Trunnie

Can I suggest the following in South Wales - The Rhigos Road - the A4061 from Treherbert to Glynneath (taking the old Rhigos Road up from Glynneath, rather than the A465).I got lucky in August and the section at Treherbert was closed, so I had the first half of the road from Hirwaun Industrial estate to myself:) It can be coupled with The A4107 from Port Talbot through Cymmer to Treorchy. If you're doing the A4069 from Llangadog to Brynamman (I agree with the recommendation for this route, though the 40mph limit is a shame) and need to head N from Llangadog, then the A4069 from Llangadog to Llandovery is more interesting than the A40 option. The A481 from Builth Wells to Llanfihangel-nant-Melan (especially the Northern section after Hundred House). Not exactly ideal for a 7, but if you're near Beulah, Abergwesyn Common and the Devil's Staircase are great views (though the forest thereafter from the start of LLynb Brianne towards the dam wall has been cut, so it's a lot less scenic.The section from LLyn Brianne down through Rhandirmwyn to Llandovery is still scenic and is more 7 friendly as the road is wider as it was used for the dam's construction traffic.

Another vote for the Route des Grandes Alpes, I did it last year; it is stunning and ideal for a Caterham. The only problem was that I did it during the transhumance, which is when they bring the cows down from the alpine meadows for the winter. There were slight hold ups as they wandered along the roads, but the worst was that the roads where they had passed were covered in cow dung. I'll remember the gentle plop, plop of the sound of cow dung hitting the rear wings and it took a while to jet wash off the 2cm or so thickness of the stuff. Although aimed at cyclists, I found this website good https://en.routedesgrandesalpes.com/cycle-route. Others may disagree, but for a Caterham, I thought that the Route Napoleon was not really worth it.

I'm running the "new" Yokohoma AO52s in 185/55/R14 on my 275 SV. They were recommended by my local French Caterham dealer (SV Automobiles), for mainly road and some track. I can't compare them to anything other the original Avon ZV1's they replaced and are definitely a distinct improvement, seem to have reasonable properties in the rain, but haven't really pushed them when its been raining a lot.

Consider a spare bulb set for France. Not that it's obligatory to carry it, but it's a €68 fine if you are caught driving with non-functioning lights. Pretty pointless for a lot of tintops as the bulbs aren't user changeable and I've lost track of the number of cars here in Ile de France with at least one non-functioning brake light.

Hi Jonathan, Two canisters, one red and one black bag please (for delivery to a UK address, not here in France). Many thanks Steve