Noddy 1994-2008

I'm sad to report that Noddy has died.

Noddy (Battersea no. 918584) joined our family in December 2003 after his original family had to give him up. At first he was nervous and confused and forever trying to escape. His climbing abilities were legendary, forcing my father to some emergency diy to raise the height of all the gates. He was also quite manic at meal times, bounding up and down and howling whenever his meal was being prepared. Over time he calmed down into the relaxed individual seen in the photo. He never quite lost his separation anxiety and eventually won a protracted battle about his sleeping arrangements.

Noddy was a great dog. He loved walking and camping with me and before arthritis curtailed his activities, he was the more active of the two of us. He was also a good companion to my parents, accompanying my father on gentle perambulations to the park and sleeping on their bed (even though he wasn't supposed to.)He even liked the cat.

We will miss him very much.

Tour de France - nearly there

As the real Tour de France starts, mine is drawing to a close. If you want to see some of the places I've visited, watch the Tour next weekend as the riders slog up the Col de Peyrol. I rather think that some of them may make it up there a bit quicker than Archie and I.






I've been enjoying the delights of the Internet all day in Archie as the weather is a bit iffy. I picked a good day as there was a whole panoply of sport to choose from, Formula 1, tennis and cycling. My current home is St Honore Les Bains in Burgundy. The pitch is palatial but I'm stuck in a corner as one of my electric cables has broken. I had an anxious few days in the middle of the trip trying to work out what the problem was.


Since my last post I've been living the high life, 3 weeks at altitudes over 1500 ft. I've been to the Tarn Gorge, the Grande Causses, the Aubrac plateau, the Cantal Mountains and the Puy du Dancy. The campsite at Nasbinals in the Aubrac was at 3800ft which is higher than Snowden. I've conquerered a few peaks Mt Lozere , Plomb du Cantal, Puy Mary and Puy du Sancy.





Mt Lozere (pictured) is 5,573 ft but the gradients weren't too steep and is was a very pleasant day. As I was enjoying the sunshine I was joined by 3 people and a donkey who were following the Robert L. Stevenson way. Cleo the donkey enjoyed a quick snack while her owners had a rest. I wish I read Travels in the Cevennes with a Donkey.




By far the most challenging walk was up the Puy Mary which climbs about 600ft in less than half a mile. It was stepped all the way up, but the cambre meant you were thrown backwards going up and forwards going down! The view was amazing! Nothing seemed quite as steep afterwards. I was very grateful for the cloud cover on the way up.



The highlight of the trip has been the Tarn Gorge, not least because the weather improved enormously. It's easy to see why they are so popular.


















The road runs along the valley floor close to the river and then winds up the cliff faces in a series of spectacular (and very tight) hairpins bends that Archie couldn't always get around first go. I got a lot of practice of hill starts in reverse. Most of the roads climb over 1000ft to the plateaux of the Grande Causses. From the top you are almost eye level with the vultures that live in these parts. From La Malene you can take a boat through the narrowest part of the Gorge, and there are footpaths that cling to the very edge of the cliffs.

Possibly the most exciting part of the trip happened in La Malene when I got locked out of the van. The sliding door managed to lock itself with the keys inside and the remaining doors locked. While I conducted an incredibly expensive phone call to AA European relay, a fellow camper was able to undo the window with a handy coat hanger!

Last week I was at Lac Chambon and I spent most of it reading Harry Potter. I don't know what you think but I think I was sharing the pitch with the Whomping Willow. I'm pretty sure that Moaning Myrtle was living next door.

The highlight for Archie was meeting a friend in St Enimie.

One more week to go.......