The misty start to the day, again, quickly cleared into warm sunshine so, after a quick walk with the dogs, we loaded them and a picnic into the car and headed off to the Valley of Ornans and the River La Loue which weaves along the bottom. Now I, along with most of the French people, absolutely love a picnic and there is never any shortage of delicacies to buy for one or places to eat them in. A picnic here is not confined to a summer’s day outing with the kids; it can be enjoyed by fisherman and cyclists alike at all times of the year and in any weather except torrential rain – even then we’ve spotted picnics being eaten at picnic tables under large umbrellas!

We drove through Nods to join the river at Lods (well, it amuses me!).

We then turned up the valley to Mouthier-Haute-Pierre to find a nice spot for our lunch. Our first choice was already occupied by like minded French picnickers, but our second choice wasn’t too shabby. Sadly the cloud came down a bit and we had to add a layer of clothing.

Following the river down we explored Vuillafans, Clerons and Ornans itself where we stopped for coffee before heading for home. We did get to hear my cow bells tinkling across the valley but weren’t able to get close enough for photos – I guess that I’d already collected more than enough photos for one day!

A day full of beautiful villages and scenery rounded off our all too short exploration of this beautiful region of France – if you don’t know it and have a motor home or caravan, I cannot recommend strongly enough that you give it a whirl.