{"id":33406,"date":"2019-01-14T15:08:04","date_gmt":"2019-01-14T15:08:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ourtour.co.uk\/home\/?p=33406"},"modified":"2019-01-14T20:45:34","modified_gmt":"2019-01-14T20:45:34","slug":"north-of-the-massif-central-saint-pourcain-sur-sioule","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ourtour.co.uk\/home\/north-of-the-massif-central-saint-pourcain-sur-sioule\/","title":{"rendered":"North of the Massif Central, Saint-Pour\u00e7ain-sur-Sioule"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Zagan the motorhome&#8217;s face-first on a bank above the shallow Sioule, its far bank stuck with leafless trees shouldering ivy and clumps of mistletoe. I was about to write how we found ourselves experiencing d\u00e9j\u00e0 vu when we arrived here, in the free motorhome aire in <br>Saint-Pour\u00e7ain-sur-Sioule, but that wouldn&#8217;t be all that accurate, as we have actually been here before (<a href=\"https:\/\/maps.google.com\/maps?q=loc:46.31311,3.29648\">N46.31311, E3.29648<\/a>). We realised we&#8217;d been here before as we rounded the last corner on a three hour drive south, past the town&#8217;s fire station and athletics track and onto the river-side parking. It <a href=\"https:\/\/ourtour.co.uk\/home\/to-the-heart-of-it-moulins-central-france\/\">was back in 2015 though<\/a>, on our way north from <a href=\"https:\/\/ourtour.co.uk\/home\/our-2015-three-month-motorhome-tour-spanish-pyrenees\/\">a trip around the Spanish Pyrenees<\/a>, so we might be forgiven for our place-name forgetfulness?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1022\" height=\"475\" src=\"https:\/\/ourtourmedia.s3.eu-central-003.backblazeb2.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/DSC04654.jpg\" alt=\"The free river-side motorhome aire at Saint-Pour\u00e7ain-sur-Sioule\" class=\"wp-image-33479\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ourtourmedia.s3.eu-central-003.backblazeb2.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/DSC04654.jpg 1022w, https:\/\/ourtourmedia.s3.eu-central-003.backblazeb2.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/DSC04654-300x139.jpg 300w, https:\/\/ourtourmedia.s3.eu-central-003.backblazeb2.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/DSC04654-768x357.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ourtourmedia.s3.eu-central-003.backblazeb2.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/DSC04654-705x328.jpg 705w, https:\/\/ourtourmedia.s3.eu-central-003.backblazeb2.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/DSC04654-450x209.jpg 450w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1022px) 100vw, 1022px\" \/><figcaption>The free river-side motorhome aire at Saint-Pour\u00e7ain-sur-Sioule<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>The route here brought us down past Orl\u00e9ans, and we&#8217;d received some intel from a blog reader that the free aire at Saran to the north of the city had water. Being winter, some towns choose to turn off water supplies at aires to avoid the risk of frozen pipes, so snippets like this are very helpful in maintaining a healthy number of hot showers per week, thanks! On our way to Saran, we caught glimpses of the <em>gilets jaunes<\/em> (yellow vests) at roundabouts, stood in makeshift huts alongside burning pallets, making no attempts to stop the traffic as they have in recent weeks. Every time we passed a speed camera we peered at it see if it remained functional. Most didn&#8217;t, and the word seems to be the protestors have vandalised 80% of &#8217;em across the country. One looked like it had been stormed by someone with a flame thrower; others were spray-painted in various hues and the more civic-minded protesters had merely taped plastic around yet more camera posts. A fair few cars and vans have their yellow vests thrust into view on the dashboard in solidarity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"464\" src=\"https:\/\/ourtourmedia.s3.eu-central-003.backblazeb2.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/DSC04593-1024x464.jpg\" alt=\"The gilets jaunes (yellow vests) protesting in France\" class=\"wp-image-33481\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ourtourmedia.s3.eu-central-003.backblazeb2.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/DSC04593.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/ourtourmedia.s3.eu-central-003.backblazeb2.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/DSC04593-300x136.jpg 300w, https:\/\/ourtourmedia.s3.eu-central-003.backblazeb2.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/DSC04593-768x348.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ourtourmedia.s3.eu-central-003.backblazeb2.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/DSC04593-705x319.jpg 705w, https:\/\/ourtourmedia.s3.eu-central-003.backblazeb2.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/DSC04593-450x204.jpg 450w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption>The gilets jaunes (yellow vests) protesting in France<br><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"615\" src=\"https:\/\/ourtourmedia.s3.eu-central-003.backblazeb2.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/DSC04590-1024x615.jpg\" alt=\"Almost all the speed cameras were out of action on our way south\" class=\"wp-image-33482\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ourtourmedia.s3.eu-central-003.backblazeb2.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/DSC04590.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/ourtourmedia.s3.eu-central-003.backblazeb2.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/DSC04590-300x180.jpg 300w, https:\/\/ourtourmedia.s3.eu-central-003.backblazeb2.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/DSC04590-768x461.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ourtourmedia.s3.eu-central-003.backblazeb2.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/DSC04590-705x423.jpg 705w, https:\/\/ourtourmedia.s3.eu-central-003.backblazeb2.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/DSC04590-450x270.jpg 450w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption>Almost all the speed cameras were out of action on our way south<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>After parking up in Saran, we spent roughly 5 minutes investigating the pleasant but small and typically quiet in winter town before deciding Orl\u00e9ans was where the action was at, and getting a bus into the city. With no agenda we headed for the old town, dodging our way through the crowded boulevards and wondering why the tram routes were tramless. As we rounded a corner and turned up towards the looming cathedral, the bright vests appeared, explaining the lack of trams, shadowed by a handful of police motorbikes and a van (the army were on the streets too, in clusters of four, clutching guns and looking too young). This looked interesting, so we headed up to see what one of these famed protests looked like up close. The verdict: it seemed a strange affair. The locals didn&#8217;t seem interested and after a brief inspection turned back to eyeballing the shop windows. The police looked relaxed. The yellow vests looked like normal folks out to make their feelings known, occasionally breaking into a chant, something about being tired, as we could make out the word <em>fatigu\u00e9<\/em>. Nothing dramatic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"587\" src=\"https:\/\/ourtourmedia.s3.eu-central-003.backblazeb2.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/DSC04617-1024x587.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-33483\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ourtourmedia.s3.eu-central-003.backblazeb2.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/DSC04617.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/ourtourmedia.s3.eu-central-003.backblazeb2.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/DSC04617-300x172.jpg 300w, https:\/\/ourtourmedia.s3.eu-central-003.backblazeb2.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/DSC04617-768x440.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ourtourmedia.s3.eu-central-003.backblazeb2.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/DSC04617-705x404.jpg 705w, https:\/\/ourtourmedia.s3.eu-central-003.backblazeb2.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/DSC04617-450x258.jpg 450w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"647\" src=\"https:\/\/ourtourmedia.s3.eu-central-003.backblazeb2.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/DSC04621-1024x647.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-33490\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ourtourmedia.s3.eu-central-003.backblazeb2.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/DSC04621.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/ourtourmedia.s3.eu-central-003.backblazeb2.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/DSC04621-300x190.jpg 300w, https:\/\/ourtourmedia.s3.eu-central-003.backblazeb2.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/DSC04621-768x485.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ourtourmedia.s3.eu-central-003.backblazeb2.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/DSC04621-705x445.jpg 705w, https:\/\/ourtourmedia.s3.eu-central-003.backblazeb2.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/DSC04621-450x284.jpg 450w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" src=\"https:\/\/ourtourmedia.s3.eu-central-003.backblazeb2.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/DSC04625-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"The cathedral at Orleans. Enormous, and flippin' freezing.\" class=\"wp-image-33484\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ourtourmedia.s3.eu-central-003.backblazeb2.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/DSC04625.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/ourtourmedia.s3.eu-central-003.backblazeb2.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/DSC04625-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/ourtourmedia.s3.eu-central-003.backblazeb2.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/DSC04625-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ourtourmedia.s3.eu-central-003.backblazeb2.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/DSC04625-705x529.jpg 705w, https:\/\/ourtourmedia.s3.eu-central-003.backblazeb2.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/DSC04625-450x338.jpg 450w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption>The cathedral at Orleans. Enormous, and flippin&#8217; freezing.<br><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1021\" height=\"661\" src=\"https:\/\/ourtourmedia.s3.eu-central-003.backblazeb2.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/DSC04632.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-33485\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ourtourmedia.s3.eu-central-003.backblazeb2.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/DSC04632.jpg 1021w, https:\/\/ourtourmedia.s3.eu-central-003.backblazeb2.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/DSC04632-300x194.jpg 300w, https:\/\/ourtourmedia.s3.eu-central-003.backblazeb2.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/DSC04632-768x497.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ourtourmedia.s3.eu-central-003.backblazeb2.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/DSC04632-705x456.jpg 705w, https:\/\/ourtourmedia.s3.eu-central-003.backblazeb2.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/DSC04632-450x291.jpg 450w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1021px) 100vw, 1021px\" \/><figcaption>Joan of Arc,  The Maid of Orl\u00e9ans, being burned alive by the English, aged 19<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"664\" src=\"https:\/\/ourtourmedia.s3.eu-central-003.backblazeb2.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/DSC04599-1024x664.jpg\" alt=\"A message of peace on the wall near the aire in Saran\" class=\"wp-image-33488\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ourtourmedia.s3.eu-central-003.backblazeb2.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/DSC04599.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/ourtourmedia.s3.eu-central-003.backblazeb2.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/DSC04599-300x195.jpg 300w, https:\/\/ourtourmedia.s3.eu-central-003.backblazeb2.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/DSC04599-768x498.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ourtourmedia.s3.eu-central-003.backblazeb2.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/DSC04599-705x457.jpg 705w, https:\/\/ourtourmedia.s3.eu-central-003.backblazeb2.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/DSC04599-450x292.jpg 450w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption>A message of peace on the wall near the aire in Saran<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>After a look-see around the cathedral we bumped into the vests again as they followed a random route through the city and took the chance to ask one of them why he was there. He looked a bit bemused, perhaps at the existential nature of the question, so I tried another tact and asked if he didn&#8217;t like Macron. &#8220;Ah, non, c&#8217;est Europe!&#8221; he said, indicating (we think) that he thought the problem, whatever it was, was bigger than Macron. After a few minutes of earnest discourse, in which we picked out something to do with borders, a pyramid of power, Brexit and the need to earn money to feed his two children, we shook hands, wished him the best of luck and let him rejoin the vests, who were wandering off again. I really need to improve my French before entering into political discussions I think, but my suspicion is he wasn&#8217;t typical of the vests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"575\" src=\"https:\/\/ourtourmedia.s3.eu-central-003.backblazeb2.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/DSC04643-1024x575.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-33486\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ourtourmedia.s3.eu-central-003.backblazeb2.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/DSC04643.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/ourtourmedia.s3.eu-central-003.backblazeb2.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/DSC04643-300x168.jpg 300w, https:\/\/ourtourmedia.s3.eu-central-003.backblazeb2.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/DSC04643-768x431.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ourtourmedia.s3.eu-central-003.backblazeb2.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/DSC04643-705x396.jpg 705w, https:\/\/ourtourmedia.s3.eu-central-003.backblazeb2.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/DSC04643-450x253.jpg 450w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption>The French do a mean line in knife shops. I could stare in windows like this all day. We also eyeballed a bong shop, and two fascinating violin workshops.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>After fortifying myself with a <em>galette frangipane<\/em> (almond pastry) from a patisserie open into the street (which required fending off a small nipper who wanted me to feed it to him despite the fact his mum was buying a pile of food behind us), we headed back to the bus stop and the van. Only a couple of hours in Orleans, but Ju wasn&#8217;t feeling top still and we felt like we&#8217;d at least had a quick look at the place. The verdict: nice, affluent city, lots of boutique shopping, very lively on a Saturday afternoon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"699\" src=\"https:\/\/ourtourmedia.s3.eu-central-003.backblazeb2.