One of these mornings that chain is going to break

After a week of unsettled weather, which provided us with some entertainment on the campsite at Aix, as we watched large vans skidding and digging themselves into the mud from our lofty and, we hoped, well draining pitch, it is now hot and sunny again.

Despite numerous cafes and restaurants, there is often a lack of veggie food and we are delighted to find that France has at last adopted the very best of British cuisine; in the charming town of Avignon we found Pain Frites, the chip butty. In a small, greasy café we ate half a baguette filled with chips and mayonnaise and reminisced about chip butties in Salford.

You might think that after over 60 different campsites we had encountered every type of showering facility available in Europe. Yet, the French have come up with a shower that takes the discomfort and awkwardness of camp site showers to new heights; the pull-chain shower. To access hot water you have to use one hand to pull the chain, leaving your other hand free to wash your nooks and crannies. Reaching your toes while hanging on to this chain requires flexibility we no longer have and washing your hair one-handed is a skill we never knew we needed to develop.