Despite last
night’s dramatic and torrential thunderstorm we were up early on a cool and
misty morning as we had a day of travel ahead of us. Fog came and went and the valley sides were
wreathed in mist. Before too long the cloud
burned off and the sun came out and we finally had everything packed relatively
dry. We were on the road for 11.00 for
our 170 mile drive, virtually all on motorway.
Although this sounds as if it could be boring, much of it was at over 1000m
altitude, higher than all but the highest mountains in the UK, and through the
fabulous Auvergne scenery. As we passed Clermont
Ferrand we could see Les Volcans to our right, the highest summit and scene of
dramatic Tour de France mountaintop finishes being the distinctive Puy de
Dome. Further south we stopped by yet
another viaduct built by Gustave Eiffel and then passed St Flour and Puy de
Sancy with snow on its highest slopes.
Before long we turned off the motorway to head down a narrow, flower
strewn road into the Tarn Valley and Riviere sur Tarn the location of our site
of Les Peupliers. By the side of the
Tarn River with towering limestone cliffs on either side we met up with Peter
and Lin and set up our camp with vultures spiralling over head. After a quick trip into Millau, within site
of the famous modern viaduct, we settled down to an excellent BBQ with potatoes
cooked with mint collected from the side of the lane at Ebreuil. As we go to bed with thoughts of tomorrow’s orchid
hunting, thunder rolls amongst the hills around us.
To View Large, Please Click on an Image
Photos of the site at Ebreuil as we left.
To View Large, Please Click on an Image
Photos of the site at Ebreuil as we left.
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