The previous evening we crawled into our tent at 10pm and not long after, the rain we’d been expecting for days finally came, loud and heavy. I ignored the thought of packing up a wet tent and willed myself to sleep.

We awoke at 6am to glorious sunshine and headed to the monestery for a quick photo and drone shot, then packed up our wet tent and we were on our way.

The roads today were long and boring and my knee is still playing up. After 43 kms we made it to a scenic town of Fourgeres and booked into a hotel for two nights. We checked into our room at 3pm, and we both immediately passed out exhausted, and didn’t wake up until 6pm.

It is a public holiday in France today and all the restaurants and shops were shut. Thankfully we found a kebab place open. Mike had kebab, chips and salad, and I had the same but with felafel.

The next morning we had to move rooms in the hotel as our room was booked for that evening. It’s amazing how much we can spread out in one afternoon! We spend the morning packing up and moving, then did a tour around the town.

Fougeres is very old, with signs of habitation dating back to 5000 BC. It sits at the crossroads of two roman roads. The town initially had a wooden fortification which was replaced in the 11th century with a stone one and was enlarged and enhanced in the 14th century to try to stop the many attempts to override the town.

There is also a chateau here which we viewed from a distance.

After the tour, a handsome Frenchman took me into a little room and closed the curtain while I took my pants down. Okay, it’s not as dodgy as it sounds. The pharmacist was getting me to try on a knee brace for size. So I bought the knee brace and some anti-inflammatory gel and hope this will help.

We spent the rest of the day resting, hoping to get back on the bikes tomorrow.