As we enjoy a couple of rest days in Reims, maybe it is a good opportunity to give some background on the via francigena. The vf is significantly less well known than its cousins, the dozen or so pilgrimage routes to Santiago de Compostela, of which the Camino Frances and Camino Portuguese are the best … Continue reading Days sixteen & seventeen: Riems →

We planned an early start in an effort to beat the forecast heat, even though this meant the likelihood of a coffee and pain chocolat was significantly diminished, as the BnB didn’t serve breakfast until 0800 on Sundays. As it transpired, the power went out during the night so we may have spent the €6 … Continue reading Day fourteen: Pontavert to Reims →

The usual night stop is Corbeny, but we had to creative using booking.com to find an alternative as the one and only hotel in Corbeny was full. It actually worked out ok as this was the last day of pre-planned diversions to battle sites of WW1. Today we diverted along a Section of the Chemin … Continue reading Day fourteen: Laon to Pontavert →

This is a second attempt at this posting, being drafted in Google Docs as my experience with wordpress has been extremely disappointing so far, hence the rant posting. At least Google Docs will auto save. Our day was long and arduous (potential word of the day). As we had to go off route to find … Continue reading Day thirteen: Moy l’Ainse to Laon →

A day going rouge in terms of route as we death for the sometimes elusive towns with accommodation. Often the town on the recognized only has one option, and if that is not available, cross referencing the accommodation list to Google maps is the next step. This was the case today as we went from … Continue reading Day twelve: Trefcon to Moy l’Ainse →

A modest 18km day, but the easy days are often the hardest. At last we feel like we are on a camino, meeting a German father and son at the Youth Hostel in Péronne last night who are doing the section as far as Reims, and tonight at the rural B&B, the same Germans, plus … Continue reading Day eleven: Péronne to Trefcon →

The generally accepted via francigena path, the GR145, goes directly from B to P, but we deviated by heading south then east, which took in the killing fields of the Somme. In many ways words are not enough, so here are pictures of the cemeteries and memorials that we either visited or could see from … Continue reading Day nine & ten: Bapaume to Peronne via Albert →

Back on shank’s pony. We’d planned to leave our trusty steeds at a ‘recycling’ store we found online, but we passed it by without realizing. Rather than back tracking, we parked our bikes at the roadside - I’m sure they will soon find new owners! It was a great day for a walk through the … Continue reading Day eight: Arras to Bapaume →

A rainy rest day in Arras - laundry and R&R! Being a Saturday, we checked out the market in the Places des heros (renamed to commemorate the hundreds of French resistance fighters who were executed in Arras during WW2). The yellow truck was by far the most popular vendor in the square, so we loaded … Continue reading Day seven: rest day in Arras →

A day focused on keeping our rubbery legs operating in the continuing heat - although it was only a tepid 28c today. It was another day of remembrance, with a specific focus on Canada. Our route took us up a trail on the eastern, steep side of Vimy ridge (ironically, it was 5e steepness of … Continue reading Day six: Aubers to Arras →