Thursday 6th August 2026

The decision had been made, the holiday was aborted. Our next two hotels were cancelled, though we would only get partial refunds.

It was a twelve hour trip, at least o Calais, so we would break it on the way north. Break it at Chartres, as the cathedral there has some incredible early stained glass.

If I remembered correctly.

That thought did worry me through the day on the road.

We booked at another Ibis on the outskirts of the city, and the sat nav told us we had 485 miles to go.

We rose at half five, had breakfast at six, and after loading thew car the dash said it was already 27.5 degrees, and they sun wasn't yet up.

Arles had not yet woken up, so we had an easy run to the motorway, the day's first light illuminating the apartment buildings as we went west.

West to Montpellier on quiet roads, then north, north along where we travelled two years ago to Saint-Guilhem-le-Désert and the Devil's Bridge.

Traffic was light, driving was fun, and the road climbed to nearly 3,000 feet, up a long twisty valley and onto the high plains beyond.

We cruised at 70mph, and made good time.

The landscape the whole way was brown and desiccated. The summer has been long and hot, and the drought carries on.

In places we saw the evidence of wildfires. Just small ones, but fields and copses of threes were just brown stains and charred skeletons.

We broke into the less than 400 miles to go barrier.

And it took and age to get to the less than 300 mile stage.

We stopped for a drink and a snack. The car needed filling. Again.

The road turned into a motorway, and soon we were approaching Viaduc de Millau, this time in bright sunshine, the support towers for the deck standing stark against the dark blue sky.

We were making for the city of Clermont-Ferrand, where we would join the main road north. It took forever to get there. The morning grew old and the sun was overhead. Traffic was thicker, but we pressed on.

We stopped at a small service station, the same one we had lunch in some two years ago. A baguette with local salami and pickles, along with a Fanta.

Onwards in the afternoon sunshine, and mild heat of the day to Moulins and then Bourges. I was struggling to stay awake. I tried music. A podcast. Jools snoozed beside me as I tried to blink myself awake.

We stopped at an Aire, and I grabbed a double espresso and a sticky cake, walked around some, and felt better.

We had less than 100 miles to go.

At Orléans the sat nav's instructions and display said different things, so I followed the display. And was wrong. A twenty mile diversion, doubling back and onwards before turning off and crossing over the fields to the point where we saw the twin spires of Chartres cathedral.

But that was for the morning.

We made it to the hotel, another Ibis Styles, this time on the edge of a commercial park.

I had booked a huge family toom. We had a double bed each, a table each, and in the bathroom, a basin each too.

I had noticed two bars on the way to the hotel. The first one was a shop and bar, so we walked the fifty yards there, and found a good selection on tap. Also they did a charcuterie board.

We feasted on cured meats, cheeses and pickles, as I made three pints disappear.

The long drive, lack of sleep soon made my eyes droop, so we went back to the hotel, where the moderate heat of the day was fading, and would fall to single digits by dawn!

We slept long. And well.