Resting in the Lys Valley

09/03/2026

After Pila, guess where we went. Yes, that’s right, we popped back to Châtillon. We’re not the only people who are using this location as a bit of a hub. We’ve started to see some of the same vans popping in and out to use the services or get on the EHU for a bit of a top up.

Châtillon

As we were on EHU we treated ourselves to some belly pork from the Conad supermarket. I cooked it slowly in the air fryer which worked really well, using the same approach as we would at home – a quick blast to start rendering the fat and then a long slow cook to make the meat tender. It was delicious and a bit different than our normal motorhome food which tends to be hob based.

The following morning Paul woke up with a catalogue of aches and pains. He’d taken rather a fast tumble in Pila. As often happens, straight after the event he popped back up, seemingly unharmed. But once the adrenaline had worn off and he’d had a night’s sleep he realised that he had a ‘diagonal’ injury. His right shoulder and left calf were very tight and he was hobbling around. He was obviously going to need a bit of a rest.

Pont Saint Martin

We decided we would slowly drive up the Lys Valley, do a bit of sightseeing and have a few days without skiing to allow Paul’s calf to recover. I wondered if he would want me to drive but as we’ve got an automatic and Paul’s right leg was unharmed he said he would be fine to drive. I think he would have said that even if both his legs had fallen off.

Pont Saint Martin was our first destination. There is no official motorhome parking here, but we took a look at a couple of parking spots on P4N. We ended up parked behind the Bocciodromo, which we found out is an indoor bowls stadium. That would explain the average age of the people chatting in the car park.

In the car park under terracing for grape vines

Pont Saint Martin is a town that is considered to be the eastern entry point to the Aosta Valley. On the outside of the Bocciodrome were a few noticeboards with the route of the Cammino Balteo – a long distance walk that circles the whole Aosta valley – and the Via Francigena – a pilgrimage route that travels through the Aosta Valley.

Paul claimed injury and a need to rest and elevate his leg, so I went out for sightseeing on my own. As the name of the town would suggest, this is a place best known for it’s bridge. The 1st century Roman bridge over the river Lys was a key part of one of the Roman routes to Gaul. Astoundingly this delicate single span bridge has stood for all that time, in constant use until the 19th century when an alternative bridge was built. It even survived bombing by the allies in WWII who were trying to disrupt this key route through the alps.

I wandered around the old town, taking many photos of the bridge and the views over the valleys. Terracing is everywhere, making the most of any available south facing space for vines. A ruined medieval castle stands above the town, but I couldn’t find a footpath that would take me there. I followed signs to the ‘castello’ but only reached a more modern building which was built in the 19th century and subsequently gifted to the municipality.

Fontainemore

Following a peaceful night in the car park we popped to the Conad supermarket for a few groceries. Conad clinched their place in my heart as number one Italian supermarket by giving me a free plant as part of their Easter campaign. I’m very easily won over.

A little stonecrop which I’m trying to keep alive

The road out of Pont Saint Martin had a few narrow-ish sections between buildings but when we left the town behind we were up on a lovely mountain road with beautiful views. Our first stop was the pretty village of Fontainemore. It’s one of the ‘Borghi Più Belli d’Italia’, a list of the most beautiful villages in Italy. There are only three villages listed in the Aosta valley and this is certainly a pretty spot with it’s medieval bridge and tumble of stone buildings.

View of Fontainemore from our carpark

While Paul carefully followed the RICE principles I went out for a run to explore the area. Although I say run, it was more of a fast walk as the uphills were steep and the downhills were ankle deep in slippery autumn leaves and chestnut burrs. At one point I slipped and put my hand down only to be spiked by a burr. After I’d pulled the irritating little spines out of my palm I decided to take a lot more care.

Gressoney-Saint-Jean

Finally we ended up at the sosta in Gressoney-Saint-Jean. This is somewhere we’ve been before although somehow both of us had forgotten that it has electricity which was a lovely bonus. We arrived on the Sunday afternoon and it was really busy, but by the end of the evening we were the only people left. A typical Italian weekend.

Parked in Gressoney-Saint-Jean

The parking is a little south of the village, at the teeny tiny ski resort of Weissmatten. It has one lift and three-ish runs. Paul was obviously still resting his aches and pains so I went for a half day ski for the bargain price of €19 which I really enjoyed. I wasn’t the only person skiing but it sometimes felt like it and the runs were steep enough to be challenging. They should be, they have been used for slalom competitions. There is even a floodlit slope for night time competitions and special events.

Staffal

After a night in the sosta at Weissmatten we were ready to move onto the head of the valley at Staffal (or Tschavel). Hopefully Paul’s leg would be up to some skiing by the time we got there.