Into northern France

Fri 1st may
Happy may day everyone. My last month on the road starts with glorious weather so walk round Chalons en Champagne and grab a bit of culture. Everywhere is very quiet as it's a holiday but the cathedral and churches are open which is fine as i'm into gothic at the mo. Chalons is a pleasant place to stroll around due to the waterways, green space and variety of architecture; lots of timber frames, decorative brickwork and carved stone.

Sat 2nd may
Give bike an overhaul, repair puncture etc. Back into Chalons to visit fine arts museum, a little disappointing as half of it was shut for refurbishment. Incidentally, fine arts museums in France cover just about everything; natural history, geology, furniture, etc. as well as paintings and sculptures. Return to find the two german cycle tourists here yesterday have been replaced by two from Holland. This stretch of France down to Troyes is on the Santiago pilgrims route so more walkers and cyclists than usual.

Sun 3rd may
A grey, chilly morning threatening showers. Lent campsite book to one of the dutch cyclists whilst packing. Set out NE to look at Atilla's camp; turned out to be just a large ring shaped earthworks. Sign said it was probably Celtic but 'called' Atilla's camp. Atilla did meet the Romans somewhere near Chalons but i've no idea where. Head for St. Hilaire au Temple and the Templar fair which was a cross between a farmers market and craft fair, the only thing Knights Templar about it were the few people wearing white tunics with a red cross. Unless of course, the templars really did use battery operated clocks with a photo of a cat in the middle. Head NW towards Reims with plenty of time to spare so detour through various small villages which are deathly quiet as it's Sunday lunch. Passing through Bouy there is a model of Henri Farman's biplane, I guess he came from around here. With the flat featureless landscape, wind and grey skies the journey has turned out to be a little tedious and disappointing. Not sure whether to go through Reims or around it tomorrow.

Mon 4th may
As there is a town plan of Reims on my map and it looks fairly easy to get into I decide to give it a go. Apart from an initial 4k of busy road it was plain sailing (or cycling). Visit Basilique St. Remi; it's from this SE quarter of Reims centre that the real Quasimodo and Esmerelda came from apparently. Onto the cathedral but that's way over the top for my taste. There's another statute of Joan of Arc in front of cathedral. I've seen many depictions of her since the first statue at Alise sur Reine, obviously a popular lass in these parts. North out of Reims on quiet country roads through flat, featureless landscape and silent villages. Highlight is two military jets taking off from Reims-Champagne airfield while I munch my boulangerie lunch. Stop at nice municipal campsite at Guignicourt for 4.40 a night. Although it's been an overcast and chilly day the rain has held off.

Tues 5th may
Horrible, wet and windy, wait until 10 to see if it eased but no luck. Go back to bed until 14:00 then wander into village for supplies. Relax for rest of the day.

Weds 6th may
Still horrible, wet and windy. Decide to do exactly as yesterday. Starts to brighten up in evening.

Thurs 7th may
Hooray, sun is out, set of for Laon along country roads. Headwind picks up about 13:00 but otherwise a pleasant ride until just outside Laon where I have to go on D1044. Very busy and not much room. Follow campsite signs around northern outskirts of Laon to western edge. Pitch, have cuppa then stroll into Laon. Laon is on a plateau and the road up to it is busy and no pavement. City looks interesting so get guide from tourist info, look round the cathedral then head back for dinner.

Fri 8th may.
Nice morning, laze around until 12 then walk into Laon, find a footpath that bypasses most of the road and is a pleasant if steep climb up to the plateau. The plateau is crescent shaped so I start with the fort at one end and work my way round to the old city and cathedral at the other. Lots of historic stuff to see. Have lunch, everywhere is very quiet and most of the shops are shut, I guess it's holiday. Visit museum which has interesting variety of exhibits, apparently it has the most important collection of ancient greek articles outside the Louvre. A fascinating, relatively modern sculpture caught my attention, so unusual and realistic I had to take a photo. Also many roman votive offerings, where people would carve an image of what they wanted the gods to help with; looks like impotence or infertility was a big problem back then. Very sore feet by time I got back to camp.

Sat 9th may
Nice day as I set off for St. Quentin. Landscape is rather like a mattress, hills and valleys but the hilltops are all similar heights, consequently you can see for miles, with the four towers of Laon cathedral remaining visible for some 20 km. Clouds over during day but with the wind behind me for a change and the interesting scenery it's a really enjoyable journey. Too good to last, campsite at St. Quentin has closed down, fortunately there's one 6 km to the east. Busy road to get to it and its 9 € a night for pretty basic facilities but it'll do. Have first glass of 'bier brun' this trip, went down a treat.

Sun 10th may
Cycle through St. Quentin and onto Cambrai. Up and down all the way with long hills. Weather is hot but brisk wind keeps things cool. Landscape pretty much as before but more houses are of brick rather than stone. Good climb up to Bonavis, 12k S of Cambrai, an important part of the Hindenberg line during WW1 due to its view over the Cambrai plain. Camp on western edge of Cambrai.

