BON JOUR MON AMIS!

Oui…we are now in France, but more about that later.  Last Monday (6^th May) was a bank holiday in England…Boris took M & M and us two on a picnic, first to Kilve Beach where the car park was so crowded there was no room for us, then to the most

Westerly point in the Quantock Hills with the most magnificent views over St Audries and the Bristol Channel across to the south coast of Wales. We spent a leisurely few hours basking in the warm sunshine and enjoying the company and the views before

Packing up and heading off.   The weather for the whole bank holiday long weekend

was wonderful, Monday being the warmest day we’ve had.

Tuesday dawned bright and sunny and we set off on the next part of our adventure,

Heading east towards London….though our travel plans changed after a couple of

stops for supplies for Boris and we proceeded through Cheddar gorge, Bath and on

To the M4 as far as Maidenhead where we exited for the Amerden Caravan Park, Taplow, booking in for a one night’s stay.  A top park, though close to the motorway and traffic noise, which didn’t really bother us, it was just a hum in the background.  After our evening meal we walked to the nearby towpath alongside the Thames, crossed the River by the motorway bridge and into the Hinds Head Inn at Bray.  Judging by the cars parked at the pub, and the houses we passed on the way, we guessed that Bray might be a village for the affluent!

In the morning, after the overnight rain had cleared, we strolled down to the river again, this time to look at the lock…there was a boat about to go through so we stopped to watch and talk to the lock keepers and an ex policeman cyclist who told us about nearby Dorney Court, where some scenes from Midsomer Murders are filmed.  He said it was well worth a visit, so we packed up and drove to the place, to find it didn’t open to visitors until 1.30pm.  As it was only just 12 noon, we didn’t think we wanted to wait so took off for nearby Windsor instead.  We could only find a car park for 1 hour so had a wander around the town, down to the river and through a gorgeous park before continuing our journey to Petham, 4.5 miles south of Canterbury, staying at the Yew Tree Park. 

Because we arrived there late in the afternoon, we decided to have a light meal at the Chequers Inn, just around the corner. 

On Thursday morning, we caught a bus into Canterbury which was absolutely chokkers with tourists, (mainly European students) so we didn’t bother to queue to get into the cathedral but were content to stroll around the town, catching the 12.45pm bus back to Petham. 

We left Petham shortly after 9am on Friday (10^th) drove to Dover, caught the 11.15am ferry to Calais.  The channel crossing was relatively smooth though the wind was very strong…we couldn’t stay out on the open deck for too long or we’d have been icicles!  From Calais we drove about 40 kms south to Le Portel, a seaside town, where we stayed the night in an almost free (3 Euros) camping car park.  After settling in, we walked along the headland in the blustery wind, managing to not get blown away, and into the town and back, stopping at a patisserie to buy two enormous almond coated apple cakes for 1.50 Euros each…yum! 

It’s Saturday (11^th) and we’re currently sitting in a beach car park where we are able to get WiFi, having just had lunch and washed up…it hasn’t rained for a while and the sky looks a little clearer but the wind is still rocking poor old Boris around a lot.  We ventured the few yards down to the beach when we first arrived, rugged up with jumpers and jackets and beanies and gloves and scarves….it was freezing!  It’s supposed to be warm and sunny!!!  Never mind…it can only get better. Gotta go and find a place to stay for the night so that’s all for now.

PS I tried loading photos but the link is slow and I only haveone hour of usage .