Wednesday 21 August 2024
Nido's parked up on a quiet aire in the village of Catillon-sur-Sambre, in the Nord department in the Hauts-de-France region. The aire's next to a small apple and plum orchard and a lovely canal walk. Reading the comments on Search for Site, this current aire replaced an older one in the village about four years ago. It's supposed to be €5 per night and also has a servicing point, but it's all covered up so I guess the stay is free (the service point isn't working). It's a very pleasant sunny 23'C with just a few clouds around and a gentle breeze. We're both a bit tired after a day of travelling and an early start this morning, so the rest of the day's being spent chilling out.
We left home yesterday at about 0930 for the long trudge to the Canterbury Park and Ride. With a couple of stops, the journey wasn't too bad until we hit delays on the M25 and M20, so in all it took about 8.5 hours. The Canterbury P&R is £4 per day and the motorhome parking area was rammed, so we joined many others in the overflow area. It's certainly a popular stop with a service point and free bus transfers into Canterbury city if you have the time and inclination. A quick bite to eat, walk the dog and then an early night, with the alarm set for 0300.
It took about half an hour to drive to the Shuttle terminal and we were soon booked in and enjoying a pre-prepared breakfast with a cup of tea. We left on time and were soon popping out of the other end in weak sunshine and onto the A16...drive on the right, drive on the right! I normally switch the satnav to avoid motorways in France, but we used it to get us to our first stop in Arras, to shop in the Le Clerc supermarket and fill up with diesel. There was a boulangerie next door so I popped in for the first of what will be many baguettes! I also visited the Berger Loisirs caravan and motorhome accessories shop across the road; most of their stores are in Germany but there's four in France. It's full of all sorts of gadgets and gizmos that we can't live without! But seriously, they have lots of spares and items for motorhomes and camping, so definitely worth a visit if you need anything. We're on the look out for a couple of replacement chairs so I grabbed a catalogue and we'll measure up to see which ones will fit under the bed, then hopefully return to Arras to see if they have them in stock at the end of this trip.
The drive towards Arras took us through some of the key First World War battle areas, including Vimy Ridge and we passed myriad Commonwealth War Graves cemeteries, each immaculately maintained. After a quick van servicing stop at the free aire in Le Cateau Cambrésis, we arrived here in Catillon-sur-Sambre. Lunch (with the first baguette of the trip!) was eaten sat outside at one of several picnic benches in the small fruit orchard just outside the van. We walked along the canal path away from the village, enjoying the wildflowers and trees and so, so many butterflies, dragonflies and grasshoppers.
After a busy couple of days travelling and not much sleep last night, I hope we'll both sleep well and wake refreshed, ready to start this trip. The rough plan is to head east following the line of the Belgian border then just below Luxembourg head south through the Lorraine region along the German border, down into the Vosges and Jura mountains, before heading up through Burgundy on the route back up. But with all plans, we'll no doubt change our route and mind as we find other places to explore. That's the beauty of van life!