June 13th Clairmarais to Wallon-Cappel

Distance:   27.365 kms
Blisters:     2
Coffees      1

June 13^th Saint Momelin to Wallon – Cappel

Unforunately I forgot to switch my GPS on at the start and end of the walk so the trace is somewhat misleading.

Having spent a peaceful night at Camping Beausejour we set off to walk alongside the Canal de l'Aa to Clairmarais. Today should be straight forward – alongside the canal - through la foret dominiale de Rihouls Clairmarais to Renescule then along a Roman road to Wallon – Cappel.

In the 27kms of canal and forest we met not a single walker, in fact we met not a soul who wasn't in a car. Imagine walking through Tentsmuir forest without meeting a single living soul! In the middle of the forest we came across a mobile v2 firing site from World War 2 but the forest was otherwise fairly flat and boring. The canal bank was reasonably well formed but nobody was walking their dogs, the canal which was at least double the width of the Canal du Midi was completely empty of all traffic - no barges, no pleasure craft, no boats moored, no fishermen.

We kept remarking that the area was missing out on potential tourism opportunities. However it was nice to have the entire length of the canal to ourselves if a little unnerving.

Tomorrow we are walking from Wallon–Cappel to Lillers and then to Noeux-les-Mines where Bert and Susan are based in their hotel “la maison rouge”. We are planning to move to a canal bank site in Saint Venant where the Mairie has enticed us with the offer of free electricity, water and parking.

June 12th Audruicq to Clairmarais

As one can see from the trace, today was not straight forward.

Bert and Susan moved last evening to Noueux- les- Mines and this morning we moved to Camping Beausejour between Arques and Clairmarais. We arrived at 08.45 and much to my surprise it was open, they had room and they were prepared to check me in at before 9.am. Pauline meanwhile was stressing ( the edited version) beacause I dropped her off to buy bread at just before 08.30 and she emerged with a baguette at just after 08.45.the longer version involves a dozen carefully chosen cakes, sliced bread, pains au chocolats, croissants..... Fortunately we were set up and ready when Bert and Susan arrived at 09.00.

We began our walk for the day at Audricq and the start was easy enough. Up to Munc Nieurlet all was well with the world. We continued to be harassed by dog after dog fortunately from behind closed gates. In this part of France every property has a fence/hedge/wall/ or all three around it and is guarded by a fierce noisy dog. They lay in wait for us to pass then they spring up and would eat us alive if they could. Labradors and "lassie" dogs pretend to be fierce creatures. I was moved to speculate as to where the training camp for dogs was because this is not normal dog behaviour. In Watten this afternoon we passed just such a training school. A small Daschund was being trained to go in and out of slalom poles and answer to commands such as "sit" and "stay" but I am sure that part two of the course involved waiting for the passer by to be level with the door the the dog should bark its head off and leap up as if it was about to savage him.  

However we are rapidly losing faith in the GR system. For the second day running a GR was not where it was supposed to be and the one that was there was completely unpassable because of water and mud. Our 12 km pre lunch stroll turned into a 20km "epreuve" which got us to the Blockhaus at Eperlecques 14.30.

Pauline and Susan had expected us between 12,30 and 13.00 so they had quite a wait. In the end we decided to press on so the Blockhaus remains unexplored by us. The girls report that it was an interesting visit.

A quick lunch and a reevaluation of our target had us aiming for St Momelin. Should we walk along the canal bank when the Tourist Information said that it was a no through road or should we trust Google Earth and our eyes?  6 kms there wasted? We went for it and got through easily - well fairly easily. To be fair I had checked with a couple who lived at the start of the canal tow path. But their assurances were fairly unconvincing. They had certainly never walked to St Momelin. In fact in our 29kms today we me not a single soul (apart from ourselves) walking.

Tomorrow was to be a short day so we should be able to get back on schedule.

June 11th Hocquinghem to Audruicq

June 10th 2016 Samer to Hocquinghen

Total distance:    33.165 kms
Average speed:   3.7 km/h
total time:           07:52:49





Today was a difficult day because it was long, very hilly and in lots of sections very muddy. Some sections of the forest path were virtually impassable. the mud was 450mm deep in parts.

However the day  began in warm hazy sunshine. After burned heads yesterday we were both moved to wear hats despite our mutual dislike of all headgear. I was determined to learn how to pronounce the names of the places on our route so at each new town or village I stopped someone to ask how to pronounce their town or village. The day started at Samer (Samay) and continued to Wierre - au -Bois
(we err oh bwu) then on towards Longfosse (longfossay) where we made our first mistake. Chatting like a couple of schoolgirls we missed the turn of  for the path through the woods to Desvres (Devr) and as you can see we went about 1km too far before retracing our steps. this was to become a recurring theme.

