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Via @ 70

July - October 2023
Walking from Canterbury to Rome Read more
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  • TravelerVia @ 70
    Day 10

    Ablain-Saint-Nazaire 17 miles

    July 22, 2023 in France ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C

    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

  • TravelerVia @ 70
    Day 11

    Arras 13 miles

    July 23, 2023 in France ⋅ 🌧 21 °C

    I know that I am sometimes reluctant to leave a cosy tent to head for the loo in the wee small hours but that is nothing compared with the fear of leaving my room during the night knowing that there is a monstrous hound sleeping between my room and the toilet. Just in case I didn’t need reminded it had a 5 minute howling at the moon episode at about midnight. Had me wide awake enough to remember something I had promised to do earlier. Hadn’t even managed to write the day’s report as I was mentally knackered after the dinner trauma. Lights out about 9pm.

    A dreich start to the day. Couldn’t wait to get going to escape that slavering Brutus. Stopped at a bus shelter to write yesterday’s diary. Rain pretty much stopped by the time I got going again.

    As usual I was bemused by the French habit of using the pavement for parking their cars. Not much thought given to pedestrians.

    Staying tonight in a Catholic hostel which can house hundreds, mostly in dormitories but luckily also small rooms. Think I might be the only guest tonight. No breakfast available. It started pouring down soon after I arrived at about 2.30pm and just didn’t let up. By 7pm when I thought I might be able to find a restaurant open it was still chucking it down. Big decision to make. Given that it would be about a mile in torrential rain to get anywhere and I only have emergency lightweight waterproofs and no waterproof footwear was I that hungry? I have been carrying an emergency bar of tablet from home but I hadn’t eaten since a very brief and inadequate breakfast. Greed got the better of me and I headed out. Found an Indian restaurant which was empty but seemed ok to have me drip everywhere. Lovely meal sitting alone. No dogs. No polite conversation except with the waiter who insisted on showing me lots of photos of his mother. Maybe he thought I needed a companion. No wonder I don’t understand social interactions.    Read more

  • TravelerVia @ 70
    Day 12

    Bapaume 18 miles

    July 24, 2023 in France ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

    Suddenly the walk has got harder.

    Started poorly. Still raining when I set off. No breakfast. Couldn’t decide where to stop but came across a large supermarket. Grand. They should have a cafe but no they didn’t. Tried to buy some food but it was all packaged in multiples of what I wanted. Managed eventually to get a pastry, banana and some juice except when I tried to pay it became clear that I should have weighed the banana. So I couldn’t have it. She couldn’t or wouldn’t weigh it for me. Pastry and juice it was then.

    Felt ok when I came to the sign for the Commonwealth War Graves Commission HQ which was about half a mile out of route. Had seen a flyer for it a few days ago so went to visit it. It produces the gravestones for all the different worldwide cemeteries. Sobering stuff.

    By the time I was back on route it was 12.30pm and I had only done a couple of miles of today’s route. Not good. Afternoon really a bit of a plod. Nothing to eat. Rain always discourages stopping for a rest. Underfoot became tough going. Either small stones or mud or a mixture. Feet now sore. Took until 6pm to reach next accommodation, a sort cheap, rundown hotel. Tiny room. At least they did dinner. Not much choice. Adequate. Best bit was what it didn’t have. No polite chat. No dogs. No walking in the rain to find it and no random pictures of mother.

    Lights out by 10pm and hope I feel chirpier tomorrow.    Read more

  • TravelerVia @ 70
    Day 13

    Peronne 17 miles

    July 25, 2023 in France ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    What a difference a day makes. Not raining - well it wasn’t when I set off and stayed pretty much dry all day. A breakfast - well a fairly poor French one but a heck of a lot better than none at all.

    So all going grand. Off I went but then I became aware of 3 slightly disturbing things. To begin with, to set the scene, most days I am walking from somewhere to somewhere with very little infrastructure in between. Certainly no food to be bought. So why is it that I never buy lunch as I set off? I know I am not the sharpest tool in the box sometimes, especially in the morning, but it really isn’t rocket science. Just because I am not hungry at 9.30am doesn’t mean I’m not going to get peckish by 1.30pm. Day after day. Quite incredible.

