OK, so James Bond 007 is a secret agent, but this mission isn’t, so it’s time to share the first part of the route briefing, pay attention all you ’00’ agents.

The film is initially true to Ian Fleming’s book, with Bond following super-villain Auric Goldfinger across France to Switzerland. Both Bond and Goldfinger’s cars are transported to France via air ferry from Kent, but as these days the air-link is long gone and as I live in Cornwall, we are going to have to bend the rules a bit, anyway I end up driving more miles than Bond as a result! So first up, it’s the ferry from Plymouth to Roscoff in Brittany.

Bond, in his Aston Martin DB4, follows Goldfinger across northern France to an overnight stop in Orléans;

“Bond had never cared for Orléans. I was a priest and myth ridden town without charm or gaiety.” Good enough advice! Harley and I will stay in my regular billet near Chinon and pick up the trail near Nevers.

From there the antagonists head south on the N7, before picking up the N79 to Macon. In the book, it is here that Bond runs into Tilly Masterson, literally! In the film we will see it is a fair bit different.

Bond traversed Bourg en Bresse and passed through Pont-d’Ain then picked up the N84, which is now the D1084; we will cut the corner on the D979 and link into the old ’84 near Nantua. I’m going to take a check then how I feel about things. In the  book, Bond goes into Geneva and finds Goldfinger’s lair at Coppet on Lake Geneva; the film is different…so ride along and find out!

Catch you down the road…

Under your feet the grass is growin’!

Dookes