We’re lucky with the weather for our first day; although cold,
it’s clear, bright sunshine. Even the predictable A14 traffic jams melt away by
Fenstanton (10 miles) and we made an earlier tunnel crossing than the one we
had booked, so we managed to get as far as Le Mans by nightfall.
Our next stop is near Blaye, in the Bordeaux area, where we
stay for a couple of days. It’s wet and windy, but we take a quick trip to the citadel
at Blaye which is on the Gironde estuary. The citadel is a massive fort built
to protect Bordeaux from assault via the estuary. It looks even more forbidding
in damp, miserable weather.
The defences were constructed by ace French fort builder
Vauban, in the late 17th century. The citadel was never captured. The
entrance gate shows the thickness of these impregnable walls. It just needs the
Three Musketeers galloping through to bring it all to life.
Inside the battlements was a large area more like a village
than a military camp. However, we didn’t explore with our usual enthusiasm as a
downpour settled in for the afternoon and we beat a retreat back to the shelter
of the caravan.
We left the Bordeaux area the next day and went for a longer
journey than planned, as far as Burgos in northern Spain, so as to run out of
the unsettled weather. Burgos was an overnighter, cold and dry, from where we
ran due south to Aranjuez. Crossing the mountains to Madrid saw some real snow
but the roads were all clear. Aranjuez is 30 miles beyond Madrid.
We visited Aranjuez four years ago, with not such happy
memories as we were kept awake all weekend by a heavy metal rock concert! This
time it was relatively quiet and we were able to enjoy the town’s faded elegance. It
was acquired for the monarchy in 1178 and used by various kings, queens and
nobility since that time. This is part of the royal palace.
No palace is complete without extensive grounds so there are
parks and fountains galore surrounding the palace. One fountain coming up.
The Prince’s garden, in another part of the town, is probably the most impressive. It claims to be the largest enclosed garden in
Europe. The gates are certainly very grand.
Actually, we need to go through this park to get to the campsite,
so walking into town we enjoy the gardens and ornamental paths. Even at this
time year there’s some colour.
Another view shows a walk with a boundary wall lined with
urns. There are hundreds of these identical urns all over the park and also the
palace gardens. They must have got a job lot from somewhere.
At the far end of the park we cross the bridge and walk the
short distance to the campsite. Tomorrow it’s up stumps, to Cordoba.
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