Vans start leaving from fairly early and the temperature rises quickly as soon as the sun is up. We need to do some laundry today so search the satnav for any large supermarket en route. Monbron fits the bill 17 miles away and Ali does some shopping while the dobie is sploshing around. An hour later we’re on our way through rural counyryside and hilly woodland. Apart from a fuel stop in Riberac it’s a straightforward journey towards Bergerac. Last time w...

The heat is already rising as we have breakfast, and is forecast to top 30C later. Looking through the aires book we find a nice spot by Lac de Maschaban near St Quentin sur Charente. Guessing it will be popular we aim to get there early. It’s another attractive route, mostly on ‘C’ roads and we arrive to find a good parking spot shaded by trees with views over the lake and fields. By the time we’ve had lunch we decide it’s too hot to walk around th...

Apart from the 05:15 tractor moving out of the yard everything was as quiet as a mushroom in a cave. From 09:00 people are coming in and buying mushrooms. We have a cross country drive, generally avoiding main roads. The scenery has changed from maize to vines and leaf crops and in places is as flat as a pancake and quite chalky. There are also thousands of acres of sunflowers in varying states from bright yellow to dead brown. Two years ago we travelled som...

With the front curtains open we can lie in bed and watch a lovely sunrise over the vines. We don’t have far to go today so we have an easy morning, setting off around 11:40 Instead of going directly to our destination we make a small detour to Montreuil-Bellay and park outside the fortified walls. Ali has a quick recce to see if it’s worth visiting. She thinks it would as it’s a typical French walled town, but today is very hot and because there are lot...

It’s a bright and sunny morning and we slept well despite nature and humanity’s best efforts. We have a 50 minute drive to Brissac-Quince, and as we skirt Angers the northbound traffic is at a standstill. The aire in Brissac-Quince is busy but we find a space and head up the hill to the chateau. Still inhabited, by the XIII Duke of Brissac and his family, it claims to be the highest chateau in France and is nicknamed the Giant of the Loire Valley. Twin tur...