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Heavy rain and strong winds don't improve Chabanais this morning. We set off via a fuel stop and drive along a pretty cross country route west through yet more gorgeous autumn woodlands. Although there are showers there is not the grey mistiness of the last couple days.
Near Cellefroiin we stop in a quiet layby for lunch and look back over our options for tonight. An aire at Matha, by the river, has electricity points so we set off for that.
The rain stops as we enter the Charente region and we have sun and patches of blue sky. There is a big change in landscape too; the long hills and thickly wooded valleys changing to open rolling countryside of arable farmland and the occasional vineyard for cognac.
When we get to Matha it is a nice enough spot. Three vans are already there looking like they have been parked for a while. There is one plug free, but the track and parking spaces are muddy and soft and we get a bit of wheelslip just turning around.
A few miles north we find a Passion, Les Raisins de l'Abbaye at Asnieres la Giraud, a cognac producer. The owner is away so we park next to a large willow with views over fields one way and the farm sheds the other.
A worker is manouevring tractors from the large selection in the shed, ranging from a huge combine harvester to a tiny tractor not much bigger than a mobility scooter. The shed is like Thunderbird 2's hanger as the worker moves tractors and selects implements from the machinery of mixed colours and shapes at the back. Eventually the noise stops, Virgil le Tracey has a pee in the hedge and goes home.
The owner comes to meet us and Ali goes for tasting at 18:30, returning with a bottle of aperitif.
It's a peaceful, quiet evening with clear skies and a bright, high moon.
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