What a day!

January 24, 2014

It was always going to be the most challenging day of our journey through France. I had a rough plan of doing no more than 150/200 miles a day, using toll roads if necessary, averaging 50 miles per hour – 3 / 4 hours driving a day.

On the first two days of driving in France this had turned out to be more like 5 / 6 hours a day.

So with the prospect on Friday of heavy rain all day, with the possibility of rain turning to heavy snow on Friday afternoon, on Thursday night our plan to drive 240 miles to Ax-Les-Thermes on the way to Andorra, was scaled back to 210 miles, with a site near a town called Rieux-de-Pelleport, 75 miles South of Toulouse, and avoiding going too far into the Pyrenees. So much for the plan!

With the alarm at 7:30 the usual stuff in getting the caravan ready to go was done in rain, but we got going about 9:30. We were soon on the motorway which we would stay on most of the day. But the car needed to climb from 400 feet to 1500/2000 feet and back again several times. This was slow going, and very heavy on diesel. The drive should have been the most scenic of our time in France so far, crossing the Rivers Dordogne, Lot, and L’Aveyron but it never stopped raining – it was a question of whether heavy or very heavy rain –and at the top of climbs we were in low cloud. 

Perhaps we will take in the view on the way back. . .

Finally at 2:30 we arrived at the caravan site we were aiming for in Rieux-de-Pelleport. Only to find the place deserted, with a gate blocking the entrance. Phoning the number on the gate returned a nice recorded message advising the number is out of service. The problem with doing this sort of thing in January is that there are a very limited number of sites open, and our only option was to revert to Plan A – Ax-Les-Thermes. The temperature was 8 degrees C and the rain had eased, so surely driving another 35 miles to Ax-Les-Thermes would be OK? 

And really it was not so bad. Another 500 feet climb, the rain started to come down really heavy, and the temperature dropped 4 degrees, but after passing the site the first time we did a U-turn at a roundabout in the town, and finally we arrived at a friendly site reception. The caravan was a tight fit on the muddy and water logged pitch, and I tried to get it close to a tap to use the hose-pipe direct into the caravan – only to find all taps had been shut off from mains to prevent freezing!

With everything level, secure, and connected, it was time to come inside to remove my soaked waterproofs. But not ye. The fridge and microwave lights were on – but no water pump or lights on the 12 volt system! Worryingly it was starting to get dark outside. So, checked all the fuses, and trips – still no solution. 

So it was back to IT skills. Switch everything off; unplug caravan from the mains; plug back in; switch stuff back on. Brilliant –works every time! Crank up the heating; have a coffee; open the bubbly – I forgot to say it was our anniversary – 38 years! And we had a nice meal after the bubbly with a bottle of red. 

We slept well. No more towing until Monday.