English Channel
Trip Start
Jul 17, 2007
1
20
27
Trip End
Sep 05, 2007
Calais, France
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Leaving St-Just-en-Chaussee we are now all beginning to realise just how far we have come and the imminent return to England marks the end of our European stay. Sticking to smaller roads we make our way through Breteuil, Grandvilliers, Poix, Airaines, Abbeville, Montreuil, Samer to Boulogne (where we got geographically embarrassed again). Along the coast through Wimereux (and our first sighting of the White cliffs of Dover!) to Calais.
As we passed each of these places new sights and differences struck us. Not the least being
- the decorated roundabouts, each town seemed to be competing for the most elaborate roundabout to mark either entry or exit. We found gardens, boats, windmills, bushes shaped like birds, buildings, people etc
- farms, with no fences
- haystacks made into buildings, animals, vehicles just as whimsy along the roads
- very few farm animals (3 or 4 paddocks in over 200km), yet signs for deer everywhere
- wind generators in small clusters throughout the area
- very gently rolling hills, not the steeper slopes of New Zealand (though these did appear closer to Calais).
If we'd all been mobile it would have been tempting to stop and stay longer. Calais, as we arrived seemed just a sleepy seaside port. The busy ferry terminal was not visible in the first views we had. Seafrance were very accommodating in changing our tickets and re-booked us on the 5pm sailing. Shannon again received special treatment and was whisked away in her own special wheelchair and transport through customs and onto the boat long before the rest of us.
