Our incredible two-week road trip around France began in the previous issue where we drove from Calais to the wonderful historic town of Annecy on the northern tip of the French alps. From here, we continued our journey south.
So far, we had used toll roads and spent around £70 and from what I could work out, it had taken just as long as Google Maps had predicted the route that avoided toll roads would take. Perhaps the route avoiding toll roads would have also taken longer, but from Annecy, we decided to avoid toll roads completely. Somewhat predictably, the next section of our drive seemed to take forever, and the winding roads, although beautiful, were a little scary at times, especially as I was nervous that the engine would overheat again, leaving us stranded somewhere isolated. It took almost a day of driving to make it to our next destination but at least we’d avoided the added cost of the tolls.
Having completed the trip, I still don’t know what the best option is. Perhaps there is an ideal combination of avoiding some toll roads and taking others. I’ll certainly consider taking the toll roads in mountainous areas next time, however the smaller roads we took later in the trip, were some of the most beautiful roads I have ever had the pleasure of driving on.
By the end of the third day of our trip, we had finally made it to Verdon Natural Regional Park, home to Europe’s largest gorge.
Having learnt from our earlier mistakes that I outlined in the previous article, we stopped outside the park and found a lovely park up on the edge of a river where we could wash the day’s drive away. The surrounding area was filled with lavender and sunflower fields and there was a small cluster of houses that blended naturally into the countryside. The towns centrepiece was a water fountain, and I asked a local if I could drink from it. She looked shocked and exclaimed that I absolutely could, and it was the best water I could ever hope to drink. I grinned, thanked her, and proceeded to fill up our water tanks from it too.
Verdon Gorge is a renowned climbing spot in Europe and that is exactly what we came here to do. We spent the entire day climbing until we were close to the point of dehydration and had to hastily navigate the gorge’s treacherous roads while nearing delirium, so that we could immerse ourselves in the lake to reduce our body temperatures before we passed out.
Our plan was to paddleboard from Lac de Sainte-Croix and up through Verdon Gorge the next day, but it was now the evening, and we had the entire place to ourselves. The sun was beginning to set and so we took the opportunity to enjoy this unique experience. Paddling up the gorge while listening to nothing but the rippling water beneath our boards and the birds chirping resulted in an extremely therapeutic and memorable experience that ended up being one of the highlights of our trip. It was the perfect way to relax before cooking dinner on the lakes edge and watch the glowing sky slowly fade to dusk.
For our next park up, we headed back to the climbing spot we’d found. The hike to the climbing wall started from a little clearing in the trees that you could access from the road by going down a short but extremely steep, uneven, and loose gravelled track. I think you can see where this is going, but I’ll continue anyway. The next morning, after a deep and uninterrupted sleep, we woke up to the dappled sun shining through the trees and onto the van. The park up would have been ideal, but when we tried to leave, we realised we were stuck. It took five or six attempts and a years’ worth of ware on Helms Deep’s tyres and clutch before we finally managed to escape! Thankfully, on this occasion, we managed to get out and drive to our next destination.
The nearby town, considered by some as the most beautiful town in Europe, was enough to make us forget the mornings drama. Moustiers-Sainte-Marie is something special. The town perches at the edge of a cliff, offering incredible views of the surrounding area and allowing a river to cascade gradually through its centre and down toward the gorge. At the heart of the town, and running along each side of the river, are cobbled streets lined with warm coloured buildings and an abundance of trees and other plants. An impressive church projects above the houses yet, to the rear of Moustiers-Sainte-Marie, there is a stone staircase leading high above the town where you can find the stunning ‘Chapelle Notre-Dame-de-Beauvoir’. The walk is spectacular and offers unbeatable views of this unique destination.
We could easily have stayed here for dinner, but we were on a budget and keen to begin the final stage of our journey to the south coast of France which marked the midway point of our road trip.
