Ablain-Saint-Nazaire 17 miles

Usual start to the day although one of the poorer breakfasts so far. Fine walking though. In the morning I came upon some sort of mini Centre Parks affair with lots of folk eating outside. Could have joined them but just seemed too early in the fairly long day to have a break. Kept going as there was a boulangerie shown later on. Sound thinking except it was shut.

Late on I came to the vast cemetery at Notre-Dame de Lorette which has the remains of 40,000 French soldiers. That was sobering enough as was the adjoining museum but what was worse was the “Ring of Memory” nearby which has the names of 580,000 soldiers of all nationalities killed in the region between 1914 and 1918. Quite a few Kilpatricks so I assume there must have been a Scottish regiment involved. A number is just a number but when you see all the names written down it hits a little harder.

Anyway it meant I was later arriving at the next accommodation which was useful as I had been told not to arrive before 5.30pm. This was a strange affair, unlike anything I have stayed in elsewhere but not uncommon on the Via. This was a new house with a straightforward middle-aged, middle-class couple who welcome pilgrims as guests into their house, supplying evening meal and breakfast. I couldn’t make out why. They did charge 60€ but I don’t think it was about the money. Possibly just interested in meeting folk. It was on their own terms. Arrive after 5.30pm, only on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, must be booked in advance, rucksack had to be left in the garage, no shoes inside the house etc. All very understandable. The trouble for me came with the meals. As most of you know my social skills are practically non-existent. This has only been heightened by 10 days of virtually hermit levels of communication. When in company I much prefer sitting quietly and listening rather than chipping in. My family are more than capable of filling in any gaps admirably. Additionally I struggle with eating noises, apart from my own, naturally, so eating with some folk can sometimes be deeply unpleasant. And as a final blow they had a large dog that found the presence of someone new to sniff etc all too inviting. The food, although otherwise excellent was very dry. Another problem of mine. “Where’s the sauce?” springs to mind. Painfully aware that all these problems were in my head. What a nutter sometimes.Read more