5 weeks of intensive prep followed the purchase of our first 110 with which we were planning on heading to Corsica, not so much off-road prep, more like changing all fluids, cambelt, anything that didn't quite work right so we knew we had less of a chance of things going wrong along the way. We also fitted a decent radio, sat-nav, CB, comfortable front seats, sound proofing, etc... to make the journey more pleasant.

Set off one thursday, very early in the morning, dark and wet on our way down the south of england, then through France and finally to Corsica.

The drive to the eurotunnel was uneventful, an hour later we're getting some early shopping done at "Cite de l'Europe".
Quick fuel-up, sunglasses and music on, we set off for the first long leg of the journey to Avignon.

<http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&saddr=Ascot,+Windsor+and+Maidenhead,+SL5,+UK&daddr=Avignon,+France&hl=en&geocode=&mra=ls&sll=41.409935,9.183422&sspn=0.00445,0.011373&ie=UTF8&z=6>

We spotted a few defenders along the way, most waved or flashed. We overtook one particular belgian and his 90 3 times as we stopped for fuel or food, waving frantically as we drove past every time.

As we approach Valence, heavens opened and we were treated to a lightning show, I (mrFrog) was amazed, mrsFrog who was driving wasn't !
We finally made it to our hotel in Avignon, my hopes to see the famous "Pont d'Avignon" dashed, it was too late and we needed to sleep.
As I nodded off, I was privately proud of our little landie which got us so far without hassle. I did cross my fingers in my back though
Early morning start, we're back on the road, mostly on motorways since we had a boat to catch in Nice

<http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&saddr=Avignon,+France&daddr=Nice,+France&hl=en&geocode=&mra=ls&sll=47.67991,2.26314&sspn=8.181051,23.291016&ie=UTF8&z=9>

Wonderful sights and smells along the road from Marseille to Nice, we arrived in plenty of time, sun shining, temperatures in the mid 30s.

The famous "promenade des anglais"

The harbour

Waiting in line

Lovely tall ship

Our transport for the next few hours


Mirabella V - the world’s largest single masted sailing yacht. (75m long, cost over US$50million, charter from US$375,000 per week)
More details here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mirabella_V and http://www.mirabellayachts.com/mirabella5/ if you are interested.


The last leg of the journey was uneventful again, finally arriving at our destination at 22:30 local time. 41 hours after leaving home.
<http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&saddr=Bastia,+France&daddr=20137+Porto-Vecchio,+France&hl=en&geocode=&mra=ls&sll=43.68883,6.03486&sspn=1.098254,2.911377&ie=UTF8&z=9>

Our defender met our uncle's toyota landcruiser - a 30 year old machine which I happen to like a lot.




Found quite a few working defenders here and everywhere, there are everywhere on the island.




And finally got to drive to a few magnificent places





Unfortunately, some places aren't as pristine as they should. Sign says "Respect nature, use the bin"


Needing some blackberries to make jam for our uncle and aunt, we took to the mountains.



Met some wildlife

Dirt tracks

Deep ruts

MrsFrog off roading for the first time, not huge articulation, but enough to worry you when you're not used to high ground clearance.


100% Concentration


More pictures of the defender on location




Finally, on the return trip, a well equipped french 90 on the boat


We took a slightly different route on our return since we had to stop off in Normandy for a wedding. We decided to go a little further east, as far as Montpellier so we could drive on the famous Millau bridge, some of you may have seen it featured on top gear some time ago.

Unfortunately, our timing was rather poor and we crossed the bridge at night. Here's the only decent (arty ?) picture we managed to get

This is what it looks like in day time




That's it, our Corsican trip. We covered around 2500 miles in total, with no major mechanical problems, and averaged 26.6mpg with a peak up to 29.9. That was driving at a pretty constant 80mph on the GPS (130km/h) on the motorways.

Quote of the week - mrsFrog asking me if I was worried at one point during the return journey...
Me (driving): "No why ?"
mrsFrog: "You're only doing 50mph, that's rather slow"
Me: "No, pedal to the metal, but we're going up a steep hill"

Must do it again - definitely...

Hope you've enjoyed the read
Greg & Nathalie