    The second thing was I realised that I was being followed. I was leaving town by a bit of a shortcut. Yesterday was a bit tough so I thought I would take advantage of a shortcut that I had identified from the map. I had done an extra mile yesterday so cutting a mile off today seemed justifiable. I haven’t seen any walkers let alone pilgrims so far so it did seem odd that these two gentlemen suddenly appeared behind me on this out of the way path. Both carrying pilgrim sized rucksacks. Just to be clear I mean large enough to last a pilgrimage rather than large enough to contain a pilgrim. Strangely unhappy about having them behind me. Luckily, I came upon a military cemetery. This is Somme country and they seem to be everywhere. As I frequently do, I spend some time in these and the lads had gone on ahead by the time I got going again. Never saw them again.

    The third thing had me thinking. I noticed that one of my “footprints”, as this app calls entries, has been liked by someone I don’t know. Now I am writing this thing partly as a memento which I will get printed when I finish and partly to keep friends and family informed as to what I’m getting up to. To make that easier for them I had to make it public so anyone can read it. But I never thought that anyone else would. Good grief it must be boring enough for someone who does know me, and bless you all for reading it, but I can’t imagine anyone else being bothered. It’s a strange world.

    Staying tonight in a sort of Youth Hostel. Strange definition of youth if it includes me. Still, I’m not complaining as it is only 30€ a night including breakfast. Got to use my own sleeping bag but that isn’t too onerous.    Read more

  • TravelerVia @ 70
    Day 14

    Trefcon 11 miles

    July 26, 2023 in France ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C

    A new problem today. Nice short day, less than 4 hours walking, the trouble was I couldn’t check in to the next accommodation until after 5pm. It was in a tiny village so nothing to do there if I arrived too early. Therefore no point in leaving Peronne before 1pm. Luckily Peronne had the largest WWI museum in Europe. Not something I knew much about but thanks to 3 hours spent there this morning I am now a bit of an expert. With my memory I probably won’t remember anything by the time I get home but it was really well done.

    And I bought a sandwich before I left town. Organised or what? Truth is tonight I am in an old farmhouse with no possibility of any food if I didn’t bring it with me. Sanny and water for tea. Plus some half melted Lindt chocolate that was wonderful.

    Initial misunderstanding when I arrived meant that I thought I was going to be in this fairly dire dormitory with no hot water, dampish mattress etc but it turned out I have an old but quite adequate room, sheets on bed, proper mattress etc. that I am delighted with. Amazing how if you think you are getting nothing you are quite happy with a little something.

    It is time I talked about feet. I have talked about eating quite a lot as well as sleeping but I don’t think I have mentioned my beloved tootsies. A pilgrim’s life revolves round that blessed triumvirate, food, bed and feet, after all. Anyway there is good news and bad news. Firstly the good - my left foot is grand, thank you. 2 weeks in and no blisters so far. Somewhat tender certainly but a combination of 9 months of twice-weekly training walks with full pack and a comparatively low mileage over the first 2 weeks have done the job. On the other foot as it were, its partner is not quite so happy. Don’t ask me why. Pretty sure they both have taken the same number of steps. Only a couple of blisters but together just a bit of a nuisance. Not burst yet, though.

    The real trouble is things are about to get more serious. I have averaged a comfortable 13 miles a day up to now but the next 4 days are over 20 miles a day. And just to start things off well, tomorrow’s forecast is heavy rain. I am of course camping tomorrow night. Luckily tomorrow is all on road. Hard on the feet and not fun dodging traffic but at least I won’t have mud to contend with.    Read more

  • TravelerVia @ 70
    Day 15

    Tergnier 22 miles

    July 27, 2023 in France ⋅ 🌧 19 °C

    I had the unwanted company of a fly during the night, trying to keep me awake. Didn’t succeed, partly because flies don’t concern me nearly as much as mosquitos. Flies don’t bite.

    Then I went for breakfast. Laid out on the kitchen table. Enjoying the breakfast was the most flies I think I have ever seen inside in my life. Every piece of bread and croissant had at least 3 or 4 chomping away. Slightly off-putting. Naturally a large hound joined me just to complete my anguish. Couldn’t get on the road fast enough despite it raining heavily.

