Monbazillac

As we ventured south, it would be our first night on a 'France Passion' a network of venues with a few places reserved for motorhomes at no charge, you just have to be 100% autonomous in WC, water, electricity, waste, so ideal for stopovers.

France Passion sites vary from goat, duck, pig farms and every other type, to vineyards, and all sorts of other interesting places, usually the spaces available to stay overnight are usually for a max of around 2- 5 vehicles.

Looking on the map in the direction we were headed, we chose a vineyard just south of the town of Bergerac in the Dordogne area.

Vineyard Haut Pezaud in Montbazillac was fabulous, we arrived around 16.00 - no on else there.

As expected, one of the requirements is to say hello to the host, and show an interest in their produce without any obligation to purchase, ..... so a wine tasting with Aurelie was scheduled for 18.30.

Just as we were about to walk the 20m to the 'wine tasting studio" the rain came down in biblical proportions, later finding out from Aurelie that her and her husband who own the vineyard have not been able to harvest the grapes as normal this year due to the ongoing poor weather.

Later we left the tasting room (aka a warehouse and shop area) having tried various wines and made a purchase of 2 of them, it was a great place to stop over, and better value than paying for a campsite, plus you often get the place to stay on your own.

The vineyard Haut Pezaud, just south of Bergerac in the Dordogne.

Saying good bye to your host (this time by text message) is a must... we were then off to Carcassonne, a drive of around 3 hours.

Taking the off piste route south, many of the roads became single track, luckily traffic was minimal coming the opposite way, and gave us time to enjoy the scenery.

It was like a trip into an animal sanctuary, deer crossing the road in front of Tassie, red squirrels (who knew) scrabbling about, and road signs warning of wallabies in the area, (it seems an Australian wildlife park is located nearby), perhaps some have hopped off on their own.

Despite rain on and off, the drive was a delight, the pretty unspoilt villages, the endless fields of yellow sunflowers and sweetcorn lined the road for miles... the best bit - there was very few vehicles around.Read more