Taking your time to get to the South of France

Start your journey at the Euro Tunnel terminal at Folkestone. Once you are on board the shuttle, the journey through the tunnel is just 35 minutes. Leaving the shuttle is very easy and it is only a few minutes before you are out of the terminal at Coquelles and on to the A16 following the signs for the A26 to Reims . The journey down the A26 autoroute to Reims is both simple and easy. The toll costs €17.90 and the time taken to complete the journey was just under 3 hours, but you may need to make a stop for petrol and perhaps a rest near Saint Quentin.

You may at this stage, be saying "why go to Beziers via Reims ?" Well, you will avoid the traffic headaches of Paris and you can make some other stops on the way and enjoy France and what it has to offer on a much slower journey south. The journey can be done in a matter of hours, but you may prefer to take your time and enjoy the country and the slower way of life that France has to offer.

  Reims of course is known the world over for the countless champagne labels that originate in that area, but of course the city has a much earlier claim to fame, since the 11th century all the kings of France have come to Reims to be crowned in it's remarkable   Cathédral Notre-Dame, well worth a visit and many other sights that are well worth seeing, so a detour into Reims is very worth while, also quite a nice place to have a good lunch before continuing the journey for an overnight stop near the town of Troyes. So rejoin the A26 after a good lunch and not too much champagne for approximately a journey of 1 hour and 20 minutes to Troyes . A decision was made to stop at a hotel for the night in the Parc Naturel Régional de la Foret d'Orient in the small village of Rouilly Sacey . This village is about 12 kilometres east of Troyes , but again a place of tranquiliy and beauty. There are many lakeside villages with beautiful walks, sailing and lakeside pleasures in the area, also many hotels which should not be disappointing.

 After a good night with dinner and breakfast this morning at the Holiday Inn, Troyes , its get back on the road time. Basically the route now starts to cross country in the direction of Clermont Ferrand , so retuning to Troyes and bypassing the town to the north and west on the N77 its time to follow the signs for Auxerre. This is a beautifully sited town overlooking the Yonne river, and an ideal place to stop for a short rest and coffee, after only about an hour and a halfs drive from Troyes . Leaving Auxerre join the N151 sign-posted Nevers. This is now quite a rural part of France being in the department of Burgundy , fairly peaceful and away from the busy autoroutes. Just after the village of Varzy join the D977 still following the signs to Nevers. Having now been on the road for about 3 hours since leaving Troyes, it's time to start thinking about stopping for lunch in one of the small towns before Nevers and since this is Burgundry country it should be easy to find a nice restaurant and a good bottle of red wine. Having enjoyed an excellent lunch in a rather nice auberge in a small village just north-east of Nevers it is time to move on again and now bypassing Nevers on the N7 and to the east of the town. The N7 shortly passes the motor racing circuit at Magny-Cours and then on through St Pierre Moûtier, to enter Moulins . Follow the N7 into the centre of the town, and just after crossing the river Allier join the N9 signposted St Pourcain-sur-Sioulé and Clermont Ferrand . The road is fairly straight and again not full of heavy traffic, so the going is reasonably easy. The N9 passes through St Pourcain-sur-Sioulé and on to Gannat. Just before the town of Gannat it is a good idea to join the A719 which will in 6 Kilometres join the A71. Joining the A71 autoroute at Junction 12, take a toll ticket and head south for Clermont Ferrand, there is only a short distance which has to be paid for on this stretch of the A71 and toll soon appears at junction 14 a distance of 31 kilometres. In 8.5 kilometres the A71 runs directly into the A75 which is now a totally free autoroute to Montepellier or Beziers with the exception of the Millau Viaduct where a crossing toll has to be paid.

It will have been observed that this appears to be a little more mountainous region than the other areas we have passed through so far. This is infact the area of the "quiet volcanoes", or as it is known by its real title Parc Regional  des Volcans This is now the Auvergne and the youngest range of volcanoes at 4,000 years old. It is here you will notice the many natural volcanic mountains, now of course all very dormant. Looking specifically to the west, the highest volcanic point is the Puy-de-Dôme. To really enjoy the area try and make time in your journey to visit the one in the centre – Puy-de-Dôme – this would be well worth a visit.  The area encompasses 112 extinct volcanoes aligned over a 30 kilometre stretch just to the west of Clermont Ferrand.

Ideally leave the A71 at junction 15, join the D941 and follow signs to the Parc Regional-des-Volcans, which will take you to the Puy-de-Dôme.  There is a concentric road off the N922 which spirals up to the peak at a steady 12% gradient. At the summit a further half-hour walk takes you to the vestiges of the Roman Temple of Mercury and a telecommunications tower. On a clear day, the view across the volcano will take away what ever breath you have left. Providing there is good weather a beautiful view of the surrounding and area and Clermont Ferrand is clearly seen.  There is plenty of parking at the top of the Puy-de-Dome with a good tourist and information office close to the telecommunications tower. With time now getting shorter it is best to return to the base of the Puy-de-Dôme and search out accommodation for the night. So making a decision to see more of this area tomorrow we settled for finding a hotel around the area of la Bourboule. If short of time the tourist office may be able to help with finding suitable accommodation in the vicinity of Royat, which is just east of the Puy-de-Dôme.

Take the N89 from Puy-de-Dôme then join the D922 for la Bourboule.   With many hotels to choose from in this town we settled on La Charlet for one night. This proved a very good and comfortable hotel. La Bourboule is a really lovely town and a pleasant walk around the town before dinner was well worth while.   After a good night’s sleep and a full breakfast it was decided to return to the A75 but by using the D130 to le Mont Dore and then the D996 St Nectaire. This proved to be the ultimate in seeing the Parc des Volcans. Whilst the roads wind and go up and down the views of the dormant volcanoes is fantastic, with lakes high in the mountains and some wonderful panoramic views and with plenty of stopping places, the day wore on very quickly.   Lunch was taken at small Auberge in St Nectaire, the local delicacy in this area is of course the fromage de St Nectaire, and this was certainly enjoyed to its fullest. Leaving St Nectaire it was time to head to our next over night destination in Issoire which is just about 30 kilometres south of Clermont Ferrand.