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Wednesday 2 August 2017

Across France and home - the end of this trip


Entering France via Basel with a trouble (and document) free border crossing, we decided we should have enough time to get to the Verdun area, rich in WW1 history and monuments. We had no plans to visit anywhere though, as we intended to get to the coast with a day spare to explore the approach to Dieppe from the east – something we’d not done before. Our overnight stop in Jaulny, midway between Nancy and Verdun (camping de la Pelouse) was chosen because it was in just the right place at just the right time to allow us to set up camp and go for a swim in the on-site pool – a treat after a hot day’s drive.

Our ACSI app had warned us that there may be some noise from nearby trains but as the TGV thundered past as we registered, ‘Madame’ reassured us that they stopped at night. Of course, our French language skills were not able to pick up the subtle inference that by ‘stop’ Madame was referring to the fact that the trains do indeed stop at night, at platforms somewhere en route, but they keep speeding past the campsite throughout the night, albeit less frequently …

If you look carefully you can make out the elevated train track behind the trees in the photo below – perfect for allowing the sound to carry further and clearly across the campsite.



Next morning we headed off with the intention of making straight for the coast, leaving the history of the tragic events around Verdun for another visit with more time to do it justice. Except, as we headed north towards Verdun we drove right past the American Cemetery in St Mihiel near Thiaucourt and it just seemed wrong to drive past without paying our respects, as we’d only visited British and Commonwealth ones on previous trips to northern France.

It didn’t take long before one of the main differences between US and UK approaches to war graves made itself apparent – the presence of a resident ‘superintendent’ from America, keen to welcome visitors and answer any questions. Before long we learned that unlike UK war cemeteries in foreign countries, US ones are not established at or near the battle site where soldiers would have fallen, but are instead organised into aggregated and larger memorials in response to over 65% of US war dead from WW1 being repatriated at the request of their families. The smaller number of overseas memorials means that the US is then able to fund a resident superintendent – at each of the 26 overseas sites.

The knowledge that approximately another 65% of bodies were missing from the St Mihiel site, simply added to the poignancy of the sheer scale of death that had been delivered on an industrial scale, and via a newly mechanised form of war.



Leaving the cemetery, and the sunshine behind, it wasn’t long before we were approaching the northern French coast east of Dieppe, our port of return to the UK. Drawn by the interesting nature of the surroundings and the existence of a few ACSI sites that were still available to us in the second week of July, we were soon following the blue dot on our ACSI App to camping Le Ridin in the Baie de la Somme area. The App showed it as a few hundred metres from the sea, which was interestingly described as ‘not suitable for swimming’ – but the site did have a heated pool – hurrah!

We had no idea how busy an ACSI site midway between Dieppe and Calais might be. We knew that we were not yet in the main French holiday period, and not that close to a major route into Holland from the south (we had seen many Dutch campers heading north), but Le Ridin is a small site and we were not that surprised to be told that it only had one ACSI space left.



So, after pre-ordering the obligatory morning croissants for our penultimate stop, we set up camp amongst a variety of mainly rental chalets and private bungalows. The site is operated by the ‘Yelloh Village’ group, and having stayed at two of their sites in Portugal and France in the past, we were prepared for a proper pimped up experience. Perhaps the site has only just started on an investment plan, with most of the investment in the permanent rather than touring infrastructure…but I doubt we’ll be rushing back any time soon, even though the heated pool made for an enjoyable bask and swim in what was left of the sunshine on this trip.

We did get to the bottom of why the sea was described as unsuitable for swimming when we walked into the nearby village of Le Crotoy for the shellfish treat we’d promised ourselves. It’s really good value here with 1.5ltrs of moules et frites costing only €8.50 – bargain – if probably enough moules in one bucket for two people (we had one each of course – Mr Creosote would have been proud!) and the moules were some of the smallest and sweetest we’d tasted – delicious!

The reason for no swimming (except for a very narrow strip right in front of the lifeguards) is that the whole of the bay area is subject to a big tidal race, second in Europe only to that at Mont St Michel. At as much as 10m between high and low tide, it’s an awesome sight as the endless sand flats are very quickly overrun by rushing sea water. You can make out the speed of the incoming tide in the next photo by the lean of the buoy, set beneath the grey and windy sky – also helping to prepare us for our return home!



On our way out of Le Crotoy to Dieppe we explored along the coast and found a really good Aire just south of St-Valery-sur-Somme across the bay, as well as a very large and reasonable Aire in Le Crotoy itself for just €7 – somewhere we may use on a subsequent trip, as not only are the seafood restaurants perfect for a last night treat, the variety of seafood available from the various shops and stalls along the seafront was fabulous, including samphire and other sea greenery as well as delicious looking mussels, oysters and crabs.

For us though, our last night was to be in Dieppe and parking up in the revamped Aire by the port (€12) we were able to walk into town for our final meal out on this trip – a delicious romp through some Dieppeoise cuisine that seemed to be a prefect end to an amazing trip.



Of course the weather continued to be wet and windy, and although we had seen how hot the UK had been in June whilst we were travelling in Croatia, somehow it seemed to be getting us acclimatised for the changeable weather we were to encounter once we had settled back in at home – already putting some rough plans together for our next trip…

So, thank you Croatia for a remarkably fun and interesting visit – without doubt we experienced a standard of camping higher than any other European country we’ve travelled to so far, and with hospitality second to none, Croatia is a country we will be returning to.

S&J.

PS We hope to get the final ‘data’ entry posted over the next few weeks, giving a summary of route, fuel and camping costs etc.