Le Blat Part Deux

by admin on September 11, 2010 in Reports with No Comments

Well it seldom pays to return to the scene of a crime………but then driving French roads is far from being a crime ( unless you count the fact that they are so smooth you just want to use the loud pedal a bit too much )……After Le Blat a few folks had expressed an interest to get involved having missed out for one reason for another.

As per…I worked out a route that would take us on a circular 160 mile trip around the Pas De Calais. If you think that Northern France is boring I suggest that you ignore the autoroutes and head for some stunning Towns, Hesdin, Bethune, Fruges to name but a few. Each with its own quirky character, many built in the traditional way – small Town Squares at the heart , with the pulse – Cafe’s and Bistros always close by. The sacrifice made to the weather Gods was enough to secure another dry day and we headed for our initial ‘meet’ at Ashford in good spirits. Until that is Trevor turned up having somehow misplaced his alternator belt. Much head scratching and gentle amusement followed, trust the Brits to find a potential catastrophe amusing!

Various attempts to work out a short term fixed proved useless, although again the comedy factor of ladies tights and other garments brought a smile to the face.

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With some reluctance we had to abandon our comrade, with the ‘brief’ that he would do his best to get across La Manche and catch us up – which luckily he was able to do at Azincourt. I love this little corner of France, it’s tranquil and stunningly beautiful, and the Cafe that we have found on previous Blats is most welcoming.

With Trevor back in the fold we split into 2 groups, with Neil leading the second party. It has to be said that I wouldn’t follow Neil to the South Pole, we’d probably end up in the Bahamas – his Garmin seems to enjoy making a mockery of the planned route – but hey ho they still managed to cover some inspiring roads AND were at the alloted meet points for coffees and lunch!

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The roads were generally clear and calm, well let’s face it they have the same population and 6x more space so they should be shouldn’t they! In fact they were so quiet that we completed the route head of schedule, leaving time for some ‘freestyle’ exploring. For many of us France is a short drive away, yet it amazes me that folks don’t pop over for a days driving. With the right chunnel or ferry the costs are pretty low and it’s so nice to experience the attention that the French give to us – and all because of their passion for our little cars.



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