Hauts-de-France, 4 August

For me, particularly, today has been a much-needed rest day. We have driven about Hauts-de-France, finding first a Lidl to do some shopping (leaves the one at home standing!), then a lake near the banks of the Somme where we had lunch, and then in the afternoon we drove to a town called Doullens, where there was a citadel, which we looked at the outside of, and a museum which we should perhaps have visited. It also had services, which we used (€2), and we had a cup of tea.

After which we decided to go to Arras again and park up in the big car park by the cemetery where my uncle's name is on the Royal Flying Services Memorial, where we plan to spend the night. 

Hauts-de-France, 3 August

Discovered today that the region is actually called Hauts-de-France, not Grand Nord (which I'm sure I read somewhere that it was going to be called), so have edited everything.

I made an effort this morning and we were up and doing somewhat earlier than on other mornings.  We discovered how to use the local buses and caught one into the main part of town, which we wandered round, including visiting the Cathedral (which we also did a few years ago with a friend), and then a cup of coffee in a local café. We walked back to the station (where the buses went to and from) and did a little shopping in a local supermarket before returning to the van for lunch.

Then it was time to go to the Hortillonages, a series of gardens in the extensive canal network around the town.  You go on a boat trip - only €6 for an hour, excellent value - and the various gardens range from bare earth to jungle, via some lovely displays of flowers.

The canals themselves were full of wildlife - mallard, coot, a moorhen.... Only snag was the guide who was appalling and didn't really tell us anything. He kept saying do ask if you have any questions, but he never knew the answers, so what was the point?  But it was a lovely ride and well worth it!

Then back to the van for a cup of tea. I had hoped to go out again and make the most of my day ticket, but exhaustion overcame me and I slept. The SW went for a walk, though. 

Now we have anything really planned until Sunday; don't know what we shall do for the next couple of days!  We will need to use a services soon, and I need to shop (again!), but we have no real idea what we shall do. Watch this space.....

Hauts-de-France, 2 August

We had been going to go to the Hortillonages in Amiens today, and to the prehistoric museum at Samara tomorrow, but the Swan Whisperer rightly pointed out that, actually, Samara was on our route into Amiens, so we might as well swap them round. 

So we did, finding an Aldi to shop at en route, and arrived at the Samara car park in time for lunch. They meanly put a height barrier in place at night to stop camping-cars spending the night, but we are welcome in the daytime. We had our lunch, and then bought entrance tickets and went in.

I have to admit that I was disappointed with it.

There was lots to see, and we went on a guided tour of the main building following a guide whose mission it was to debunk "history" (eg they wouldn't have dug pits for woolly mammoths as the ground was frozen solid), but after that it went downhill, as nobody seemed to be doing any reconstruction or experimental archaeology except one potter and a flint-knapper, and the animal enclosures were all empty. I suppose it is better in term time, but the place was heaving with families. Plus there was an awful lot of walking, mostly uphill, between things; I flaked out before the end and left the Swan Whisperer to explore the marsh area on his own while I went back to the van and had a very welcome cup of tea!

So only one star, I think. We then drove on into Amiens and are parked in a public car park with several other motor homes, not too far from the Hortillonages, and I am making shakshuka for supper. And drinking the cider from last night - the apple juice, which we started at lunch time, is a great deal nicer than the sample we tasted!

Hauts-de-France, 1 August

Another very leisurely start to the day, during which we wandered round the leisure centre and saw where they rented pedalos and ran the Teleski from. There were a bunch of children in tents, and some kind of pods where people could sleep, although I've no idea what they did for sanitation.

We also saw the first ride of the day, some of the children obviously experienced, others less so.

After coffee, we headed to Mers-les-Bains, first of all calling in at the local aire to use the services. It was a privately-run site, and not free, but the very kind man who ran it said not to pay his fees as we weren't stopping, but to go to the Auchan petrol station instead, which would be cheaper.

So we said we would do that, but first decided to wander round the town. Mers-les-Bains is a lovely place - much of it is a conservation area from the Belle Epoch, with the houses decorated in Art Nouveau and Art Deco style.  It isn't very big - we walked most of the length of the beach, and then back through the town, and had a croque-monsieur in a café on the seafront, and an ice cream from the place next door. Then back to the motor home - amazingly, we hadn't had to pay for parking - and I went to the Auchan while the Swan Whisperer dealt with the services.

Then we went for a drive across country, trying to find where the daughter had been on an archaeological dig many years ago - it did not, until too late, occur to either of us to ring her up and ask if she remembered - and finally came to this orchard where we are spending the night. It sells apple juice (too sweet for my taste) and rather nice cider, so we bought a bottle of each.

There is another motor home parked here - the first time we've had company so far this holiday; surprising, really, since it is the height of the high season.

Hauts-de-France, 31 July

We had a leisurely breakfast and then visited the Blockhouse d'Eperlèques, in whose car park we had spent the night. The museum turned out to be basically a walk around, and in, the enormous structure, with various stops where sound broadcasts (in a variety of languages, including English) told you about it. The first stop was a cattle truck with sound effects to show a tiny bit of how it might have been. Only not really, as you could move and get out at any time!

