Sunday 16th December 2007

We were organised this morning and were on the road before 10:00. For us, this was quite impressive given that the outside temperature was -4°C and the windscreen was frozen solid. A good third of the fishing lake was iced over when we drove past it on the way out.
Unfortunately, we had a long distance to travel today so we had to accept that we would be travelling on major roads and motorways. If possible, we tend to chose routes on more minor roads as, especially in France, they are often very good and totally deserted. Motorways and major roads normally avoid towns and villages, which are often the highlights of our trips and we have discovered many interesting places by taking the byways. If you have the time, travelling is as much about the journey as it is about the destination and travelling the byways is to be recommended. Anyway, today is about getting to the destination and the journey was uneventful and somewhat uninteresting. The scenery was flatter and we went through very few towns and villages but it was easy driving and we arrived at the very reasonable time of 15:30 at our campsite at Montreuil just one hour south of Calais. This meant that we were able to locate a pitch, hook up to the power and investigate the town whilst it was still light.
The campsite is next to the port of Montreuil on the river Canche, which was very important in mediaeval times. It was also a very important area for mills with three spanning the river next to the campsite and many more downstream where the river splits into many fast-flowing but relatively shallow parts. We decided to stroll into town and soon discovered that we were at the bottom of the hill and the main town, with huge defensive walls was on the hill above. Being a Sunday, the town was deserted but we had a very pleasant walk through it and came back around the walls. It is possible to walk the whole of the walls and, as the land around is relatively flat, the views are excellent. Our initial intention was to walk into the town for a meal this evening but when we found how far it was (and uphill) we decided against it. The sun was shinning but the outside temperature had not exceeded 6°C for the whole journey and with a slight breeze, it was bitterly cold. The idea of the walk to and from the restaurant in the dark with the temperature plummeting, did not appeal.
Jane has just raided the larder and freezer and, with a little help from Delia Smith, is preparing a variation on Vegetarian Shepherd's Pie although, as it is going to contain bacon, it can't be described as 'vegetarian'. It also doesn't contain lamb or any shepherd, so it can't really be called 'shepherd's' either. Come to think of it, why is Shepherd's Pie called that? Would shepherds have eaten the animals that they were looking after? If the truth be known, they probably had a vegetarian diet most of the time.
Photos: None