Monday 12 June 2017

Autun to Lere

A cloudy and much cooler start to the day, just nice for driving, and we got away promptly for a change. Bren navigated us back around Autun and onto the road for Nevers, our plan to join the River Loire there then sort of follow it downstream for a while and see where we end up.

Paused at Nevers to refill the LPG, first station we've seen in France strangely enough, then tried to follow the river. According to the map there is a road but we seemed unable to find it, finally using the non-toll motorway for a junction or two before trying again. This time the road was blocked and the diversion had a low bridge on a narrow road in a town centre we were unwilling to risk, so went back to the motorway, found a rest area and had lunch. Clouds now cleared and it's warming up.

Cosne-Cours sur Loire

River Loire from Chateau Sancerre

A perusal of the books showed us a good number of aires as far as Orleans so we once again left the motorway heading for Sancerre. A bit of faffing around found us heading for the Chateau Sancerre, famous for it's wines, but not on the road we wanted so a bit more backtracking and we found ourselves following the Canal Lateral de la Loire, a quiet waterway paralleling the river itself.

Now in brilliant warm sunshine we started considering our nightstop and although it was still only mid-afternoon we thought we'd stop early to ensure we got a space somewhere. The small town/village of Lėrė had what looked like a nice aire so we called in to find 2 spaces left (out of 4) just 100m from the town centre. We settled into a pitch that was perfect for us – on the end with the door over a nice grassy area, facing slightly uphill (the van usually has a nose down stance) and overlooking the canal. Chairs out, cold drinks and relax in the sunshine.

Later we took Jamie for a walk around the town, very pretty but not a lot going on and only one of everything; pharmacy, boulangerie, bank, la Poste, florist, hairdresser, restaurant, the usual impressive church and of course the mairie (local government building, every village & town has one). And none of it open! So back to Bertie for a quick chat with the (Dutch) neighbours and a cuppa then a late tea.

It's a lot cooler in the evening though still very comfortable. We'll check the weather forecast before deciding what to do next.


Where We Stayed
Aire de Camping Car, Rue du Champ de Noyers, Lere  N47 28.485'  E2 52.486'
4 hardstanding bays overlooking canal moorings. Water, waste disposal and 1 electric point. Local commerce 100m. Large grass area behind marked "P" with no restrictions but apparently unused.
Free.