    Continued raining all morning. Mostly on road. Interesting watching the traffic coming towards me. Some folk went completely on to the other side of the road, others barely moved at all. If there was something coming up behind me very few slowed down, they just didn’t change direction at all, presumably assuming I would take the hint and leap off the road to avoid leaving a dent on their car.

    Passed a shop around lunchtime. Got an aged banana, a packet of 3 Snickers and a can of juice. Kept one Snickers for later and had the rest.

    Couple of difficulties during the day. Firstly, a flooded road and secondly, the path just disappeared. Became rather unfriendly nettles and brambles, all soaking wet. Not good with my wee shorts.

    By the time I approached the campsite I was pretty done for. For about the first time my mapping software, Pocket Earth, let me down. Clearly showed a route which turned out to have a dirty great fence blocking it. Retracing my steps added a painful mile to the day. Worse was to come. When I checked in I asked about the snack bar which the site’s web page showed as being open every day in July and August from 10am until 9pm. Closed because it was raining I was told. Do the French not eat when it is raining?

    The nearest restaurant or shop was at least a mile and a half away. Hungry or not I couldn’t make that. I needed my saved Snickers to give me enough strength to put up the tent. You will probably hear my stomach rumbling during the night. And of course the campsite is on my way out of town tomorrow. If I am to get any breakfast then I need to walk a mile and a half in the wrong direction to get anything. Still no-one said this was going to be easy.    Read more

  • TravelerVia @ 70
    Day 16

    Laon 18 miles

    July 28, 2023 in France ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C

    Not sure what glamping is but I suspect it isn’t spending a wet night in a wee tent, waking in the morning to find a veritable army of ants over everything. Got packed up and left asap. Everything is now either wet or damp except for my passport, credential and credit cards. Surprising how much heavier a sodden tent is than a dry one. Couldn’t face going back into town for food so just plodded on. Came to a small town and found a boulangerie. Bought a panini, juice and chocolate eclair, sat on the pavement under an awning to keep the rain off and stuffed my face. Felt so much better.

    The well-dressed pilgrim has discovered the joys of wearing a Tilley hat. It keeps the rain off the napper better.

    It was now decision time. The Via is about 100 miles longer than 10 years ago and I think it is because they have reduced the amount of walking on roads and used more paths meandering about the countryside. Today was a perfect example. The route spent most of the day in forest, which would of course be wet and probably muddy or I could take the road which went pretty much dead straight. A complication was that I would have to commit to the road, if that was my choice, some time before I came to the actual road and only then would I know how busy it was going to be. The road was about 3 miles shorter. Went for it.

    Not a happy experience. My feet were grateful but it wasn’t in any way enjoyable. Whole day spent with dirty great lorries passing close by, walking just beside or on the road depending on what was coming and what was the state of the ground just beside the road. The straight road meant both myself and the driver had plenty of warning that we both wanted to use the same bit of road. The nearest I came to being smeared was when I nipped back on the road because there wasn’t anything coming for a while but a car behind me decided to use the gap in traffic to overtake. He didn’t miss me by very much and I got a hell of a fright.

    Could see Laon cathedral from a long way off thanks to it being stuck on a hill. Impressive building and I can’t get my head around the fact that buildings of that size were being built in the 12th century.

    Nice big room tonight and I have strewn my stuff round in the hope that some of it dries out by the morning.    Read more

  • TravelerVia @ 70
    1
    Day 17

    Corbeny 18 miles

    July 29, 2023 in France ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C

    Rained heavily overnight which made me a little concerned because the guidebook’s description of today said “Prepare for mud and mosquitoes in damp weather”. Fab.

    No breakfast available which didn’t worry me too much as I was sure I would pass something on my way out of town. Except I didn’t. When I reached the next village the only boulangerie was shut for a month from 21st July. Do the locals just not eat for a month? Did manage to get a wee local shop about noon. Just as well I wasn’t any later because he said he closes at 12.30pm for a couple of hours. All he had was a fairly nasty packet of sandwiches, banana and fruit juice. Sat on some steps and eat what I could. It did.

    The day stayed dry up until the last few miles but felt a bit of a slog especially as my phone died and my power bank didn’t work so I was left in silence. Get so used to Desert Island Discs it seems really strange to walk in silence.

