We’ve enjoyed a rest day in Orléans. It is a beautiful city. Joan of Arc or the Maid of Orléans is much celebrated here for rallying the troops against the English to lift the seige of the city in 1492. She is a national hero as she turned the tide for the French monarchy when …
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On to the Loire and Orléans
We cycled almost due south today to get to Orléans. This city is situated at the northernmost point of the Loire. In the age of the sailing boat it was much easier to sail up the Loire from the Atlantic with the prevailing wind than to struggle up the Seine to Paris due to the …
Leaving Paris
We departed Paris this morning. As might be expected Paris on a Monday morning was busy with traffic but we made our way out relatively easily and without incident. After about 8 km from the centre we joined the coulée verte, green corridor, which was a delightful cycle through the southern suburbs of Paris. Beryl …
Camino rest day in Paris
After a further three days on the road, we have stopped in Paris for two nights. Fortuitously it has been 14 Juillet or Bastille Day with the French Republic celebrations. We decided to watch the proceedings on the television but could see the flight past from our hotel window. It’s quite a thing seeing all …
Camino Day 7 – And so to Paris
Our route today took us through woods and prosperous estates to begin with. Mostly we were on road but there was some hard packed earth. The roads were surprisingly quiet even as close as 25 km from the centre. We had a ridge to get over and then our first sight of Paris in the …
Camino Day 6 – Beauvais to Chantilly
We headed further towards Paris today. Our journey was mostly gently downhill with a tail wind helping us on. It made for a pleasant day of riding. The roads were quiet until we got close to Chantilly. There were sights of impressive châteaux. We were following a small stream down and then reached the Oise …
Camino Day 5 – Amiens to Beauvais
Our journey today took us from the drainage basin of the Somme to that of the Seine. That meant we had to go up and over a ridge. We followed the course of a gradually reducing stream, Le Poncelet, going south of Amiens.Running parallel to us for most of the day was an old railway …
Rest day in Amiens
Wednesday has been a rest day. After the chores from travelling light, washing clothes, we enjoyed wandering around the city. Last evening when it was sufficiently dark at 1030 there was a light show on the front of the cathedral. It was amazing to see it all lit up and glowing. In particular it was …
Camino Day 4 – Abbeville to Amiens
There were no hills today as we cycled up the Somme from Abbeville to Amiens. Apart from short distances at the beginning and end of our journey, the whole route was along the river bank and traffic free. The only downside was that the surface was unpaved. I’m not sure what this surface is called. …
Camino Day 3
Today we headed south from Hesdin to Abbeville. As I noted yesterday the rivers here from east to west. That meant our route was across the grain of the country. Beryl wasn’t sure that it was a good way to start the day with an 8% climb away from the River Canche. Nonetheless we achieved …
Julian and Beryl's camino 