Basque country, Brittany and Jura: three epic camping road trips across France

From the cliff-top roads of the Pyrenees to the ‘almost islands’ of western France and the waterfalls and wild meadows of Jura, author Martin Dorey picks three favourite slow road adventures from his France guide

Start Saint-Jean-de-Luz
End Col de Peyresourde
Distance 217 miles
Allow 4-5 days

I came across the Route Thermale on an old, dog-eared map while trying to find a coherent route across the Pyrenees. Scanning the winding mountain roads I noticed, in tiny print, the words “Route Thermale” against the D918. I was intrigued. I turned to my phone and discovered that the route was financed by Napoleon III to join up the spa towns across the mountains – a perfect “slow road” adventure. My map had it marked as being “scenic” for almost its entire length, and it wasn’t hard to see why.