Post It from Camping Des Bords de l’Eure, Chartres, Centre, France. Monday 26th October, 2015.

The 85 mile journey from Tours was easily completed on a Sunday morning with only light traffic and as the clocks had gone back an hour that night it meant we completed our beauty sleep an hour earlier than normal so had an earlier start. This meant I was in the boulangerie getting fresh bread for lunch with no queues and no problem parking either on the main D910. Sharon enjoyed watching the many deer in the fields as we passed through agricultural land dotted with small woods and copses. We also saw many hunters out with guns and some had dogs so we hoped they were not after the deer.

This campsite closed for lunch at 1200 so the early start ensured we were there by 1130. It was formerly a municipal site at some point and like most it had seen better days. It was a large grassed site with many mature deciduous trees on the banks of the river Eure, in its day it will have ben beautiful. At this time of year this meant the ground was soft and muddy and almost completely carpeted in leaves. I was concerned about not being able to get off the grass but the manager said I could put my wheels on the tarmacked road as the site was almost empty and likely to remain so in its last week of being open. I took him at his word and ended up completely on the road at the very bottom of a cul-de-sac so it would not cause a problem for anyone else.

Whilst very dated the facilities were spotlessly clean and despite only having 6 amps of electricity available we managed to stay warm enough. There was even free Wi-Fi at the reception.

The riverside path into the old city looked rather muddy so when he told us the bridge along the path was closed it was just as simple for us to walk into the city the 2 miles along the road. Later that afternoon we took a gentle stroll to see the Cathedral, the main purpose of our visit, and it took us around 45 minutes or less using the tourist information map the manager had given us when we booked in.

We had circumnavigated this city a number of times since we have been camping and always admired the view from afar of this magnificent cathedral started in 1134, but never stopped to see it. Then last November, as some may recall, we made a point of stopping to do so to find the campsite had closed earlier than advertised. This time we will have achieved our aim and can tick it off our list of things to see.

I can now see why it is easily visible from afar as it stands on the top of a hill in the city centre surrounded by narrow streets and bridges crossing the waterways. It was a magnificent building and I learned it had the largest collection of stained glass windows in the world at 172 from the 12^th and 13^th Centuries. It was undergoing renovation to the stonework and the completed parts looked fantastic. It had a familiar look to it as we toured around inside and it reminded us of the Cathedral at Burgos in Spain. I suppose many of these old gothic churches are built along the same lines with an aim on improving the amount of light they let in. The designers had achieved that in this case as it looked wonderfully light and airy inside.

We later had a short stroll around the old city streets saving the rest for the Monday and came across the monthly flea market. It was quite interesting to see the many old relics on offer, particularly one stalls selling very old woodworking tools which I recognised easily from my time spent as a boy with my late brother who was a cabinet maker of great skill.

Monday arrived dry again but misty and once we arrived in the historic part of the city I was glad we had come the day before to capture the photographs in better conditions. You could not see the spires on the Cathedral. We found that most of the town shops, and some restaurants, were closed on a Monday. It is that long ago in the UK that we had shops closed for a weekday that I cannot really remember when it was. We decided to just tour the historic parts on foot and enjoy being outside in dry, if cold, weather. There were some very old looking houses and even a very large fresco recently pained on one. Also lots of dog fouling of the pavements and no signs of any poop scoop bins anywhere, don’t they have such things in Chartres? It really spoils the visit and reflects badly on the city and the occupants.

Lunch was good in a small brasserie and our selection from the set menu consisted of mixed salad, beef burginion and peach tarte accompanied by ½ carafe of red pinot wine and very good white coffees to finish. All at a cost of 42€ which seemed good value but very expensive when compared to a similar quality menu del dia lunch in Spain at around 8/10€.

It was a steady amble back to the campsite since the forecasted sun had not materialised. After sorting some things out in Bessie for the off the next day the sun finally did show itself and really brightened the parkland setting up. I bet it had been really good here in its day, or perhaps still was during the summer. Off to Wimeraux tomorrow for our final 2 nights in France, chances to do some shopping at a particular shop we like and lunch at a regular restaurant too. Then it’s back to routine life, and the gym, again for the winter.

This will likely be the final story from this holiday, I do not propose to do my usual round up once we are home so I hope you have enjoyed following us on our rather different travels this time.

Regards, Roy