Dordogne to the Loire today so a long 400km drive but a lovely blue sky day for it.

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Bob had warned me that we needed, unusually, to use the motorways a lot today as otherwise the drive would take too long. Still avoiding the toll roads though as we rarely need to use those.



A most uneventful drive. Nice to see the sun shining all the way as we drove through the countryside, through a few small towns and villages and bypassing others. The valley of the Dordogne river was filled with very white mist as we drove over, as we've often seen it but once over the other side we were into clear blue sky for the rest of the day.



I shouted murderers at a few tractors which I saw beheading the sad looking sunflowers and firing their seeds into waiting trucks. As we got a bit further north we came to the neat and tidy vineyard areas. Half way along the way Bob decided we were making good enough time so could switch to ordinary roads.



Shortly after we left the motorway I had to shout stop as Bob was heading off down a road with a 2.8 height limit and we are 2.9. Very thoughtless of the engineers who built those low railway bridges a century ago and very shortsighted ! We found our way round that one and then as we were getting within sight of the Loire found another restriction, this time just high enough but too narrow. Quick check on the map and we took a detour which proved to be a good one and took us straight up to the Loire and our campsite on the south bank at Gien.



Campsite is Camping Touristique de Gien. The ACSI book said the pool is open until the end of the month, the campsite website said 15^th September so I wasn’t hopeful which was fortunate as it was shut.



Pleasant site and near enough to the bridge over the river for a quick stroll across after dinner. I was taking photos of the rather dramatic sunset when we spotted flocks of birds heading our way. Starlings doing practice runs at murmurations by the look (and sound) of it as they flew in mass formations across the river then dived into the trees which line the banks of the river. The show went on for a good 15 minutes then we had to leave them to it as it was getting dark and we had to walk back to the campsite.





Certainly well worth that little walk.

Much warmer today at last and rather belatedly as we are now well on our way home. For the first evening in days I have not asked Bob to turn the heating on.

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Comments

[D MJ Binkley]

Wow
That is a large flock of birds.