The Roald Dahl Museum, Great Missenden

This trip had originally been scheduled for the end of the summer holidays, when The Boy was to have his first full day at secondary school, and was to have been Boy Two's birthday present from his grandfather.  However, the boys both came down with Covid-19 (fortunately not badly - Boy Two was almost asymptomatic) so the trip had to be cancelled - and both the museum and Chiltern Railways were very good about refunding tickets.

So the trip was postponed until half-term, and The Boy honoured us with his company, too.  The Daughter is now working in Marylebone Road, so the Swan Whisperer and I went up to Baker Street Station to meet them at her offices.  We then found a bus would take us back along the road to Marylebone Station, which was nice of it, and were in good time for our train to Great Missenden with Chiltern Railways. 

Unfortunately, it was not a pleasant journey.  The lights had not been switched on in our carriage, and a lot of the first part of the run is in a tunnel!  And when I went to the loo, I can't begin to tell you how indescribably filthy it was.  Not a pleasant experience, and I warned the others off it!

We arrived at Great Missenden at last, and it was only a short walk to the museum.  Which was lovely if you like Roald Dahl, which the boys do.  A lot of information about his life and, towards the end, a creative sort of room where you could make up sentences with fridge magnets, and various other crafts.

Then it was nearly lunchtime and, at The Boy's request we went back to a café called "Matilda's" nearer the station - he said he had been attracted by a picture of the "freakshake"-type milkshake outside, but when push came to shove, they were "off" as the ice-cream machine had broken.  The café was extremely busy and it took a good half hour for our food to arrive.  At first we sat outside, but the boys got very cold so when a table came free inside, we took it.  I had chosen poached egg on avocado toast, which was lovely but very filling (two of them!), and with feta cheese underneath.  The Swan Whisperer had an All Day Breakfast; Boy Two had a burger he couldn't quite finish, and the Boy had a "mixed shish", with chicken and lamb, which came on a bed of rice, with salad.  He managed most of it - pre-teen boys appear to have hollow legs!  

After this, there was a bit over an hour before our train back, so the menfolk went on the nearby "countryside trail", which was about an hour's walk.  I wasn't up for that, so I decided to finish the "village trail" which was mostly along the village street, but then a diversion up to the church, which was a lot father than I thought it was going to be!

  But worth the walk.  I didn't go and find Dahl's grave, but spent a while looking round the church and sitting quietly, and then I walked back into the village and got a cup of tea I didn't really want at the museum café where I'd arranged to meet the others.  They finished my tea between them on the walk back to the station.

The train for London was much better than the one out, as the lights were working!  I didn't try the loo, though. I felt rather sorry for Boy Two, though, as he is not considered old enough to have a phone, and at one stage on the journey, the Swan Whisperer, The Boy and I were all engrossed on ours!  I said as much, but he just laughed.

And then a bus two stops along Marylebone Road, and we returned the boys to their mother before heading home ourselves.  I have been asleep more or less ever since, having done >10k steps today!

From Saleilles, 16 October 2021

The Swan Whisperer did the Bois de Boulogne parkrun this morning, 23'26", which he is quite pleased with.  I, meanwhile, had been to the campsite shop and bought croissants and a baguette.  They wouldn't sell me a demi-baguette, and insisted on being paid in cash - only about the 3rd time I've used cash since this pandemic began!

And after breakfast it was time to leave and to head back to Sangatte for our final night in France.  I did a final shopping, including tea and coffee for us and some nice bits for my mother and sister.  And that's about it, really.  I didn't take any photos today so here is one from earlier in the holiday. 

When we get back I must go through these post and add in the bits I'd forgotten, like the road cut into the rocks in the Pyrenees, very like the Gorges de la Bourne, and the fact that so many shops in Mehun were closed down...  And add locations, too.  It has been a lovely holiday, and the "new" motorhome at last feels like home.  I do hope it won't be too long before we can get away again - assuming we are not locked down or locked in to our own borders, hopefully at the end of November. 

From Saleilles, 15 October 2021

This morningthe Swan Whisperer got croissants, and after breakfast we went for a lovely walk around Mehun-sur-Yèvre, which was as lovely as I had thought it was going to be. 

