Monday 20th October 2008 – Montreuil, France

We had identified a large Leclerc hypermarket on the edge of St.Valery-en-Caux and headed there to do some last minute shopping before we left for England. We loaded up with cassoulet, brie, camembert, more wine and other wonderful French goodies.
It was a lovely drive in the morning along quiet country roads with the sun shining brightly. However the sky clouded over during the afternoon as we approached Montreuil. We have used the campsite at Montreuil before and believe that it is one of the better sites close to the Channel ports. The site is surrounded by the outer walls of the town, the main part of which stands, impressively defended on the steep hill behind. We parked up beside the remains of one of the towers on the wall and admired the view over the river and the ruins of a number of watermills. After some rearrangement of the motorhome lockers to accommodate the shopping, I went for a walk along the river and then across fields, up the hill to the town. I admired the defensive walls and huge ditch for some distance before I managed to find a way through them and into the town. On a clear day there are superb views from the walls and the town itself is very pleasant. I walked through the town and out of one of the main gates, finding a route into the campsite and discovering that it actually climbs on terraces to within a few metres of the upper walls.
Photos: The river at Montreuil – the campsite is just the other side of the wood on the right; Montreuil’s defences.