Motoring
| Author | J. A. H. Gott |
| Published date | 01 September 1961 |
| Date | 01 September 1961 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/0032258X6103400506 |
| Subject Matter | Article |
1. A.
H.
GOTT,
M.B.E.,
G.M.
Chief Constable
of
Northamptonshire
Our Motoring Correspondent gives his impressions
of
a recent
tour on the Continent and comments upon the apparent eclipse
of
British cars and drivers in the current World's Championship.
Motoring
MOTORING
A LA FRAN(:AISE
Hotels and Restaurants
Whilst making apreliminary appreciation
of
the course
and
actually competing in the
1961
Alpine Rally, I was fortunate enough
to spend some weeks during early May and late June in the French
Alps and on the French Riviera, two
of
the most favoured touring
grounds for English people.
In my mind there is no
doubt
whatsoever which season provides
the best value for money. In early
May
not only is the countryside
at its loveliest and the air is free from the sharp heat of mid-summer,
but it is possible to drive without a fixed plan, stop at any place
which looks attractive, be reasonably sure of finding accommodation
and certain of a warm welcome as the staff are not too busy to give
individual attention. At the Hotel Hermitage in Megeve in
Haute
Savoie in May, two very dirty Englishmen arriving without notice
at 8.30 p.m. in a travel-stained sports
car
which had covered over
600 miles since an early breakfast, were met in the hotel garage
by the proprietor, achamber-maid, a boy to carry the luggage
and
another to take the
bar
order. The same two Englishmen, arriving
in their best clothes at 6.30 p.m. at a
popular
Riviera resort in June,
had to carry their own luggage to the reception desk where they
were blandly told
that
their rooms, booked some three months
before and so confirmed in writing,
had
been given to a French
family. In mid-summer it is in fact almost impossible to get rooms
in hotels on the main tourist Routes Nationales unless one has
either booked well in advance or commences inquiries
not
later
than
5p.m.
Lodging in France is reasonable,
but
food is very
dear
and
£5-
£6 is by no means an excessive sum to expect to spend
per
day
in semi-luxury class hotels; at the height
of
the summer season,
of
course, these figures are liable to a sharp increase.
September-October 342
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