There are loads of photos on my Facebook page if you want to see them.  After our walk, we had coffee - even I had a second cup - and after emptying the grey and the loo we headed on up to Paris.  

We stopped at a rather nice service area for a leisurely lunch, and came off the motorway a little early to get diesel in an Auchan, but that near Paris it wasn't very cheap. 

We are at the campsite we used before, for our 40th wedding anniversary in 2019, which is very crowded, but not unpleasant.  The idea is for the Swan Whisperer to do the Bois de Boulogne parkrun, which will, I think, be the fifth out of the 8 parkrun in France!  They are not wildly popular.... 

From Saleilles, 14 October 2021

A much better day today.  We were not moved on during the night, nor in the morning, either! It was a very cold night and there was a sharp frost, I had to pull my rug over me and a hot-water bottle at my feet!  Bt the heating is incredibly efficient in the bedroom and bathroom area, so it soon warmed up this morning. 

The Swan Whisperer went and bought croissants from the local boulangerie, and after breakfast we drove the few minutes to the daytime motorhome park at the Panoramic du Puy de Dome. 

This is a little train that takes you up the Puy de Dome, almost to the top, and you can walk up from there. 

It was seriously lovely - wonderful views, my photos can't possibly do it justice. 

But bitterly cold; the top of the Dome is 1,450 above sea level and een at the bottom railway station it's over 900 metres. 

Sadly, my silly lungs went back on me as I tried to go up the steps to the top, and apart from being out of breath I started to feel really sick, so stopped 3/4 of the way to the top and went back down, leaving the SW to go the rest of the way.  When he got down, we wandered around a bit, but there was a silly amount of time before the next train down - not enough time to get a coffee, but too much to just go and sit on the platform.

But eventually it was time to get the train back down the mountain, by which time I was feeling a lot better, but still very aware that I'd been badly out of breath, and we had a coffee before we went back to the motor home.

We drove about 20 km to a supermarket en route, which was the anchor for an enormous shopping mall.  I did a small shopping, and then we had lunch before heading up the motorway to this little town called Mehun-sur-Yèvre (I slept all the way) where we are parked up by a disused canal, which is absolutely lovely,

and the trees are suddenly all autumnal.  The SW has gone for a walk (he is just on his way back, I can see him) and I hope to do the same in the morning. 

From Saleilles, 13 October 2021

This has been a seriously frustrating day!  It started off all right, with getting up and using the services, etc.  It was very cold overnight, and when the heating came on in the morning it suddenly stopped, which meant the gas had run out, so the Swan Whisperer had to change the cylinder  before we could have any hot water.  But not really a problem.  So after breakfast we went into the village to go the Super U where cylinders could be exchanged, which the SW did while I had been going to do a shopping, but the place absolutely stank, as though something had died in there.  I really wasn't about to buy any food in there, so just got water, some cleaner for the sink, which is very stained, and some citric acid, which I know my mother wants for making lemonade, and more frustration, it's not letting me link!  

So far, so not very good, but then we thought of things we might like to do and to see in the area.  Our first idea was the "Vélotrain" in St-Eulalie-de-Cernon, but the map showed that there was no motorhome access there, so that was a bust.  Then we thought we would look at one of the cheese factories, but the ones we saw on the roundabout, easily accessible, did not keep their visitor centres there, so we had to come away.  We did find a boulangerie which did us some very nice sandwiches for lunch, which we ended up eating in the car park of an E Leclerc just outside Millau - we had, by that stage, driven under the eponymous viaduct, as spectacular as ever.  

We hoped, then, to use the little tourist train which runs around Millau, but the address given us on Google Maps was totally wrong, and we ended up in a residential/light industrial area.  

By this time it was getting on, so we thought we would make tracks to where we had hoped to spend the night.  It is a lovely drive up the A75.  We stopped at the Garabit service area to see the eponymous railway bridge which is beautiful,

but it was a lot further from Millau than either of us remembered - about 100 km further north.  So a good place to have a cup of tea and to look at the information panels about the construction of the bridge.  

