Wissant

We are now in Wissant a few miles from Calais ready for the crossing in the morning.

A nice town, though when we parked the person in the motorhome next to us ran out to say that last night a bike was stolen off the van in our space. This useful information has created some panic with us, and so the wheels have been removed and they will stay inside the van with us, the bikes won't fit in so the frames will be locked to the carrier and hopefully won't be attractive to the thief if he returns.

Fairly close to us was the site where the fortunately never used V3 weapons were to have been housed. The Fortress of Mimoyecques was to have contained a battery of V3 cannons capable of hitting London 165Km away.

 

   

We had a cycle around the area, the roundabout as you can see had quite a concerning image of a clown on it!

Cucq

We are now within 50 miles of Calais with one more night then onto the ferry at lunchtime.

On the way up we stopped by a beautiful chateau who's grounds were full of sculptures. Being a Monday it was closed, but we took some photos through the gates.

Today's Aire is a a holiday resort called Cucq, but being France some of the businesses only open for July and August, most of the others were actually closed down. On the inside of one shop was the message "The village that died", and a large proportion of the many houses and flats are up for sale.

We are in a road with sand dunes between us and the sea, and one thing the French are good at is sand dunes, these are huge. They would put Siloth to shame.

On the way up here we were overtaken by a lot of fancy sports cars from the UK making their way home from the Le Man's 24 hours racing. Took a photo of one parked next to us in a service area, it was a red Porsche, though to be honest it was more like a hairdresser's car compared to some.

Ry

We left the Siene and set off north towards Calais. We want to be as close as possible on the day we leave as our ferry is booked for before lunchtime.

 

Our other priority was to obtain water as our tank although 75 litres would have been running a little low.

We stopped at an Aire in Ry as it advertised water, which the previous one although advertising it had none. After a bit of faffing about with the hose, due to a non standard tap, then the filler breaking off. We now have a full tank, so as we could also hook up our electrical lead we both had a lovely hot shower.

I have now refilled our tank yet again, and we are good to go in the morning.

We had our usual walk around the town of Ry, and it is chocolate box beautiful. Angela heated up a nice bag of frozen paella we picked up at the supermarket for our evening meal.

It's 8pm now so we will be off for our evening walk once I have sent this.

Here we are by a river, and people keep coming to feed the ducks and stare at the gypsies in their campervan!

Ry was the setting for Madame Bovary, and our van is parked next to the tourist information in Gustave Flaubert Place. There is a Madame Bovary trail round the town we followed earlier showing which buildings were used as inspiration for the story.

The view from out of door where I'm sitting is one of the best yet, looking down the quaint old high street, with the field and tree studded skyline looking like it should be in the Chilterns.

Jumeices

We enjoyed staying at yesterday's Aire it being so quiet that we decided to stay another night.

This was just as well because we have finally tracked down the frog in more ways than one. Yesterday evening we went out for our evening walk around the town/village, and last night we came upon the village pond where a lot, and I mean a lot of frogs were calling. The hearing aids had a real work out!

Then this morning we went for quite a long bike ride involving crossing the Siene on a tiny car ferry.

We cycled to another village and ate our packed lunch, there was a lot of cyclists from a local bike club and on the back of one of the we spotted the frog!

We were overtaken by a senior cyclist on a racing bike, it turned out to be a Pinnarello Nytro (the company who make Team Sky's bikes) being ridden by a tiny woman of 70 who said you need all the help you can get at her age on the hills, well if you can afford £6000 I suppose you can do what you want, though I'm not sure I approve, just get lower gearing says I.

Whilst at the village an English couple turned up in a 4.5 supercharged Bentley, what a beast, and looking like new. Angela asked what it would have cost so I googled, a good reproduction would be up to £850,000 and a good original up to £2,500,00! Everyone who came past photographed it, and as it was right in front of us as the couple ate on the terrace of a nearby restaurant I got the impression people thought it was ours as they looked from it to the pair dressed in cycling gear!

The architecture is real Normandy now with it's timber frames. Someone had what I think was an old lime kiln in their garden, quite a feature.

We will be going further inland tomorrow before heading to Calais.

Hope I spotted all the autocorrections today! The phone keeps changing everything.....

Jumeices

Very warm here today, we have crossed the Siene and are at the bottom of one of the loops at Jumeices a village with the remains of a very large abbey.

Yesterday we stopped at one town, but decided quite late at around 6pm to move as the town didn't feel right.

Beaumont-le-Roger

We arrived late at Beaumont-le-Roger, and decided to have a belated wedding anniversary meal out as there was a pizza place right by our space. 14 euros for 2 pizzas which turned out to be lovely. We sat in the van to eat even though it was the same whether you eat in or took away.

 

In the morning we had a quick walk around the market, bought some tomatoes and a melon, bought some really fresh bread (see  photos, we watched baker removing loaves from the oven) then off for the next Aire. It was very quiet and next to the Siene, but the head of a large wild boar bobbing about near the van put me off. So we move again to the spot we are at now.

We have been out on the bikes again today.

 Courville-sur-Eure

Time rushing on now, we are re-entering Normandy today, heading north in the direction of Calais.

We arrived in Courville-sur-Eure a bit east of Chartres yesterday, and the River Eure is at the end of the Aire. The parking spaces are on grass, but as the water is so close, the river in flood and very high, and the grass so muddy we have all been allowed to park on the gravel adjacent.

By the parking space is a beautiful old watermill, so a few of photos of that.

 

We walked up into the town to buy some groceries, and take a look around. A mobile 80 seater cinema was quite a sight.

 

There was also a very odd, but nice concrete church.

Angela insisted on taking my photo with a cow outside the cheese shop,

unfortunately her finger got in the way a bit.

Before setting off this morning we walked up to the market in the town, just 5 stalls. The huge supermarkets over here are decimating retail. Some towns we go through have a single business still open and 20 empty shops.

 

  

The tombs around the church are very old so included a photo of the information about them. 

Sully sur Loire

We travelled to Sully sur Loire, it has an Aire behind the lovely chateau, and the Loire cycle track runs next to it so went out for a good long ride.

We cycled the whole Loire some years ago and now want to do it again.

The bug house in the town here is so large it actually has a need best in it! I think Peter would like one of these.