At this point in the trip, we could have done with a stop at a campsite to refresh ourselves, however, to keep costs down, we opted to wild camp. What we hadn’t realised is that access to the Calanques is restricted and the area surrounding the Calanques was quite residential, with Marseille being France’s oldest city and biggest in the French Riviera. We ended up parking at the side of a quiet road near one of the entrances to the area and this became our base. Unfortunately, there was a lack of toilets, water, and shops for food, and the one restaurant we did find only took cash, resulting in a lot of toing and froing.
To make matters worse, I somehow managed to reverse into a tree and completely smash the rear window, Lucy was stung by a jellyfish, and the paddleboard adventure we planned was a complete disaster. Our intention was to paddleboard from a car park outside of the calanques, to one of the difficult to access beaches known as Calanque d’En-Vau. Frustratingly, the sea was particularly rough, and we couldn’t safely put our paddleboards in the water. On another attempt, we put the paddleboards into the water at a small harbour called Calanque de Port Pin. It was a bit of a trek to get there from the car park, but we were finally in the water! We paddled out of the harbour and were met with huge swell that was enough to make us feel uncomfortable. We tried to make it past this choppy section and into the next bay, but it wasn’t possible, so eventually we had to abort our plan and return to our broken van feeling battered and deflated.
The following morning was spent waiting for a garage to temporarily fix our rear windscreen with a sheet of Perspex glass. They did this free of charge, which was incredible, however, when you’re on a two-week road trip, time can feel precious and so the process was a little frustrating.
In amongst the shenanigans that occurred over the three days that we were on the south coast, we explored some spectacular places within the Calanques. On the first day we were there, we hiked up steep and narrow paths through wild vegetation that thrived in the dry and chalky soil, before eventually following the path back down the rocky terrain and towards the ocean. It seemed there was no way around these rocks and climbing over them was the only route to our destination. Some vehicles used these roads, but Helm’s Deep wouldn’t have stood a chance. One hot and sweaty hour later, we finally made it to the remote area called Calanque du Sugiton. Here, we were rewarded with a quiet stretch of rugged white rock leading into crystal clear waters. The sun was out and so we read books, ate our packed lunch, and used our snorkels to explore the area and meet the aquatic residents. It was the ideal change of pace to our action-packed adventure so far.
The Calanques is another infamous climbing area in France and so the following day we discovered what the area had to offer. The routes we attempted were great fun and we’ll certainly return in the future but for now, it was hot, and we were keen for an evening dip in the ocean before it got dark.
Having cooled down from the days climbing and enjoyed another swim with the local fish, we hurried back to the van desperately trying to avoid being in the park by the time it got dark. During our time in the Calanques, Lucy had warned me of the dangers of wild boar. I didn’t think much of it at the time, because the likelihood of seeing a bore seemed low, however, when we first arrived, we parked on the edge of the park whilst considering our options for the night, when to my total disbelief, as the sun began to set, we saw a whole family of wild boar running down the hillside towards us. The fear suddenly became very real, and I didn’t fancy bumping into one during the night. One evening, as I walked up a dark path toward the bins by the entrance of the park, a huge boar ran out of the bushes in front of me and squealed loudly as it ran down the road. It’s safe to say I turned and ran in the opposite direction and decided we could get rid of our rubbish in the morning. The threat of boars is real people, so be careful out there!
Our time on the south coast of France was met with varying emotions, yet as I’m sat here thinking back to our trip whilst I write this article, I realise that it is the good bits that you remember, and the bits that seem bad at the time, become stories that you laugh about and learn from.
The silver lining was that, to find more comfort during our three days parked on the side of a road, we decided to eat dinner in the restaurant Chez Ze. This is a pizza place that we used as a bit of a base while we were there. We used their toilets, drank their coffee in the mornings, and enjoyed a dinner in the perfect Mediterranean setting. Furthermore, our closest shops were in Cassis, and although touristy, it was a nice place to buy food, take a stroll and enjoy another meal out. We sat at our table at the harbour’s edge and ate mussels whilst enjoying the gorgeous towns beautiful nightscape. Our budget slipped at this point, but we thought it was more important to maintain our morale and ensure we continued to enjoy ourselves before leaving the south coast of France and heading back up to the countries Provence region before finally heading home.
