The Morvan. Burgundy, France.

As next years tour is in the final stages of being organised.... and because its a 9 day camping trip. Im looking at various alternatives if my primary objective (Western Tyrol) is out of the question due to bad weather. Im not a fan of camping in the wet.. especially at altitude. Im not going to subject my friends to that level of purgatory.

so.. as an alternative to Austria/Italy. Im looking at France.. specifically the Auvergne as Plan B. getting there seems easy enough... especially if its divided over two days.. Day 2 could easily see us in the Morvan.. and Im wondering if anyone has been there.. is it as nice as it looks on streetview. Only two major roads.. the rest being minor and not straight... (not straight at all!!)

there is a really nice municipal campsite at Avallon (yes.. THAT Avallon) and from there it looks like a very nice 200 mile ride south via the Volcanos and on to the intended base at La Bourboule.

After riding right through the middle of an (extinct) volcano in September.. it seems somehow appropriate to see more. to ooh and aah at. (as we do)

But.. The Morvan. yes or no?

https://goo.gl/maps/Jqgz7mJDFm92 Zoom in to see what i mean about its road system.

and obligatory volcano photo.

I'll vote yes Looks stunning. To be honest I'll be following you anyway, unless I get lost again. Facepalm.

Don't think I've been that far East!

looks good though! I'll be watching with interest

Squiggly lines as roads!....looks fun

I want to do France on the bike so will be looking forward to your write up on your findings

I thought it was a bit of a long shot.. the Auvergne.. with its volcanos and fairly high mountains is very popular... The Morvan. nobody seems to know.. but its exactly the kind of terrain i like. Low mountains.. little agriculture. no big towns or cities. pretty much off the beaten track. Somewhere nice to ride through after a day on the Autoroute and begin the holiday - proper.

Ive found a bikers website that is devoted to the Auvergne and in English.. with routes and points of interest. Share and share alike is my motto.

http://www.auvergne-motorbike.com/auvergne-bikers

Obviously.. Im hoping we will end up in the Austrian Alps.. and this french Plan B never happens... though the info might come in useful in the future and to anyone who fancies a trip to France.

Hi Shorty, did you know it's only 440 kms (275 mls) from Port Le Havre to Avallon - easy run in a day I'd have thought? Especially if you get the boat through the night with a bunk, then you arrive at about 7am and have all day to get there.

The area round there is really lovely. Very low traffic and great roads - what's not to like.

And this area is rightly famous for it's quite fabulous wine and great food.

Thankyou.

our usual strategy is to meet up at Ashford and stay at one of the hotels there overnight.. this means we're just 12 miles from the chunnel. using the A26 its just a little further.. 317 miles according to google. thats just 50 miles further than our usual destination: Neuerburg in the Eifel. close to the Luxembourg border.

The furthest we have done is 410 miles when we went to the Black Forest 3 years ago. That was a slog.. but not such an awful one. 317 miles is fine.. especially on a Saturday.

Im reassured that the Morvan is a good as it looks.. worth travelling through rather than skirting around. excellent.

Does Shorty still post on here?