13. Sep, 2022

13. Sep, 2022

13. Sep, 2022

TUESDAY 13-09-22

Last night we watched 'Fisherman's Friends' on DVD giving our neighbours the chance to listen to something other than Belgian TV programmes or dogs barking. It was a nice entertaining film, again based on a true story.

We had gone to bed last night not knowing how the next couple of days would turn out. The worst case scenario was that we could not get on to any of the few campsites along the Côte d' Azure and end up overshooting it all and ending up much further westwards.

Lying in bed this morning The Chef, obviously having given it some thought, suggested that as it was due to rain heavily tomorrow perhaps we would be better off making our way down out of the mountains given the type of road, rather than spend tonight on the local Municipal campsite. She had a point, and so that became the latest cunning plan. We'd head down to the coast and find somewhere, anywhere, to park while we sorted something out.

Before leaving our Aire/Camperstop at St Andre-les-Alpes, I sent an email to our much-preferred campsite, Camping Hippodrome at Villenueve-Loubet on the off chance they had a cancelation. Within about half an hour I received an email suggesting they had just one pitch vacant and that I needed to make contact with them asap. Due to my having two handful's of steering wheel The Chef made the call on my behalf. We lost the signal during the first call, presumably due to our driving through the mountains. But on the second attempt we managed to secure that one vacancy for the whole seven days, though it doesn't become vacant until tomorrow.

What a result, it's hard to express just how relieved we both were. It had changed everything for us, and at last we were going to where we wanted to be. We had options as to how we killed time until tomorrow, and decided to spend the night in the mountains having visited Entrevaux and Puget-Theniers along the way.

We'd firstly driven through Entrevaux on our way to the supermarket at Puget-Theniers for a few bits including some bottles of water. That stuff is too heavy to carry by hand any further than you have to. The fact that just across the road from the supermarket was the engine shed for the steam engine which runs along a section of the line between Nice and Digne-les-Baines is purely coincidental. While The Chef put the bits away I nipped down the road to see if I could get a picture of it, in the hope they allowed some public access to it. Sadly not and all I got pictures of were some old rolling stock and a tiny glimpse of the steam engine through a small open door.

That done it was back to Entrevaux for a look round. We won't dwell on the problems we had trying to gain access to the Camperstop on the other side of the railway track there, suffice to say poor Rosina had a spell of hanging on tight to both sides of her seat whilst I played Hunt the Mountain Goats with the motorhome. Luckily I did find a narrow spot to do a three point turn with the back end of the vehicle sticking over the abyss whilst I did so.

After that experience we just settled for parking along the side of the road on the edge of the village in a very long layby arrangement. After lunch we walked back to the village to take a look around the old town, and we were very pleased we made the effort.

So a bit about Entrevaux:

Following incursions of Saracens and the razing of the old town of Glandèves, which became a bishopric no later than the sixth century, the more defensible site of medieval Entrevaux was founded in the 11th century on the rocky spur in an angle of the river; the oldest recorded name is Interrivos and dates from 1040.

Between 1481 and 1487, Provence became a part of France.

In 1658 a bridge guarded by towers and a portcullis was constructed over the Var; this is the modern Porte Royale. In 1690 the military architect Vauban drew up plans to further fortify the town, due to its strategic position guarding the valley of the Var and on the border with Savoy. Although not completed in full, the citadel perched high above the town was strengthened, particularly on the more accessible side closest to the hilltops, and a protected walkway constructed up the side of the mountain from the town. Two small forts were provided to protect the town and its two main gates—now called the Porte d'Italie and the Porte de France—strengthened.

Entrevaux was briefly besieged in June 1707 by the royalist Savoyards under Chevalier Blaignac, but resisted and was relieved by the French forces.

The citadel was last used during World War I as a prison for German officers.

It really did have the feel of an old town about it, and for those with the stamina of an Olympic athlete for three euros each you can walk up the steep pathways to the citadel. We settled for looking round the rest of the complex before making our way back to the vehicle and heading back to Puget-Theniers where we are now parked on its Camperstop (N43.952907° E6.900319°). After looking round the village here and attempting without success to pay four euros for the parking fee we are settled here on a freebie.

We have been joined by a nice English couple across the way, and for us it's downhill tomorrow, heavy rain or not to arrive at our campsite after 14:00. I'm guessing we've got about another forty miles downhill to go.

Perhaps to reduce the number of photographs that get uploaded I think I may try and create more short videos, this will greatly reduce the need to keep clicking back through the pictures to reach each days text. We'll see how we get on.

12. Sep, 2022

12. Sep, 2022