1 February 2024 – Arras

Miles driven today = 112

Total Miles to date = 221

I set my alarm for 6:30 this morning but thanks to the dawn chorus and an early departing neighbour we were awake and up a fair while before that.  As a result we got to the Le Shuttle terminal at Folkestone with plenty of time to spare and managed to get ourselves on the 8:50 train, a full 30 minutes earlier than the one we were actually booked on.

What with all the building work we’ve had going on, we really weren’t sure exactly when we were going to be able to set off on this trip right up until a couple of weeks ago.  As a result our Johnny come lately one-way fare on Le Shuttle was a whopping £210.  Once again we have been able to offset this significantly with Tesco’s vouchers.  They aren’t quite as generous with the exchange rate nowadays and have reduced the previous 3x redemption rate to 2x.  But we got in early last Summer and changed up £60 of vouchers at the old 3x rate giving us £180, so we have actually only splashed out £30 in real cash terms for our crossing.  

You may well have seen in the News lately that French farmers are currently blocking a lot of the country’s arterial roads with their tractors in protest against the low prices which they are being paid for their produce.  This, hopefully, won’t impact us too greatly as we will mainly be following non-tolled trunk roads and also giving Paris a very wide berth, but it is something that we will need to bear in mind when planning our daily routes.

I could go into a huge political diatribe about how much I admire the French and their willingness to stand up against the bully boy supermarket chains and the evils of rampant capitalism, but the first thing we did when we got off the train was to drive to Lidl’s to stock up on cheap meat, veg, dairy goods and wine, so I’ll stay quiet for now rather than make myself look like a massive hypocrite.

There was a bit of excitement as we were leaving Lidl’s.  The lady on the till asked if the big old van parked in the corner of the car park was ours because somebody had been seen loitering around it with seemingly ill intent.  Sure enough when we got back to the van one of the garage doors was open.  Nothing appears to be missing and I carefully checked for stowaways so I guess the miscreant must have scarpered as soon as the alarm went off.  I’m usually very careful about making sure that everything is locked before we leave the van unattended but I will be much more vigilant going forward.

The quickest way to get to our first French stopover town of Arras, and indeed all the way down to Troyes, would usually be to take the tolled A26 (aka The Motorway of the English).  But that appears to currently be a tractor park in places and therefore, I’m assuming, the non-toll roads following its general path will be relatively overcrowded with traffic seeking an alternative.  So we followed Google Maps’ advice and took a rather more circuitous route.  

From Calais we initially set out along the A16 towards the Belgian border before veering right at Dunkirk and picking up the A25.  This took us to the outskirts of Lille, where we headed South along the N41 and N47 to Lens and then the N17 for the final stretch to Arras.  

Once we were parked up and settled in the town’s motorhome aire we took ourselves off for a stroll.  The first noteworthy building we happened across was the impressive Church of Saint-Gery.

Arras is renowned for its Flemish inspired Baroque townhouses.  

It was the scene of intense bombardment during the First World War but in the years following the war a lot of the town centre buildings were faithfully restored to the previous splendour.  This is the Grand Place.

A short walk along the cobbled streets brings you into the Place des Heros.  We timed our entrance to the square perfectly, just as the Belfry struck 3 O’Clock.

You can climb to the top of the Belfry for fabulous views across the town and the surrounding countryside but Lisa wasn’t keen and I was happy to remain on terra firma for now.

It’s the 1st of February but there was some warmth in the sunshine and a good few people were happy to sit outside to enjoy the café culture.

We ambled on to the town’s Cathedral.  From the outside it doesn’t look particularly inspiring.

But once you get inside it’s a huge building with an unusual central altar, where the congregation sits to either side as well as in front.

The décor in the main portion of the Cathedral is relatively plain but one side chapel had this wonderfully frescoed ceiling and stained glass windows.

Either somebody was a little slow getting this nativity scene stored away after Christmas or it’s actually a permanent fixture.  I really wasn’t sure which.

During 1914 and 1915 the Germans sought to destroy all tall buildings in Arras, like the Belfry and the Cathedral, which could be used as lookout points.  There is an interesting display of photos and history about the Cathedral with English translations.  This is how the Cathedral looked after the War and before restoration work commenced.

We are spending tonight in a paid Aire next to a canal, which is a short walk from the centre of Arras.  €12:20 gets us a large tarmac covered pitch with access to grey and black waste dumps, a loo and a shower (one of each).  Hook up and fresh water refill is available at a price but the wifi is free, albeit a little hit and miss the further you are away from the entrance.  Hopefully it will have enough oomph to get this online without having to eat into our 25Gb roaming data allowance. 

2 February 2024 - Reims