Mon 11th may
Through Cambrai centre, not a particularly interesting place visually, then north to Marchiennes. Headwinds get tiresome again but landscape flattening out. No signs outside campsite so had to ask; no signs on toilet block either so had to guess.

Tues 12th may
Strong winds and rain so stay put. Absolutely miserable day so stay in bed until 15:00. Just set out to get supplies from village and rain stops; not long back and rain starts, good timing.

Weds 13th may
Rains until 10:00; pack and set off for Armentieres. Flat mud/clay countryside with scattered clumps of trees. Rain threatens but holds off all day. Although traffic gets very busy as I bypass Lille, cyclepaths on side of road make it a reasonably pleasant ride. Get puncture in front tyre, as i'm replacing inner tube a couple of french lads on MTB's stop to offer assistance. One spoke very good english as he'd studied at De Montfort university in Leicester. Camp near Houplines just E of Armentieres.

Thurs 14th may
Decent hot shower at last, the last few sites have had shabby shower blocks and barely warm water. Weather a little brighter and warmer. Look round Armentieres centre with it's interesting mix of styles; no madamoiselle though. Detour slightly to Kemmel to look for an Ossuary that's marked on the map. Very steep hills to get to where it should be but couldn't find it; find remnants of British WW1 command post though. On to Ypres and into centre. Almost totally destroyed in WW1 it's been rebuilt to how it was before and very nice it is to. Get info from tourist office then head to campsite just outside old city walls. A bargain at €4.50 a night. Pitch then walk along city ramparts and into centre for supplies. Very vibrant centre with lots of young folk and quite a few brits. Just get back and start dinner when thunder and showers start. Take evening stroll in the rain to Menin gate to watch the daily 'last post' ceremony. A lot of people there despite the bad weather, many of them are youngsters presumably on a school trip.

Fri 15th may
Rained all evening and not looking promising today. Clear slugs from inside of tent and mug. After not seeing many brits since leaving southern Spain, this campsite is full of them apart from one large group of Belgian kids on bicycles. Chat with another cycle tourist, Keith from Newcastle, who's doing part of the North Sea long distance cycle route. First comment was on the dreaded wind; he'd had to double back at one stage and says he was being blown along at 17kph without pedalling. As he's heading north to Brugge he gives me his belgian map of this area with campsites marked on it. Visit Flanders field WW1 museum, some effective displays and media but as it's very busy (schoolkids again) it is sometimes difficult to see the exhibits. On to municipal museum which has some wonderful pastel drawings and oil paintings by local artist Louise De Hem. Subject matter was a bit ordinary but technique and use of colour I thought was brilliant. Nearly bought a book of her work but didn't want to carry it back.
More rain and strong winds in afternoon. I was going to head back into France via Poperinge but I might head north through Belgium instead.

Sat 16th may
More rain and wind. Pack up and head N then NE along canalside to Diksmuide. As its quite sheltered its not too bad and it's flat. Weather improves after Diksmuide as I head N to Nieuwpoort on an old railway track, even get a bit of sun for a while. Campsite at Sint Jaris, just outside Nieuwpoort, can only charge for two people again; discrimination I call it. Wind quite strong again now and occasional showers; 8 day weather forecast at reception says showers and winds up to 50 or 60 km/h from W and SW which is precisely where i'm headed later. Cycle into Nieuwpoort for a look round, pleasant seaside town. Wind and showers die around 18:00 and sun makes an appearance for a while so manage to charge PDA for first time in days.

Sun 17th may
Overcast and windy as forecast. Set off for Dunkerque along cyclepaths. The Belgians are really geared up for cycling and despite the unpleasant weather there's a lot of them out today. Follow canal most of the way passing through the interesting centre of Veurne. Lots of tobacco and chocolate discount shops appear at Adinkerke near the French border and the cyclepaths disappear. Final stretch not particularly pleasant as wind picks up and scenery is dull. Find campsite on the coast just E of Dunkerque and pitch just before it starts raining. Weather brightens later so go for cycle around Malo-les-Bains but as it's Sunday it's quite lifeless.

Mon 18th may
Very pleasant morning for about an hour then it greys over and wind and showers start. Set out towards Calais through Dunkerque. Signs designed for motorists again, pointing to E40 which you can't cycle on, so use compass to keep heading west through the busy conurbation. Eventually reach D601 which is a fast dual carriageway but no other real option. Wind very strong and blows bike around, fortunately it tries to blow me off the road rather than into it. The journey is extremely unpleasant and by the time I reach Gravelines 25km later i've had enough. Head for campsite just north at Petit-Fort-Philippe and find a nice sheltered spot for €5.13 a night. Gravelines looks an interesting place; I passed through it on my way down through France but I might try and find out more about it tomorrow.

Tue 19th may
Lovely sunny day but wind still up. Weather definitely seems to be improving bit by bit. Head off for Calais along quiet minor road so journey is better than yesterday even though it's windy. Get to Calais at about 13:00 and consider whether to catch ferry today but decide to camp here tonight. Cycle down to seafront and onto beach for a sit down. I can just make out the English coast and can't help smiling as I realise that at least I've made it back here; only England to get through now. I did consider using the chunnel but as the ferry port is almost next door to campsite i'll sail back.