So what was the inspiration behind this blog? 

Well it all started when both Joe and Claire read some crime novels by Peter May, a Scottish author who has been based in South-West France for some time. We were both taken by the descriptions of Cahors and the Lot valley, not known to either of us, and decided to spend a week there in October 2019 to get a feel for the area.

We explored along the river to both the east and west of Cahors and decided we wanted to spend a good chunk of time there in our camper van to get to know the area better. So the plan was hatched to spend 6 months in France from May to October 2020 as a sabbatical break for Claire and a post-retirement adventure for Joe. Coronavirus struck but we persevered with our plans, even though we had to curtail them slightly, to 4 months.  The experience didn’t put us off at all and we decided we wanted to be able to travel more in other parts of France and Europe so Claire decided to give up work and in 2021, and we headed back to France to spend another 6 months exploring the country and in February 2022 we upgraded to a new van. 

After returning to the UK in late summer 2022 we still hankered after the scenery of the Lot region. Joe has had ambitions of owning a house in France for many years and Claire had previous experience of owning a holiday home in the Languedoc region. After lots of online research, a house hunting trip was planned for March 2023 and we found a lovely house on the borders of the Lot and Lot-et-Garonne departments and took ownership at the end of June 2023. So France is now our permanent home and a base to continue our campervan travels in Europe. 

Our blog is both a diary for ourselves and a way of keeping in touch with friends and family. We post updates every month or so and you can access them from the menu on the left hand side of this page. We hope you enjoy it.