The other sites told of the history of the building, how it had been intended to arm and fire up to 12 V2 rockets per day. However, a huge bombing raid in 1943 destroyed much of the work in progress (and, sadly, many of the slave labourers who had to work on it), and they cut back on their plans. I think it did still provide liquid oxygen to fuel the rockets, but not the rockets themselves.  The Allies finally liberated the site in 1944.

Then we headed off, stopping in a random Auchan for supplies, and we had lunch in its car park, and then again at the Hyper-U in Abbeville for diesel.  And so to the Lieu Dieu, a former abbey that now hosts a variety of random countryside activities, and welcomes motor homes under the France Passion scheme.  We are the only ones here, surprisingly -another one came in but went away again.  Out of one side there is a stream, and on the other a field full of horses!  And I can hear poultry and ducks!  Lovely.

Hauts-de-France 30 July

The two regions of France that used to be Nord-Pas de Calais and Picardie have been concatenated and are now known as Hauts-de-France and this is where we are spending the week.

We were up early this morning to load the motor home, and then I was preaching, but we came away quickly and, after lunch, set off for Folkestone. Unfortunately, there was quite a long delay, as we didn't get away until nearly 6:00pm rather than the 4:30 we had booked.  Which meant it was past 7:30 French time before we got off the shuttle, and a 45 minute drive here, to Eperlecques, where we plan to visit the blockhouse tomorrow before heading on.  And I have made a chicken casserole, and we are just going to eat it.  And then, it may be early, but I want my bed!

The Great Central Lament

Yesterday was my 64th birthday, and the Swan Whisperer gave me the present of a Railtour, called the Great Central Lament.  He even splashed out for First Class Dining, and I am very glad he did, as, unlike on the Railtour we went on last November, there weren't any stops where food could be had.

We had to be at Finsbury Park for 7:49 am, so got up at silly o'clock and were away by 7:00.  Finsbury Park is NOT a user-friendly station, nothing but steps, firstly up from the Victoria Line to street level, and then more steps up to the Network Rail platforms.  My poor knees - and I was certainly not the oldest and lamest person on the tour, by a long way.

The train came in on time and we found our seats - an old Pullman carriage (built in 1956, I was told later)  - at a beautifully-laid table.

I was hungry by then, having only a cup of tea inside me, but they took a long time to serve breakfast, which was orange juice, the choice of porridge or fresh fruit with  yoghurt and almond slivers, then a Full English or scrambled eggs with smoked salmon, and tea and coffee, plus various rolls and toast, including a chocolate twist that I accidentally took the last one of.... so I shared it with the Swan Whisperer, and then he got another one so shared it with me.  It was really rather good.  He had the porridge, although I told him he wouldn't like it as it was sweetened and had fruit in it, but he said it was actually quite nice.  I had the fruit.  And we both had the Full English, although I declined the bubble-and-squeak and baked beans that came round later.

We had hoped we had the full four seat bay to ourselves, but were joined at Stevenage by a very nice couple - it was her birthday treat, too - and they were very knowledgeable about railways and so on, which was nice.  The route we went was as follows:

I expect you can read it if you click on the image to enlarge it.  We went up the West Coast Main Line as far as Peterborough, and then all through the wilds of the old Great Central Line, including some Network Rail test track.  We stopped at the closed station of Ollerton to stretch our legs.

When we got back on the train, lunch was ready - a baked potato with coleslaw and cheese, and tea or coffee if you wanted it (which I didn't, at that stage). 

The train rolled on throughout the afternoon, sometimes running late, sometimes making up the time and having to wait for itself.  We knitted (my seatmate and I did; the menfolk didn't!), dozed, and enjoyed watching the beautiful English countryside, truly at its best at this time of year, roll by.  There were some interesting rail depots, too. 

Dinner was served quite early, and was a bit of a marathon.  The first course was a choice of prawn skewers (which the Swan Whisperer chose as he doesn't get prawns at home) or Crème du Barry soup, which is a posh name for cream of cauliflower soup, and very good it was, too.  This was followed by roast pork with all sorts of vegetables and apple sauce.  I know there was cod on offer, too, but I don't know what, if anything, they supplied for vegetarians; it is possible there were none on the tour, but I think you had to say when booking if this was what you wanted.  Anyway, I didn't want, so that was all right.  Then there was a choice of sweet or savoury - we all had the sweet, which was a delicious lemon tart with a fresh berry compote and cream, yummy, and, just as you thought you couldn't eat another mouthful, there was the cheeseboard!  I didn't have much cheese, but a token amount.  And they very kindly found me some lemon to have in my tea - I had had rather a lot of coffee with breakfast and didn't want any more that day - so that was nice, too.  And chocolates, which would have been nicer had they been chilled, but you can't have everything....

Meanwhile the train rolled on; the tables were cleared and people dozed or chatted.  Our new friends got out at Stevenage, so we had the table to ourselves for the last half hour and could get our things together ready to get out when we got back to Finsbury Park.  And down all those stairs, then straight on to a Victoria Line train and so home.

It really was a lovely day.  Quite apart from the pleasure of being on a train - always enjoyable - it was very luxurious, and the views from the train windows of the English countryside (and of Sheffield, if you like views of Sheffield!) were magnificent.  Most people would have liked a second leg-stretch before dinner, though, and were sorry there was no opportunity for one.  But it was a lovely day.  England really is beautiful on a summer's day.