Rain continued to pour down all night before our departure from Boug-en-Bresse and it's not just the alpine mountains that were beginning to flood. The fields that line the toll roads were also filling up and getting worryingly close to the tarmac.
The toll roads are not cheap, but they are worth the money for easy driving. We travelled over 600km at a steady 110km/h, stopping only to swap drivers and stretch our legs. We had a good audio book on the go and the day through France flew by despite the poor driving conditions. We pulled into a shopping mall in Calais, but after admiring the Christmas light, were quickly overwhelmed by the size of it and the crowds of shoppers, so beat a retreat to the hotel instead.
We had a lovely final French evening, with a fun meal in the Hotel restaurant (with the two other guests and four staff) and a good nights sleep. In the morning, at the Euro Tunnel terminal there was almost no one to be seen.
Travel into or through France is currently banned without a 'compelling reason' - such as returning to your country of residence as we were. The usually jam packed car parks were empty, the terminal deserted and the queue to the passport checking area looked abandoned and felt a little spooky.
Our train was waiting though, so we boarded with the few other cars and half an hour later had arrived in the UK with no questions asked.
Another test was completed and dropped off at the first possible moment after arriving in Dover, then the long, slow, traffic ridden onward drive began...
The journey was much slower than the previous day and much more mentally taxing as the driving involved avoiding all the other drivers as well as contending with some pretty ferocious weather as well.
However, we finally made it back to The Cottage, where it was a barmy 13 degrees outside and a disappointing 10 degrees inside! First job was to get the fire on, before climbing into bed. What a journey! What an adventure. We fell asleep feeling incredibly grateful that we'd been able to get away on a final adventure for 2021.
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