From the Gorges de la Bourne to Lans-en-Vercors

Zagan the motorhome is surrounded by lush green valleys and grey cliffs in the western Vercors, just a short hop from the mountain metropolis of Grenoble. We’re in a huge free aire alongside a small, closed wooden Alpine restaurant and a ski lift at Lans-en-Vercors (N45.12401, W5.59163). The route here from La Chapelle-en-Vercors took us through the notorious and beautiful Gorges de la Borne, which provided a heart-stopping blast of adrenaline in among a few lazy days in these here hills.

Free motorhome aire in Lanes-en-Vercors, just south-west of Grenoble

Yeah, so that gorge drive! Whoops. As I’d noted in a previous post, I’d done some hunting about on the t’Interweb for mention of motorhomes crossing the various twisting east-west D roads across the Vercors, and not found much. When I switched the search to “camping car gorges de la bourne”, or the other route names, results came back, but obviously in French. In my best attempt to translate them, it was clear the Gorges du Nan, Gorges de la Bourne, and the Combe Laval were all off-limits to us, and I adorned the map with ‘NOT OK’ in blue pen against each of ’em.

So far we’d not tested any of this, but for the D518 (Petits and Grands Goulets), which the knowledgeable locals on the forums said were OK, now that the teeny old Grands Goulets has been bypassed with a big fat tunnel. That one proved to be fine, as expected, easy to get though. The next test was the route north from La Chapelle to Villard-de-Lans, the D103, which I could see merged with the far eastern edge of the Gorges de la Bourne (the D531), but from having run/biked the other gorges, the really tight and high bits were all to the west, so I assumed we’d be fine. Which we were, as soon as we’d gotten out the other flipping side!

As the D103 approached the gorge things started to get a bit narrower than I was expecting. A few overhangs and blind bends cropped up, but not much traffic and nothing more than we’ve seen in the past. Although saying that, that was the past, and this was right now, so the fact I’ve managed not to front-end a bus or lorry in days gone by wasn’t offering me all that much comfort right at that point in time!

The D103 just before the Gorges de la Bourne. At this point my palms started to itch…

Errmmmm! Even when the signs say we’ll easily fit, that annoying wee voice in my head loudly disagrees.

As the D103 merged with the D531, things got a bit more interesting. Being a world-famous road, the traffic increased, but on the flip side it wasn’t far until we crossed the river side onto the other side of the the gorge, so the cliffs and overhangs were no longer up against the side and roof of the van. At this point I realised I’d messed up, but I wasn’t quite sure how badly. There were no other big vehicles, both a blessing and a mind-messer: why not? Could we fit through the rest of the road? Those overhangs were looking lower and lower, the tunnels tighter and tighter. I made a short-lived attempt to enjoy a once-in-a-lifetime experience and failed as my back tightened up and my mind went limp, needing a mental face-slap to keep going, not that there was much choice.

Finally out the other side, in one piece and having not removed anyone’s wing mirrors, left a big white stripe down any walls, or cracked open the top of the van ‘like a tin of fish’ (a phrase from one of the forums which I quickly remembered as we edged along) we pulled over for a quick breather. Phew. Through. The video below was taken from after we merged with the D531 – apologies for the dirty windscreen, I have no excuse:

After that tiny test, a weekend in the free motorhome parking area on the edge of Villard-de-Lans went down a treat (N45.06627, E5.55573). The town was busy with Nordic walkers taking part in competitive yomps across the trails which crisscross the hills, bikers riding the gorge roads, families out for a gentle stroll and a meal sat out in the sunshine in any one of the cafes and restaurants in the pedestrianised town centre. Unlike so many ski-oriented towns in the hills, which seem to entirely close down in summer, Villard-de-Lans was alive, and we really enjoyed our days there, running the trails, wandering the streets, cooking and chilling, watching the Nottingham and Leeds triathlons and making good use of the free Tourist Office Wi-Fi to upload a few videos!

Free motorhome parking in Villard-de-Lans, Vercors. The town is about a 10 min walk away.

Villard-de-Lans, Vercors – spot the Hymer!

Sunday is a big biker day in Villard-de-Lans, Vercors

Villard-de-Lans, Vercors

Yesterday, having used up most of our free 48 hours in the aire, we pulled out the ACSI discount camping book. The town of Villard’s only about 800m above sea level, so pretty low compared with the towns and resorts in the Alps to the east, and it was quite sunny and warm. With no shade in the van, all of our dog-cooling tricks were being called into play but Charlie still was uncomfortable, so we needed another plan. After running through a few sites, picking the higher altitude ones and finally deciding to stay at one a few miles from the climb to Alpe-d’Huez, we thought to check the weather: rain, rain and more rain, with a bit of thunder. Days of the stuff. Ah. The temperature up there was getting down to a max of 9ºC – too cold! So ACSI went away and we were back to Plan A – use the aire here today.

Rolling in via an Intermarche, we’ve stocked our fridge to the point nothing else will fit in, not a molecule of air! There’s some talk of a fuel blockade going on here in France too, and as the shop had the cheapest diesel we’ve see in weeks, we’ve brimmed off the tank. Walking back across the car park we saw a few round Crit-Air stickers in windscreens. These indicate the relative newness (and cleanliness) of a vehicle’s engine, are needed to drive in nearby Grenoble, and a bunch of other French cities. Some large regions of France can also temporarily declare only vehicles with certain levels of Crit’Air sticker can drive through them (the motorways are exempt for the permanent zone around Grenoble, but not the temporary zone, you following this?). Us foreigners are supposed to check the web each evening to be sure we can legally drive the following day (nope, we’re not doing this, it sounds unworkable). Given the fact the vast majority of cars don’t have the stickers, even in the regions which can declare temporary restrictions, we can only assume there haven’t been many days when they’ve been enforced? We don’t have a sticker – we’ll get one when we get home – and will just avoid driving through Grenoble.

So, that’s it! We’ve really enjoyed the Vercors, the runs, the rides, the cliffs and snow-splashed mountains, the fresh air, the birdsong, alpine villages, the history and the vitality of the place. We’ve been welcomed with free aires, dedicated motorhome parking places and helpful tourist info offices, where we just couldn’t ask for more. Fantastic stuff, just avoid the D531 folks!

Meadows, forests and cliffs of the Vercors

Cheers, Jay