To Tournon Sur Rhone

We headed off to Tournon. We made good progress until we decided to take a detour that looked scenic on the map. Well, the road started off okay, but after about 20 minutes had turned into little more than a track. Hairpin bends and steep inclines/declines made for a bit of a hair raising journey but the views were good. We needed there to be a bridge over the river at the bottom otherwise we'd have to go all the way back - eek! We met a very fit Dutch cyclist who quizzed us on the road we'd just come down and after a conversation, he said he'd give going up it a try! Thankfully he reassured us that there was a bridge and that he had come over it - phew! Another 15 minutes and we crossed the bridge and arrived in Saint Fortunat Sur Eyrieux, a pretty little place where we stopped to have coffee.

From this point on, we enjoyed what were the prettiest views we've had whilst touring. We found a spot with a lovely view and some cows for company and had a picnic lunch.

We pressed on and stopped at Le Mastre to get groceries before looking for a campsite for the night. Quite by chance we found a lovely campsite. We saw a little sign off the main road and decided to follow it. Well, the directions left a little to be desired but we found it eventually and it turned out to be the best campsite we stayed at during the trip thus far. Les Roches was delightful and our only regret was that we couldn't stay longer. This was just an overnight stop but next time we're in the area we will visit this site and spend some more time there. We set up camp, the only occupied pitch in a bay of eight with a lovely view.

Before supper we walked down the hill to the campsite's private riverside beach, which was deserted.

We walked back up the hill and cooked supper and enjoyed it whilst admiring the sunset (and battling with a very stiff breeze - but at least a wind keeps the mosquitos away!).

The next morning we had coffee and fresh croissants, packed the van up, thanked the owners for a lovely stay, albeit brief, and went on our way. Lots more scenery and we arrived at Tournon but were too late for the Chateau, which was closed for siesta. We decided that it wasn't that important so we had a ride around the town on our bikes, bought some figs at the local food market and decided to press on.