Leaving
Courville sur-Eure we drove to an Aire at the little village of
Saint-Saire, but not before enjoying some delicious
strawberry/blueberry tarts from the local boulangerie (bakery). The French certainly know how to make
delicious cakes!
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| These strawberry tarts looked almost too pretty to eat |
The Aire at Saint-Saire (N49.69677 E1.49476) is on a grassy area, next to a disused railway line, that is now a cycling/walking route. There is a machine that you can get drinking water but you need to buy a token (€2) that can be bought from the restaurant next to the Aire. However, it's only open Thursday to Sunday - luckily we had filled up at Courville sur-Eure and done all the other ablutions Sonny, the motorhome needed! The village is pretty but there isn't anything here other than the part-time restaurant; however, it is only 3kms from Neufchâtel-en-Bray that has plenty of shops and restaurants.
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| Sonny, the motorhome melting under the sun at St-Saire, next to a friendly Dutch couple - there is no shade to be had here other than under our awning! |
A walk along the disused railway line, took us to the old station that has been turned into a house and the owners must be a Harry Potter fan as there is aHogwarts Express, platform 9 ¾ sign on the side.
From here we moved 73 kms to an Aire at Montreuil-sur-Mer (N50.45922 E1.75953), There are 8 individual bays and an overflow car park next door. The Aire is free, with facilities to dump your waste, but you pay for water - €2.
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| Aire at Montreuil-sur-Aire |
The upper town of Montreuil is encircled by ramparts, first parts of which were built in the 9th century and has many beautiful preserved old houses along its cobbled streets. Its origins lie in Roman times when the sea ran up the estuary of the river, La Canche and was once a major port, but due to tidal changes the river silted up and is now landlocked, with the sea now about 10 miles away.
The citadel was built on the site of a former royal castle. Montreuil was a source of inspiration for Victor Hugo, when he passed through the town in 1837 and used it as a setting for ‘Les Miserables’. Every year the town puts on a sound and light show of Les Miserables next to the citadel at end of July/beginning of August.
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| The Citadel |
The town became the settlement for British forces during WW1, chosen for its position between Paris and London and the fact that it’s surrounded by robust fortifications. A metal sculpture of Field Marshall Douglas Haig on his horse is in the town square. There is also a museum within the Citadel that tells the history.
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| Sculpture of Field Marshall Douglas Haig on his horse |
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| Enjoying a lunch of Moules et Frites in the centre |
We needed to walk off our lunch, so walked the 3kms around the ramparts.
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| Walking around the ramparts |
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| Mel doing.... well not sure what he is doing! |
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| Pretty gardens around the ramparts |
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| Cutting through the narrow but thick walled walkways of the ramparts |
The houses on Rue Clape-en-Bas are the last of Montreuil’s pre-revolutionary working-class housing.
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| Steep cobbled street that was used as part of the setting for Victor Hugo's 'Les Miserables' |
We are currently parked up on the free Aire next to Cite Europe, Calais (N50.93287 E1.81105), along with many other Brit motorhomes. We have stocked up with plenty of French wine and catch the Euro Tunnel Train tomorrow morning at 9.15am, which is only about a 500m drive away. We first head to Dorset to catch up with friends we haven't seen in over 16 years, then back up to County Durham to see our daughter and a family wedding - we are looking forward to catching up with family and friends. We will be back on the road though again in August, with no set plans!
Sally x
