Days 56 to 58 - Saint-Imoges, Parc d'Olhain and tunnel crossing

 All good things come to an end, they say. I've had a marvellous two months, and the memories will last for a long long time.

I divided the long trip back up to Calais up into three manageable stops. The first, Toul, was described in my last blog, and the remaining two Aires were selected only for their position on the map. Saint-Imoges was just a simple crossroad village with no shops, and the only things of note were an immaculately kept Commonwealth War Graves Commission site in the local church (total respect to the CWGC), and a forest walk with some pretty, but small, hidden away lakes.

The graves were mostly of soldiers from Scottish regiments - Black Watch, Gordon Highlanders, and the Seaforth Highlanders, and they all died within a day either side of 21st July 1918. That's just a few months short of the ceasefire. What a pity




The next day, Tuesday, was foggy and dull, and it remained so throughout the day. The Aire at Parc d'Olhain was set on the top of the only significant hill in the area, and the views towards Paris and Calais were supposed to be good. Perhaps they were, but I doubt if I'll find out now! The site itself was pleasant - €10.50 for your own roomy pitch, including electricity and sanitary arrangements. There were also a couple of washing machines and a tumble drier, but a quick calculation showed I could make it home without me mammy being worried if I were run over.

It was only an hours drive to the tunnel, including a quick diesel fill in Calais. The tunnel efficiency was again something to behold. You drive up to the (unmanned) ticket kiosk which recognises your number plate, and hence your ticket details, a screen offers you an earlier train (which I took) if you want it, and prints out a ticket to hang from your mirror. You then just follow the signs. Wonderful use of technology.

I decided at the last minute to go and visit Ann (and Stephen and Lilian) in the Fens. I might get censured for this as I'm supposed to drive straight home, but I'll use the argument that I was too tired to drive home all in one day. In any case, Ann is hardly likely to catch anything from me now! As an aside, I took some of Ann's ashes with me and left some at every nice stop I made on the tour. 


Tonight I'm in a site near March, in Cambridgeshire, called Fields End Waters. Being extremely flat here, it is building up to a superb sunset. On another note, there seems to be no fuel shortage here, so driving home tomorrow should be stress free.

And, on yet another note, I'd like to express my sincere thanks to Linda and Giles Downer who were great companions, organisers, enthusiasts, and all round genuine people. 

If you have been following this blog, many thanks. I hope I've awaked your curiosity. 

Thank you.

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