Another longish drive today down to the Lot Valley today, so we set off sharply at 8.30 with coffee and PACs for breakfast en route. It was about 245 miles but seemed much longer as it was so hot. I kept the driver entertained with a combination of French radio (Virgin is our favourite station) , my 500 track Spotify playlist  and crosswords. The track of the holiday was One Day/Reckoning Song by Asaf Avidan and the Mojos.  Check it out here.

Our route took us through Poitiers, Limoges and Brive-la-Gaillarde and there were quite a few stops. We arrived at our destination – Camping Chateau de Lacomte – at around 3 pm.  This was a larger adults-only site with a bar, restaurant and swimming pool and we were scheduled to stay for 7 blissful nights. It is very much out in the sticks and situated in the “black triangle” – where there is no light pollution and the sky at night is a sight to behold. The site is in the Regional Natural Park of Causses du Quercy which is another beautiful area.  The “Causses” as I understand it, are limestone plateaus and cliffs and are part of the Massif Central.

As you might expect, one of the first things out of the car was the fan – swiftly followed by the gin! Dinner at the bar that night and plans for a lazy day at the pool for the next day. A break from all the travelling – although don’t get me wrong, it was WELL worth the long journey.

At dinner, we noticed the flies – myriads of them and persistent? Unbelievably so. There followed a week of death matches – Sumps versus the flies! With his trusty Executioner fly swat (which I had had the foresight to pack, just in case, thank goodness).

The night was so quiet and so dark it was unbelievable and we slept like logs. We think we’re gonna like it here. Oh – and the Cribathon stands at 3-1 to Sumps.