Mileage landmark –
trip to date 4200 miles!
Blog stat – just over
30k words – eek!
After a few very
strong coffees with Momma at La Rose des Sables (this was 9am and the chap on
the next table was tucking into a bottle of Rose!) we leave for Beauvais,
halfway between Jaulzy and Rouen.
The weather is frankly
awful and has been since late last night. Stormy winds and rain. Last night we
watched a spectacular lightning display for a good half hour out of the Van
window. Thankfully it didn’t get too close! The wind is so strong we begin to
fear being tipped over. We notice a large number of articulated Lorries parked
up on the side of the road – is this a hint to stop? Regardless, we soldier on,
albeit it very slowly. When we are not approaching a list of some alarming
degrees we are struggling to get anything above 50mph. Tedious to say the
least. It seems a little unfair that you never have a helpful tailwind! Having
said this, Onzo has developed a new characteristic (or ailment – depends on how
you look at it) which we name ‘sudden unexpected zoom syndrome’ (SUZS). This is
particularly noticeable today. It normally materialises on long flat sections
of road that are so numerous in France: (as for straight roads the French would
give the Romans a serious run for their money) after struggling, barely plodding
along all morning, for no apparent reason we start to travel at a much higher
speed. No warning, no change in conditions, it just happens. Grrr.
The book of occasional
fiction tells us Beauvais has a grand Gothic Cathedral, amongst the highest in
existence. On top of that it is famous for Gobelin tapestries. All sounds good.
No one mentioned the horrific nauseating smell that lingers in the air all
around the City. As we arrived we could smell it and as we walked to the
Cathedral and into the Centre. We can only liken it to the smell that instantly
hits you when you open a tin of cat or dog food. That sickly, pooey smell that
somehow manages to envelope the room – yummy. Well, it was that. It was so bad,
we decided to leave. Anyway, the Cathedral was shut for Lunch!!
The closed Cathedral
We decide to push on
and head for Gornay en Bray. Camping is shown here in the book and it will
provide the ideal stop over for our push to the Northern coast tomorrow,
Honfleur being the place in mind. Gornay is also a disappointment, so we carry
on. After leaving Gornay and heading towards Rouen we see a fair sized hill in
the distance with a wind farm on top. Bearing in mind this is probably one of
the windiest days we can remember, we found it odd that not one of the turbines
was working? Why is this? Being British we couldn’t help but wonder if it is
the wrong type of wind perhaps?
We spot a campsite on
the outskirts of Rouen that is 2 star and may do the trick: St Leger du Bourg
Denis (this is not the name of the campsite, but the nearby town). Word of
warning, don’t stay here. We were greeted by some freaky in-bred dude who
wanted far too much for what resembled a cow field with a dirty brick built
shed. Apparently the shed thingy had a shower in it. This was extra though (€1.60)
and you really wouldn’t wanna. Freaky in-bred dude looked similar to Rab C
Nesbitt except with a bigger and redder nose and equally incomprehensible.
Think food stains on shirt and grubby nicotined fingers. We presented him with
a driving licence as I.D as requested which he stared at for ages then limped
back into his shack, cradling it like it was DVLA gold. (Hello clone driving licence
and someone else called Anouska!) We left pretty sharpish after managing to get
it back.
Word of warning for
those trying to exit Rouen towards Le Havre while avoiding motorways. Get the
sat nav out cos it’s somewhat tricky. After several near misses and a lot of
swearing and confusion, we find ourselves (admittedly through sheer luck and no
design of our own) on the right road. Things instantly improve. The countryside
gets prettier with little coastal looking villages bordering the Seine and we pootle
along, eyes peeled for a campsite. We find one in the little hamlet of Jumieges.
Ancient ruined abbey, beautiful little park, charming village, 4 star campsite
for €20, all is nice. (Take note freaky in-bred dude). We arrive in sunshine,
the first we’ve seen all day, but as soon as we decide to venture to the village,
naturally, the heavens open. Sodden, we retreat to Onzo and get stuck into the
Sunday Times and a bit of plotting and scheming for the week. Unfortunately
weather stops play and we remain confined to barracks for the evening.
Ruins at Jumieges,
reputedly some of the most beautiful in France, second only to Tournus and that
is debatable.
