Tuesday, 27 August 2013

Friday 23rd August 2013 – Thann, France

Still on the plains of Haut-Sommes long straight roads passed huge border-less fields. Roman roads then a fenced in field with the Mediaeval ridge and furrow pattern – a preserved field?? When we first came to France there were only a very few roundabouts – all 'priorite a droit' when anything approaching from the right had priority. Then the French decided to adopt the British roundabout and, with the zealousness of the converted, they put them everywhere even in the most rural of locations where the chances of two vehicles approaching within the same minute is extremely slim. It was therefore a delight when the Sat Nav announced “continue for 50km” which meant that there were no turnings and no roundabouts for a whole 30 miles!
There were two more archaeological sites on our route both near Naix-aux-Forges. We couldn't find the first but managed to find the second although wished we hadn't! It turned out to be 1.5 km along a stone track, including a section up a steep hill. It was another Celtic oppidum and the site that we couldn't find was, probably, a more interesting Roman temple however it was a long walk to the site and we didn't have time to visit it.
With Henrietta no worse for her stone-track experience, we ploughed on using the smoother asphalt of a proper road.
We arrived at the pretty town of Thann on the River Thur where we parked up in the aire next to the river. We had time to explore the town and to chat to our British neighbours, Simon and Julie. They are from Devon and run an unusual business – Legionnaire's Disease Prevention.
Photos: A unique War Memorial in the very small village of Naives-en-Blois, carved in stone it shows a soldier looking out over the sandbags of a WWI trench; Houses on the River Thur in Thann.




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