26th August 2024

We packed away the van in the nice dry morning and set off to the Jura, specifically we were headed to a campsite called ‘Les chalets Huttopia des monts Jura’.  It is on the Swiss border near to Geneva and CERN.

We made good progress down the autoroute and at Dijon headed towards our destination.  A planned stop at Champagnole, just of the N5 to buy some groceries and refuel the van, the first fuel stop since leaving home.  I knew the N5 was closed on the final part of the route a little beyond Champagnole, Google had put in a bypass around the road closure.  Oh no, the road closure started many miles before where Google thought it was! We ended up driving up and down the same part of the N5 following signs to Geneva and realising this was not the way to go. (R maintains I got v tetchy; obviously not true.)

Change of plan, let’s set course to another campsite we had stayed at before, not quite the same direction, but near enough and it would avoid the N5.   So off we set to Camping de l’Abbaye.  We arrived there, intending maybe to stay a few nights. We went to check in at campsite.  Full, well one pitch with no electric.  So, we headed off again to another ACSI site 20 minutes away. This was a municipal in the town of Saint-Laurent-en-Grandvaux and had plenty of spaces.  Outside of ACSI season, it was still only 19 Euro a night with electricity.

We paid for three nights, decided to put up the awning in ‘shed mode’ (most of the pitch was tarmac) and prepare supper).  We will stay here for three nights, and then maybe move on to the site near CERN.  Still an hour away.  Not a busy site. There do seem to be lots of walking and ski resorts to visit around here.  We will the use the van during the day to visit some of these.

This campsite is open all year round and is quite high up. You can see that by the way the loo block and dish-washing facilities have been built. They are well insulated and double glazed.