    Lucky to get in tonight’s hotel as it shuts for the whole of August. Dinner in the hotel was fine which was as well because it’s the only game in town.

    Continuing to try to dry out the tent overnight. By the time I get it dry I will have another night’s camping and it will all start again.

    Major thunderstorm not long after I reached the hotel. That would have given me something to think about if I had been a bit later.    Read more

  • TravelerVia @ 70
    Day 18

    Reims 22 miles

    July 30, 2023 in France ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C

    I have briefly mentioned before my two mates who are travelling with me. We are inseparable. Before the trip we got on fine but over the past couple of weeks I have not been getting on too well with one of them. We start each day on good terms, and over breakfast, on those days I get such a thing, nothing is said but as soon as we get going the grumbling starts and it just seems to get louder as the day wears on. On the long days we are pretty much shouting at each other by the time we finish. However today, for the first time, we were all quite chummy for ages. I think, and hope, that our relationship may just have turned a corner. It was a 22-miler so plenty of time to fall out. Only 15 miles tomorrow. Surely we can stay civil to each other for that long. I feel that I have done my best, always smear on Compeed anti-blister stick before we set off and slather on plenty of CCS cream after the night-time shower. He has two main complaints. The wee blister on the end of my second toe has not changed much but isn’t so painful nowadays. The large blister which was on the ball of my foot in line with the second toe seems to have moved along a little each day leaving fairly robust, or numb, skin behind. Just thought you would like to know.

    The bearded pilgrim, who I met in Canterbury, still the only other pilgrim I have met, was very vocal in declaring that the French were very rude to him. He had been swore at, shouted at and even spat on. He thought it was a Brexit thing. “They hate the British now.” It seemed to be his abiding memory of travelling across France. Made me a little nervous as I was about to spent 6 weeks doing just that. I am still less than half way across France but I haven’t come across any bad feeling at all. In fact it is remarkable how almost everyone I pass acknowledges me with a “Bonjour” and/or a wave. Possibly a haircut and a shave might have been a good idea for him.

    A very curious coincidence occurred as I wandered into Reims. I spend most of my walking time listening to Desert Island Discs as I have mentioned before. Got through nearly 300 of them. This one was Christina Lamb, journalist, who told a story about meeting a politician from Pakistan called Benazir Bhutto and I noticed that I was walking through a park dedicated to the same person. What are the odds on that I wonder?

    In a sort of Travelodge hotel tonight and the only practical eatery nearby was a Buffalo Grill. Didn’t manage to finish my burger dinner but they did give me a litre carafe of chilled tap water that was lovely.    Read more

  • TravelerVia @ 70
    Day 19

    Verzy 15 miles

    July 31, 2023 in France ⋅ 🌧 19 °C

    Strange things, feet. Yesterday I was pretty happy with progress and it was a 22 mile day. Today, just 15 miles, so why are they about as sore as they have ever been? This isn’t the sort of pain from blisters which you get when pressing on the blister, this is the sort of pain you get inside the foot when you take your weight off it. It can come on hours after you have stopped walking. Suspect that part of the problem is my shoes. Very lightweight and great for road walking. But walking on small stones is not so good. Think I am bruising the soles of my feet. Very tender.

    Day of two halves. After a keek in Reims cathedral the rest of the morning was spent walking along beside a canal. In the afternoon I was up in rolling hills, through vineyards, on small, stony paths. Ouch.

    Met the usual “shop shut for annual holidays” stuff today and I think it will be increasingly common for shops, bars, cafes and restaurants. Just to add variety, tonight’s accommodation is in a small village with one restaurant which is closed today because it is a Monday. At least there was a small grocer where I bought a slab of mediocre lasagne.

    I was warned that tomorrow’s village doesn’t have any shops so I have bought a tin of Ravioli to carry all day and then at least I will have some tea.

    I nearly had company tonight. Apparently, a lady phoned this morning and booked but then phoned back later and cancelled. There appears to only be one bedroom which has a double bed and a camp bed. My hostess said that I have to use the camp bed because I am only paying a pilgrim rate. So, was this lady going to be using the double bed? Seems very chummy to me. Maybe she had second thoughts about it also. But really is it that much different than a mixed dormitory and they are not unusual?    Read more

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