Apologies for the lack of news over the weekend. No wifi was accessible until we reached Amboise on the river Loire. I'll add text first, and then post some photos later.
A 6am start from St Ives to catch the 10am ferry at Newhaven.
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| This is the back of the support vehicle ready to leave St Ives |
Arrived into Dieppe at 3pm and unloaded the bike as soon as we got off the boat. I took a short detour via the. Church of St-Jacques in the centre of town hoping I might get my Pilgrim Record stamped. But nobody there to stamp it.
From Dieppe I followed a quiet road through a series of suburban villages, joining the Avenue Verte. This is a cycle route linking Paris and Dieppe, and here it runs along the track of an old railway. In France, it seems, they do not allow disused railways to be built over (unlike in the UK). The route continues on the English side linking to London via Brighton.
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| The cycle track follows the valley of the Bethune river |
Brendan had an interesting time finding his way out of Dieppe. Signage is fine if you are heading to somewhere major. But the local road parallel to the cycle track was hard to find. But never mind, he got to the campsite before me, and put the tent up single handed.
Our first stop was Forges-les-Eaux, a straggly, fairly nondescript town of about 3000 people. Brendan ha bought some food in a supermarket. But they did not sell wine. So our first night in France was teetotal!
Very simple campsite with basic but clean facilities. Talked to some cyclists who we're travelling from Paris to London.
Gosh. A French supermarché not selling wine. Zut alors!
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