So... after 5 weeks in UK seeing family and friends and getting air suspension fitted to our motorhome to give us some more payload flexibility along with other benefits, we are now very happy to be back in France 🇫🇷 and slowly en route to Germany 🇩🇪. The roads are quieter, the sky is bluer, the sun is warmer.
We crossed the Channel by ferry this time, thank you to P&O Ferries, it may take a little longer than Eurotunnel, but we prefer to be in the fresh air and see the sea, (lovely green/blue colour as we crossed) rather than burrow underground.
On our first evening we were struck again by the long evenings here in northern France at this time of year, lovely sunsets after 10pm make the days seem wonderfully endless....
Our first stop was Saint-Omer, just an hour’s drive south-east of Calais. This pretty town is named after Saint Audomar, who brought Christianity to the area. Beautiful cathedrals seem to be a key feature of many of the French towns we have visited so far and Saint-Omer was no exception... the cathedral is huge, seemingly out of proportion for a town of just 15k population, and stunning both inside and out...
Parked up at the quiet aire on the outskirts, it was very convenient for a bit of town exploration by foot.
We then took a slight detour to Maubeuge to visit the war grave of one of Ray’s relatives who died of his wounds a few months after the end of the First World War. Maubeuge was one of the casualty clearing stations for injured soldiers at the end of the war and it was so sad to see his grave and those of other men who fought to the end of the war but then did not make it home.
We are now heading further through France before moving on to Germany, more to follow shortly.