An amazingly quiet night, and a spot with flat, solid parking and pleasant country views. Before leaving we took a stroll up the slight incline behind us and had a nose at the chateau, which is being restored.

My objective for that night would, surprisingly for us, be an actual motorhome aire, to the East of Besançon. Our route took us via another chateau renovation project in Montby that Sophie had found in her research. That was impressive, as was the countryside, which refused to disappoint us.

We continued on to a drive-through of Besançon, which on reflection really deserved a proper visit. I understand it is the capital city of it’s departement.

Not much further from Besançon was the aire at Nancray, outside the “Musée des Maisons Comtoises”. We had three neighbours for the night, but they all skulked in the small carpark behind the museum, probably with their blinds up and watching TV, which is common. We, on the other hand, after researching the various photos of previous motorhome visitors, could see that the principal parking for us vans was right up on the huge grass and gravel parking area that commanded fantastic long views across the countryside.

We watched the moon rise over the distant hills and our only neighbour in this section of the parking was a caravan.

The next day was a lazy sunny washday, and by the time we thought perhaps we should try and find somewhere new for the night, the washing had all but dried.

So we left at around 4:30, heading in an Ornans direction, a town recommended by Dorling Kindersley. After making sure to drive through the small village of Saône, because Sophie wanted to see the birthplace of chef Raymond Blanc, I headed to a promising Park4night just short Ornans.

We drove up an attractive narrow valley with very steep and tall cliffs either side, and came to the parking spot, by an ancient chapel ruin. Just a grassy patch really, but with open views, dry and solid, and the fact that another van was already parked there, we were confident we wouldn’t be sinking into the ground.

We took a walk up the valley then returned for hopefully yet another successful overnight.

*** Just to mention that our blogs can be up to a few weeks behind reality, as we’re always in catch-up mode ***