Arriving early at the Coquelles Eurotunnel terminal, we were
able to take a slightly earlier train and were soon on our way to England.
Major roadworks on the M20 and M26 were a pain but the earlier delays at
Stonehenge had gone by the time that we got there.
Back then to lovely Somerset where it was not raining but I am sure that it won’t
last for long!
Photos: None.
ACSI lists a number of campsites close to Calais and we
chose one that we had not stayed at before – Camping Pommiers Des Trois Pays in
Licques.
The journey was straightforward and, as we came off the higher land, we saw the
flat expanse of the Pas-de-Calais laid out before us. We had some rain on the
journey, the first proper rain that we have had whilst driving on this trip.
Apart from a little rain in Sappada and the thunderstorms in Trieste, we have
had excellent weather. I have worn shorts and t-shirts every day and, in the
first part of the holiday it was very hot.
We stopped at a Carrefour supermarket on the edge of Licques and stocked up
with French goodies. The campsite was pleasant, with many trees and large grass
pitches. Our pitch was scattered with fallen sweet chestnuts and the trees were
groaning with the weight of the nuts. A sign at the sanitary block told us that
we were welcome to pick the apples from the trees – the larger ones were better
for eating and the smaller ones for cider.
We had no time to investigate the area but spent our time organising the
shopping in the van before cooking a meal.
Photos: A last chance for the travelling sourdough culture to absorb some French wild yeasts before returning to England. I must say that very few of the croissants that we had in France (or Austria and Germany) matched the quality of those produced by our local Burns The Bread and its Master Baker and friend, Bob Burns.
We stopped at the Netto supermarket just a few kilometres
from the campsite and stocked up with typical German goods. The Ouzo (okay, I
know that Ouzo is Greek) was half the price that it is in the UK and the mind-boggling
selection of beer was extremely good value.
Then on to more motorway driving through Luxembourg (where we filled up with
cheap fuel), Belgium and into France. Unfortunately, when we came off the
motorway, we hit a ‘route barree’ (road closed) that the French are very keen
on. The diversion was a big one and it extended our journey by half an hour.
We chose a paid aire in Charleville-Mezieres, one of those run by Camping Car
Park. We have used their aires in the past and have a card that enables us to use
them, allowing us to load the card with funds and operate the barrier for entry
and exit. Usefully the website shows how many places the aire has and how many
are available. It also allows you to book a place but only on the day that you
are going to arrive. We have never taken up that option and the website showed
that there were plenty of places available.
After a few days of travel and little time for exercise of sightseeing, we
decided that we would like to take a look at Charleville-Mezieres. The site is
in a lovely, quiet position next to the marina on the Meuse river. We walked a
couple of hundred metres along the side of the river to a footbridge that
spanned the water and took us into the old town on the other side. We were
charmed by the town and especially by the huge square ringed with cafés and
restaurants where many people were enjoying an early evening drink. In the
centre of the square was a large stage where a hoard of young people were
listening to announcements and to recorded music. We worked out that it must be
Freshers’ Week at the local university and the students were obviously having a
good time.
The rather loud music put us off having a drink in the square but we did find
an open air bar with a view over the Meuse. We were lucky to get a table with a
view of the river and down to a pizzeria below the bar where they had an outdoor
oven and preparation area. It was fun to watch them preparing the pizzas and
cooking them. It was a very small bar but there was a band setting up in one
corner. We left after they had done their sound checks, just before they
started their set. It was a modern jazz group, quite good but the band rather
drowned out the lovely voice of the female singer. It was also loud – we could
still here the music when we got back to the van.
From the little that we saw, Charleville-Mezieres is an interesting place and
we will definitely call in again on a future sojourn and stay a little longer.
Photos: Feeding ducks at the marina next to the aire; Part of the magnificent square in Charleville-Mezieres; The view over the Meuse from the bar; The bar and pizzeria.