Then we drove on, hoping to find the France Passion farm where we had planned to spend the night, but when we got there, we think we found the right place, but no sign of any France Passion badges, and nobody was around.  So we came away and tried and tried to find other places to spend the night, but ended up driving round and round the same tiny roads as though we had got into an infinite loop.  We did get out in the end, but the place Park4Night said was nice firmly said no camping between 10:00 pm and 07:00.  Fortunately there is a large car-park across the road for the tourist centre, and we have parked up; I just hope it will be okay and they won't try to move us on at 2:00 am!  We hope not!

And the the fridge decided to play silly buggers, like it did last July, but I noticed on the inside of the door that it said how to reset it, so I did and it behaved itself again.  So that's all right.  But oh, what a frustrating day!  I have had a large whisky, which has helped.  

From Saleilles, 12 October 2021

The Swan Whisperer went for a run this morning, as he always does at Mas Alart, reappearing just as I was getting up.  So I got breakfast, for once while he got civilised, and after saying goodbye we headed off. 

First port of call was Lidl in Saleilles, which is new since we were last here in March 2018.  It was rather awkward to get into because the obvious roundabout was closed due to road works, so we had to go round the houses, but we got there in the end and I was able to use my Lidl Plus card, which pleased me, and got 25% off some ham. 

Then it was time to leave the Pyrenees.  Today we went on the motorway all the way, as the SW said he was sick of roundabouts.  And anyway, much of it was the A75, which is both free and spectacular. 

We stopped in a random aire for lunch which had a regional products area  - in hindsight, I should have bought some Roquefort at the regional products shop there, as by the time we got to Roquefort itself, I was exhausted and a bit wheezy for some reason.  The SW went on an explore and we decided, on balance, not to buy any this time.  We do both like it, but you can even get it in Lidl at home!

By this time we had gone past our planned stopping-place at Sainte-Eulalie-en-Cernon, so we decided not to retrace our steps but to go a little further to Saint-Affrique, where we knew there was a Camping-Car Park aire, in a former campsite, so we are installed here with electricity and full services.  The SW went for an explore and said it is a very pedestrian-unfriendly town, so we may end up taking the van to Super U in the morning, should we decide we need shopping done.  I am not sure that we will, though.  We shall see. 

At Saleilles, 11 October 2021

I had planned, this morning, to get up while the Swan Whisperer was having his run, and go to the nearby bakery for croissants.  Only he completely foiled me by not going for a run, and announced that "he was getting up now".  So I had to send him for croissants, instead. 

We left Limoux at about 10:00 a.m., having told the satnav to take us across country.  We were so very glad we did - it was a really, really lovely drive!  The roads were (mostly) excellent, and very scenic.  We did stop on the outskirts of Limoux for diesel and shopping, and then again for a bit because we could, but when we began to think of stopping somewhere for lunch, there was a lovely picnic area just outside Maury. 

The "train rouge" ran alongside the car park, and we were rather startled to see a train as we thought they did not run on Mondays. 

This, of course, reminded me of "Le train jaune" which runs up to La Carol-Latour, but, alas, it is out of service this month and I really don't fancy a replacement bus service!  Maybe next time.

We were going to be far too early at Mas Alart - it sells lovely wine, and is beautifully remote, but there is nothing to do when you get there except buy wine!  So we bypassed it and went to the Mediterranean where we watched - I don't quite know what you would call them; they were not conventional kite-surfers (there were some of those), and not conventional sailboarders, either (there was at least one of those, too), but standing on boards that had a sort of keel underneath that they rose up on to cut through the water, and carrying sails that had two halves, to enable them to steer.  The idea seems to be to do jumps and so on, but only one of the people we watched tried, and not very successfully. 

So we went back to the van and had a cup of tea, and then drove to Mas Alart - which is packed out.  Always before when we have been here, we have either been the only van, or at most one other, but there are five or six others here tonight.  We have bought a lot of their delicious rosé, and some of their white, although right now I'm drinking white from Juigné-sur-Loire. 

Meanwhile the SW's results from Saturday are in, and he had a time of 23'16", but not, alas, first in his age grade.  And I had a phone call from King's College Hospital confirming that I do not have cancer, but must have another colonoscopy in three  years time.  So all good stuff.....