Alps 2020 - Day 4

The day started dreary and wet but it soon dried up and the first 70 miles were a relatively straight run west along a valley, with towering mountains either side. Tame compared to yesterday but pretty and a great cruise.

At Martigny we turned up to the famous Grand St Bernard Pass. Being one of the oldest passes and with a modern replacement, this one is narrow and bumpy, almost like Applecross but it goes up to 8000 feet:

At the top is the Swiss-Italian border and the less inhibited Italians loved our cars; one woman insisted on a photo in the driving seat, then a couple of kids. For our few hours in Italy, loads of locals stopped and stared and every time we stopped, someone came up to ask a question. They like their cars...

On the way down, I followed a lovely, new Renault Alpina. It was surprisingly wide and quite quick but I think the guy got a little worried of crashing his very expensive toy - he let me past after 3 or 4 miles with me tied to his rear bumper.

The last stretch to the gite we were staying at was relatively simple but always stunning scenery all around:

A bit of lack of planning meant a meal of coke and fruit bars - so rock and roll.

Tomorrow is a loop round the French Alps...

Video of the day:

Map of today's route: