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...

When we are ready to leave we alert our neighbours that we are disconnecting the electricity. In a mixture of Franglais we have quite a chat before setting off. There are two options for destinations today as we expect the first one may be full. Our journey is a mixture of roads; cross country and dual carriageway, and we notice the effect of the newly introduced 80kph limit on single carriageway roads. Everyone is observing the restrictions and there seems t...

Nick forgoes tasting this morning as he has to drive, but suggests Ali takes her cornflakes with her to have with the calvados. Didier has a fine set up, with an array of recently installed shiny stainless steel stills and a range of drinks from apple juice to a vintage calvados at €140/bottle. We know our place and just buy some pear cider. Yesterday we had wanted to combine everything into one service day, as we needed diesel and LPG, but with France close...

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. Appr...