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/DSC04607-1024x699.jpg\" alt=\"Orleans, central France\" class=\"wp-image-33487\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ourtourmedia.s3.eu-central-003.backblazeb2.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/DSC04607.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/ourtourmedia.s3.eu-central-003.backblazeb2.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/DSC04607-300x205.jpg 300w, https:\/\/ourtourmedia.s3.eu-central-003.backblazeb2.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/DSC04607-768x524.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ourtourmedia.s3.eu-central-003.backblazeb2.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/DSC04607-705x481.jpg 705w, https:\/\/ourtourmedia.s3.eu-central-003.backblazeb2.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/DSC04607-450x307.jpg 450w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption>Orleans, central France<br><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>It being January and all, the days and nights are a little cool, although we&#8217;re talking several degrees above freezing still. Our central heating system&#8217;s happily blowing hot air at us but we&#8217;ve a wary eye on our batteries, as they&#8217;re dropping voltage too quickly and the heating fan uses a fair bit of juice if on all day. Despite being called a &#8217;12V system&#8217;, when the batteries get down to 12.0V, they&#8217;re very roughly 50% discharged and that&#8217;s about as low as this type of battery will go before they get damaged. Each time we drive for a few hours the engine **should** be topping them right up again but they&#8217;re 3 years old now, and they&#8217;re only lasting maybe 2 or 3 days off grid when they should do a full week. A bit of sunshine will help as the solar panel on the roof will kick in, but it&#8217;s too overcast at the moment for the panel to help much.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>From Saran we cruised east and south along free roads for three hours or so until we arrived here. We like getting some miles done on a Sunday, as most lorries can&#8217;t travel here in France on that day, which makes for an even more relaxed driving experience than usual. The only issue we have at the moment (apart from me taking random exits at roundabouts, sometimes requiring lengthy detours) is the wing mirror, which refuses to stay in a position where I can actually see anything useful. After arriving here Ju found my allen keys, which I swear I looked in the exact same spot for and they weren&#8217;t there, and I attacked the bloody thing. It **might** now be fixed. Or it might fall off. Watch this space.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We decided to stay still in Saint-Pour\u00e7ain for a couple of days, which has started to become more normal for us but not for our fellow travellers. We&#8217;re obviously on a migration route, as each aire we&#8217;ve stayed in has seen motorhomes arriving in the late afternoon and evening and leaving the following morning. The usual mix of British, French, Dutch and Belgian vans, some towing cars or box trailers, filling the smaller free aires en-route, and making us wonder if we should be pulling our fingers out and getting down to Spain or wherever more quickly than we are. Not sure. We&#8217;ve enjoyed our sejour here. I ran a few miles around the dormant vineyards this morning before we nipped out for a four course nosh-up at a local eaterie. A bit of a good-humoured Faulty Towers affair, with dog barks coming from the kitchen and time-warp decor from the 70s, but the grub was top notch and even with a good tip came to a whole \u20ac30 for the both of us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Next up is the Massif Central, the highland area to the south of us almost down to the Med, with mountains rising up to around 1800m. The free and fast A75 motorway cuts right across the lot of &#8217;em though, no hairpins to be seen, potentially getting us quickly down to the sea and lining us up for a south-coast trundle into sunny Espagne. I quite fancy having a look at the hills, and staying in a couple of places on the way down, but there&#8217;s likely to be some of the white stuff down there and, coupled with our tired batteries, we&#8217;re keen to feel the sun on our backs, so we might save the high places for another time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>OK, time for a brew, take it easy folks. Cheers, Jay<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Driving our motorhome south on toll-free routes past the gilets jaunes to Orleans and onwards to just above the Massif Central in France.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":33483,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[417,53],"tags":[429,1011,134,767,1010,1012],"class_list":["post-33406","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-motorhome-blog","category-france-motorhome","tag-france","tag-gilets-jaune","tag-motorhome","tag-motorhome-aire","tag-orleans","tag-saint-pourcain-sur-sioule"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>North of the Massif Central, Saint-Pour\u00e7ain-sur-Sioule - 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