I woke up early and left the campsite a bit before 7:30am. I wanted to drive the road around the Gorges early on, so it wasn't too busy. My plan was to do the entire loop around the Gorges, maybe stop for a bit and have a swim. However, the plan was foiled by the fact that the road was closed, so you couldn't drive the whole way around! It didn't actually say anything (and my GPS didn't pipe up with anything useful) until you were close to the point where you had to turn around, as the road turned into one-way traffic! It was actually really frustrating - I'd driven all the way around one side to then have to go back the way I came, as the traffic steadily got busier. The road itself was narrow, a tight squeeze for two cars passing. It also had sheer cliffs to one side, so I definitely didn't want to get too close to the edge.
Despite all this, it was an absolutely beautiful drive. I even saw some mountain goats! I'll let the photos tell the story, as I stopped often in the passing places (it was quiet so I wasn't in the way), so I have lots of pictures!
I stopped at a town called La-Palud-sur-Verdon, where I parked to have a wander around because it looked pretty. It was still early morning so very sleepy. The mountains were also under a light layer of cloud.
I took the road down to the D23, the road that goes around the actual gorge, and drove it all the way around until its abrupt end. It was such a beautiful drive.
I have a little bit of regret about my next move - I was torn between going the other way around the gorge or continuing on my journey. I chose the latter, because the gorge road was only getting busier and I'd already taken about a thousand photos of it, but I still kind of wish that I'd driven the other way around. Oh well - I drove onwards over the mountains of Provence and down into the French Riviera.