France Diary Day 2: Calais to Langres

Part of the excitement for this holiday, our first caravan run down to the south of France, was of being able to actually see the climate changing. The idea of driving from wet, cold Britain down to a simmering Mediterranean sun seemed quite tantalising. So I’ve been keeping a temperature chart so I can record the change.

We left home in 17C and sure enough saw the temperature climb to 24C by the time we reached our overnight stop in Kent.

Driving off the ferry in Calais the next morning it was 18C, grey and damp, but hey, early morning, yes? As we piled on the miles the sky became greyer and the thermometer fell further. By Arras, at lunchtime it was raining and 16C, colder than home. No worries, a long way to go, yet.

     We stopped at a services some time after Troyes but couldn’t leave the car, the rain was too heavy.

     So to Langres, and out site at Lac de la Liez. It’s a lovely spot, just like the lake district... without the mountains... and the scenery. But with the rain. Perhaps I’m being harsh, but it’s kind of disappointing after 660 miles driving south. I’ve planned the route using the street view from Google (to be sure the roads I picked were okay for caravans) and every frame showed roads baking under a cloudless azure sky. So it looked kind different. I’ll try to be more positive. It can’t get worse.