Destination Orange - Day 1 - Home to St Quentin

At Unusually for us we were packed and the  car was loaded well before the "off".

The night before I had spent some time checking the route for today and loading all the itinerary files on to the TomTom.

As my maps are fully up to date we will use the Rider again. With the optional car kit it works very well.

The DFDS ferry is the 1200 from Dover and to avoid hold ups our expected departure time from home was 1000, we arrived Dover and were checked in by 1010!

After a Costa Coffee in the quayside building we were loaded and by 1145 ensconced in the forward lounge,with its conservatory windows, so we can watch the sea whizz past on the two hour crossing to Dunkerque.

Kindles fully charged to see off the journey!!

The crossing went okay and we were off at 1520 local time into France. Judging by the wet in the fields they have had the same rain as us!

I planned a slight detour on the way to avoid the toll A26 motorway.  This took us down the A25 to Lille and the to Douai and Cambrai.

The evidence of the wars is plain. So many war graves and monuments to allied troops.

We stopped at an American monument to the troops that fought along the Hindenburg Line in 1918, just months before the war came to an end.

The final stop of the day was the Hotel Florence in St Quentin.

The Satnav took us to the door. Once booked in we had a short drive to get into the private car park.

The room is in what is most likely one of the courtyard blocks. Well appointed and recommended. Loads of other British here too.

Dinner in the l'Univers in the main square. Also very nice and not slimming world approved.

Some views of St Quentin.

At one side of the square they had a herb garden.

Tomorrow we are off the Dijon.