Following the signs through the wood of a GR (route of Grand Randonnee - long distance footpath) the signs suddenly disappeared in the middle of a deep dark wood. Fearing the gruffalo

June 9th 2016 Boulogne sur Mer to Samer

Today was to be a gentle start. After a quick "photo session" we left the "girls" and started out along the busy boulevard at Boulogne sur Mer. Once we were on the far side of the waterway the riverside had a fine path and good bike lane.

We encountered a young lady paddling a Canadian canoe vigorously which turned into a boat of four young ladies paddling which morphed into dozens of boats of 1,2,and 4 paddling at great speed.

June 6th Amsterdam

waves lapping gently

There is something extremely soporific about being right by the sea. Last night we were gently lulled to sleep by the waves lapping on the shore less than 5 metres from our heads. We awoke to more brilliant sunshine and the same gentle lapping sound. This is a little piece of heaven just 30 mins bike ride from the centre of Amsterdam.

free ferry every 10 minutes

After breakfast looking out over the lake we just had to cycle into Amsterdam again. It seemed much closer because we knew where we were going and how far it actually was. It is a truly magnificent ride to the ferry followed by a spectacular ferry ride across what was Amsterdam harbour to the Central Railway station.

hop on hop off canal bus

Today we had decided to see Amsterdam by way of its hundreds of canals on a "hop on hop off" canal bus. €42 poorer and clutching our precious tickets we made our way to the first canal bus stop. 

Amsterdam really is a fabulous city particularly in brilliant sunshine with crystal blue skies and the thermometer touching 23 degrees although it felt warmer.

B & P in front of the Rijksmuseum

We got off at the museum quarter which until the late 1800's was a farming area. It is now designated an area of art and culture and is home to the world famous Rijksmuseum (where we enjoyed a wonderful lunch in a fabulous setting) and the Van Gogh museum as well as several other well known cultural buildings.

typical "street scene

We walked the mile or so to the flower market and bought the obligatory tulip bulbs. Then it was back on to the canal bus to continue our tour of Amsterdam. 

If there is a poor district we certainly didn't pass through it. The canal side  buildings are magnificent. They were built leaning slightly towards the canal so that it was easier to haul heavy objects to the upper floors without damaging the building. 

Compared to other capital cities we couldn't help but notice how calm and ordered everything seemed. The canals are lined with trees which bring much needed greenery into the crowded centre.

(apparently there were 200 000 people in Amsterdam in 1600)

 The absence of any street beggars and the lack of trinket sellers was certainly not due to police presence which seemed equally absent. We saw scarcely a cyclist and no scooter drivers with a helmet.

 We have felt very welcome and of course the Dutch speak English which has made for a smooth and easy and enjoyable visit although I always feel happier when I can speak some of the language.

Misschien volgende keer. Maybe next time.

June 4th Newcastle to IJmuiden

DFDS ferry Newcastle to IJmuiden

An Adventure before Dementia

Hermione Hymer sporting her new boots left Freuchie for Newcastle at 9.00 am sharp. A gentle drive to Newcastle was the prelude to a very positive experience of DFDS hospitality. Persuaded at check in to upgrade to Commodore plus, our cabin was truly spacious and luxurious.


The dinner buffet was extensive and had a good range and choice. A bit expensive at €35 euros but most enjoyable. Breakfast was "complementary" and first class. What had threatened to be a fairly unpleasant start to proceedings had turned into a very enjoyable night.

At 09.30 we set off from IJmuiden without a "good" map to follow the A9 to junction 1 to our campsite - Gaasper Camping Amsterdam. We found it easily enough - Dutch road signs seem to be very clear - as was the traffic policeman when he turned us back telling us that there were no vacancies at the campsite. Oh bother!!

Ola Globetrotter

Dam square Central Amsterdam 

A beer in Durgerdam

The plan B alternative was on the other side of Amsterdam.

 Plucking up courage I telephoned to discover that there were only  two vacancies - there is a festival in Amsterdam this weekend.

Half an hour later we were set up looking out over Lake Kinsel. Sometimes you just land on your feet. Camping de Badhoeve is a lovely site with fantastic views and good facilities.

 Hermione Hymer is parked alongside a Spanish van. We have had conversations in halting Spanish with lots of smiles.

Central Amsterdam

This afternoon we cycled the 10 kms or so into Amsterdam centre. It was a beautiful ride along well maintained dedicated bike tracks. The greatest danger was from the hordes of other cyclists. There were literally hundreds of them. Bikes with babies on board bikes with two children on board. The vast majority were "sit up and beg" type bikes ridden by cyclists of all shapes and sizes.

Tomorrow we plan to take the "hop on hop off" canal bus to see the sights of Amsterdam. Our initial impressions are of the vast amounts of water and of the hordes of cyclists and the laid back attitude of the Dutch.