layby and search for another service point, find Landivy and drive the few miles there. Landivy is also deserted and the aire is empty but for one van whose owner prefers TV to mass. The services work and by now it’s lunchtime so we have a sandwich and think what to do.
Since everywhere is as busy as Chernobyl on a windy day, we decide to just bimble around the countryside zigzagging from village to village, each one full of flowers, on the way to a Passion at Mantilly. It’s all quite hilly, with more maize and cattle but also orchards.
The apple farm, Calvados Lemorton, is also deserted so we park in the yard and relax for the afternoon. It’s a lovely spot, with beds of red roses, an old stone press-wheel and huge ancient orchard. We’ve never seen such big apple trees, some must be 40 feet tall and they are laden with fruit.
Early evening the owner, Didier Lemorton, returns home and makes us welcome. It’s too late for tasting tonight but tomorrow morning will be fine.
There is a warm sunset and it’s been a relaxing, if fairly uneventful day.