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| Day 1 - Calais to Longvilliers via Wierre Effroy |
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| Would you believe it? You can actually see the Cycleservice bus and trailer if you serach for their depot on Multimap and use the satellite option - it's in Lower Wall Road near West Hythe in Kent. We now use the depot as the parking place for the car while we are away - the Eurotunnel parking option works out too expensive. Thanks to Norman, (the minibus driver) we have been able to park at the depot instead these last two years - makes a marked difference to our budget! 6.00 am saw us leaving for West Hythe. We made Calais by 11.00 am French time. |
| The depot as shown on Multimap |
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| Something not quite right...? |
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| The first hill - there were to be many that day! |
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| Samer - a lot quieter than this time when the fete was in full swing |
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| Our private dining room at La Raterie - click on the picture for the website |
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| La Longue Roye B&B - click picture for website |
| Totally knackered!! - Not sure what Paul was doing....! |
| The cathedral-like barn at La Longue Roye |
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| Auberge d'Inxent - a dinner to remember - click picture for website |
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| Even so, 11.00 am was a little later than anticipated, and so Norman, kindly dropped us off at Frethun station, saving us 20 minutes and leaving us time enough to make our lunchtime rendezvous with La Raterie at Wierre effroy. It's at times like these that the Eurotunnel Cycle Service (click for details) scores over other channel-crossing services. Bags and bikes were soon gathered together and pedals turned for the first time on our momentous journey - each day the distance to cover would increase by 10 miles, with the last day offering 65 miles of cycling.... hmmm.. pleasure? |
| The hills of Calais announced their arrival within a few moments of saddling up. Down the slope that ran into Frethun station we went, and then straight into the climb that took us to Bonningues. Not quiet what had been expected, so a remedial coffee at the Bonningues Tabac proved essential! Then we pedalled on again, down one hill, up the next, through Landrethun, Ferques, and Rety - always up and down (or down and up!) until we arrived at Wierre Effroy about 30 minutes later than planned - hills have that effect! I had marked the location of La Raterie, having noted this from its website map before we left. The only trouble was, it wasn't where it was supposed to be! |
| A couple of phone calls to the restaurant, however, and we found it - in a completely different place to that marked. So there you have it - always take the phone numbers of the places you are visiting with you, preferably pre-loaded into your mobile phone! Timing was perfect. We took a lazy aperitif in the sunny garden and then we were shown to our private dining room for a magnificent Sunday meal. Attached to an organic farm, La Raterie offers superb yet simple cuisine. Having all chosen chicken, we ended up with a whole bird sectioned on a huge platter with accompanying vegetables. Our stomachs were filled to satisfaction - which was a good job really as the worst hills were yet to come! And so we set off for Samer, a place we knew well from 2004 (you can see why here). |
| The ride to Samer wasn't so bad, but we continued to be battered by an opposing wind - it had been with us since the start of the day. I had expected that we would average between 11 and 12 mph, but the wind reduced our average to 8.5 mph! Samer was a madhouse - the annual town fair was in full swing. I know, I should have taken a photo, but it was a nightmare getting through the town with people everywhere and sideshows, dodgems, and other assorted amusements and rides. We picked our way through, though, and eventually located the road out and southwards - somehow, the contours didn't look as close together then as they do now! This was to be the first of three hills where we would need to dismount. Our planned eta at our B&B of 5.30 pm came and went. then so did 6.30 pm. Two dismounts and a few grinding climbs and we entered Longvillier, but no sign of our B&B. |
| We soon found out why. The B&B was actually about 4 kilometres south of Longvillier - and on top of the hill to the east that divided the two valleys. Our final dismount, as we struggled ever upwards to La Longue Roye. A punishing day - the most punishing day of the trip, as it would turn out. Everyone was knackered. The prospect of cycling to the restaurant I'd booked was instantly dismissed as a foolish and totally unrealistic proposition. Our host/hostess was not around - we had been shown to our rooms by a couple of worklads. So, 'Les Pages Jaunes' it was, to find a taxi - not much success from that. A phone call to the restaurant and another number, but no taxi available here, either |
| I remembered I had madame's phone number in my mobile. I called. She answered. Did she know a taxi service that could help immediately (by this time, we only had 40 minutes to get changed and to reach the restaurant before they stopped serving)? She did! So we managed not only to get changed, but also to take ten minutes looking a little closer at the place we were staying. Noticeably, at the barn next to our rooms. It was quite literally the most enormous barn that any of us had come across in France. Cathedral-like proportions, massive supporting arches and a network of beams and rafters that caused the head to spin. Our taxi arrived. Ten minutes later we were outside the Auberge d'Inxent, and with still 5 minutes to go before the service cut-off point. Easy! Why on earth was I worried earlier that we might end up eating cornflakes for dinner?!? |
| I had chosen Auberge d'Inxent because of the very positive reviews its restaurant had consistently received. And not least that it boasted one of the finest and most competitively-priced wine lists in the whole of the Calais region! We weren't to be disappointed. I know an Haut Medoc to be a reasonably good bet as a well-balanced wine. On the list was a 2002 vintage at 25 euros. Remarkable price. Remarkable wine. Two bottles slipped by without very much effort at all. And the meal was as good as the wine. A very gruelling first day had been rounded off to perfection. At 10.30 pm, our taxi returned and so we melted into our beds and deep slumber before the clock had barely struck 11.00! |