Wednesday 14th May
Our journey to Amiens was quick and simple until that is we hit the city. I had highlighted a parking area, near the centre, which was supposed to be huge and suitable for motorhomes. It was huge, but it was full. Quickly consulting Park4Night I found another two parking places only to spent half an hour touring the centre of Amiens fruitlessly finding full car parks or closed car parks wherever we went.
Several car parks were closed with barriers and lots of activity which looked very much like the city was preparing for the finish of a cycle race, which was later confirmed.
A final look at Park4Night showed there was a campsite and an Aire about 4 miles outside Amiens and on a bus route. Sarah decided, that since Skye is not allowed on buses in France, she preferred the idea of staying on the campsite, exploring the local park and letting me go into Amiens on the bus.
The route to the campsite was down narrow roads flanked with terraced houses and parked cars, making driving Basil, especially following the shenanigans in the city centre, no fun at all. We did eventually arrive at Camping des Cygnes (49.9208, 2.2596 €23 non ACSI) and settled into a large pitch bathed in sunshine. I left Sarah and Skye and headed in Amiens on an empty bus.
The Rough Guide did not detail much to see in Amiens but there is a UNESCO World Heritage Cathedral and so I started with a visit to Tourist Information where they confirmed there wasn’t much to see other than the Cathedral! That’s not quite true. There are canals, and lots of them and a couple of museums. Amiens centre had been flattened both in the First and Second World wars so there was only a small section of the Old Town left. Unlike Rouen it was noticeable that all the buildings in the area around the Cathedral were modern.
The Cathedral was another Gothic extravaganza although I am not expert enough to explain why it deserved World Heritage Status rather than some of the other beautiful Cathedrals we’ve seen in France.
Amiens Cathedral is the largest in France. Apparently Notre Dame in Paris could fit twice into its vast interior. The architects had striven for height and thus let in more light. I have to say that, although plain, the nave ceiling is probably the highest I have ever seen and it was noticeably lighter than most. Unfortunately most of its stained glass had been lost in the two wars.
Before I got my bus back I wandered down to the bit of the Old Town that various armies had managed to miss and it was pleasant enough, but not a patch on Rouen.
My bus back was standing room only and although I am now 66 I don’t feel fragile enough to avail myself of a seat for the elderly. So I suffered 30 minutes standing up being squashed between various other bus users who, much to my surprise, all seemed to stay on the bus until after my stop.
Thursday 15th May
Today has been primarily a travelling day. We are seeing my brother and family tomorrow, who live in Brussels, so we just wanted somewhere to stop halfway between Amiens and him. I found a nice little Municipal Campsite (50.3284, 3.7716) in the small village of Bellignies on the French Belgian border.
Administration of the site is managed by a couple who live on the site in a mobile home. For the first time this holiday no English was spoken, so Sarah was amazed that I managed to hold a fifteen minute conversation with the warden in my excruciable French. Despite me massacring his mother tongue he just continued speaking to me slowly. One noticeable change we’ve seen over the years we’ve been travelling in France is the rapid change in the ability of many French people, especially youngsters, to speak English. When we first visited France in the early 1980s English speakers were thin on the ground, but on this trip virtually everyone we have encountered in a customer facing role, spoke reasonable English. Today even a petrol station cashier responded to me in English!
We’ve had a little wander through the village where the Marble Museum (yes really) and the only restaurant were shut. It is a noticeably well kept village with a small river running through it. The remains of an old watermill is one of the few points of interest.
This is my last post of this trip, because after visiting my brother we’ve got one stop at a vet’s to get Skye’s passport renewed and then we are off home. We’ve had a good trip, only occasionally spoiled by some un Frenchlike weather.