Tuesday 16 July 2019
Time to leave Camping Moto and the stunning Vercors National Park. I think it is an area I shall be revisiting one day, I’ve only caught a glimpse of what it can offer and I’d like the full view.
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| Paid up and ready to go |
Our route takes us due east to Jausiers at the foot of the mighty Col de la Bonette, the sun is in our eyes and it is going to a sweaty ride. We will stay mostly on D roads and it is going to be hot under cloudless skies.
But first we have the Col de Cabre to negotiate. We climb up out of the Rhône Valley to the summit at a little over 1,000 metres altitude. There is a small restaurant at the summit where we stop for coffee and to take in the view.
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| Irresistible sign for Stickerman |
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| Coffee stop on Col de Cabre |
We pass through the charmingly named Die and on to Gap, a busy crossroads town that takes a while to get through. Finally we are climbing again past Lac de Serre-Ponçon and a long steady climb up the Ubaye valley.
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| Lac de Serre-Pončon |
The Tour de France will be coming through here in a few days time so the road surface is fantastic. The Ubaye River is fast flowing and we can hear the crashing waters over the engine noise. They hold major kayaking championships on this stretch.
We arrive in Barcelonnette around 3pm and spy a Lidl store off to the left. Over the years Lidl has been a life-saver for us on our more distalnt tour routes where you can’t even guess at the descriptions on the packaging in the local language. Not so much in France but in places like Hungary, Romania or Greece with their non-Indo-European alphabets and, frankly, weird produce.
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| Parked up at Barcelonnette Lidl |
But Lidl is ironically like stepping back into the UK. The floor layout is always the same and the goods and systems entirely familiar. A good place to stock up on life’s essentials.
And it is here at this French Lidl that we have another of those serendipitous moments that frequent our tours. As we park up the bikes a lady approaches and greets us in English. She introduces herself as Claire and tells us that she and her husband David, with their two young daughters have recently taken on a camp site just up the road. It sounds ideal and her persuasive marketing skills soon have us agreeing to come and see for ourselves.
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| Tents up at Camping River |
Camping River is 14km back down the valley on the Banks of the Ubaye in the tiny hamlet of Le Martinet. We are soon there. Just after the main D900 road switches over to the south bank of the Ubaye there is a left turn to the small village of Le Martinet. We ride through the village and backtrack east along the river to the camping ground.
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| Launching a raft at Camping River |
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| Home-made pizzas at Camping River |
It is a sweet spot. We camp around the back of the main site, right on the bank of the fast flowing Ubaye river. Just by our chosen spot there is a launch point for rafting and during the afternoon there is a succession of brave souls pushing off to take on the crashing and tumbling waters.
Camping river has all the usual amenities, including a small pool, but special mention should go to the great home-made pizzas that are available in the restaurant.
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