Day 272 – EU – France [Chateaudun to Fretigny]

01/01/21

40km

  From Chateaudun (France) to Fretigny (France)

Europe

Happy New Year everyone! Starting 2021 with a beautiful run through white, frozen countryside with blue sky and sunshine too

I had been warned it would freeze in the morning and it did. It was absolutely stunning as I left Chateaudun before dawn. There was no traffic. It was silent, eerie and the countryside was all covered in white frost. The sky was clear and as the sun rose, the frozen fields reflected hues of yellow and orange, it was a show, the great show of nature, of which I was the sole spectator that early in the morning on 1st January 2021! How privileged.

This region of France is very rural and not very densely populated. I passed by two small villages today. As I passed by Fraze I saw the imposing and well preserved middle-age castle of Fraze. Complete with machicolations, dry moats and a flamboyant drawbridge, it was quite a vision! The village itself is beautiful and voted one of the favorites in the country by french people.

Tonight I am staying in a very remote place, a former farmhouse that has been modernised and turned into an amazing guesthouse. I am enjoying traveling through France as I realise I know very little, especially of the Centre region. Temperatures are now well below zero Celsius as I leave in the morning and I am going to watch out for black ice. And tomorrow, I’m heading to Chartres, another beautiful city!

Check my daily run GPS data on or

Here is the map of today’s run: