Arriving in the town of St Quentin we immediately spotted a bronze shell set into the pavement. We followed the line of shells denoting an ancient pilgrimage route until the medieval Basilica came into view.
Set into the flagstone pavement at the west end of the nave lay a beautiful stone labyrinth. Walking the path was a reflective and intentional way to begin our travels in Europe.
We arrived in France yesterday morning and drove south stopping at St Quentin for lunch. Here I found a Tricolore alongside the European Flag. Felt appropriate.
We are sitting in front of a log fire ablaze within a Jacobean fireplace in Old Hall, Sandbach. The Hall is a wonderful example of Elizabethan wattle and daub architecture as well as one of only two pubs in the UK listed as Grade 1.
It feels entirely appropriate to be in a building that became a coaching inn in the 19th century. It is a great place to catch up with friends as well as enjoying our last stop before we start packing for our long road trip on the continent.
Woke yesterday morning to a blanket of snow and a sheep staring myopically across the freezing fields towards the Lake District.
At least we get chance to try out the winter tyres we need by law when we drive across the Alps in Italy. So far no slip sliding away.
On Friday we walked in Fryupdale to Danby Castle which sits in a strategic position overlooking the River Esk valley in North Yorkshire. In the 16th century it was the home of Catherine Parr who, after the death of her husband John Neville, became Henry VIII’s last wife.
Today we walked the beach from Marske to Redcar. The tide was well out and, searching for evidence of a petrified forest, we instead came across a large ammonite fossil in Salt Scar Rocks.
Arrived yesterday in God’s own county. We had a Yorkshire welcome with bunting, a Union flag and the White Rose flag hung in lights over the fireplace.
It does feel good to be on the road again visiting family and friends.
Bracing walk from Marske-by-the-Sea to Saltburn and back. Time to chat, enjoy the pounding surf and feel the cold air on our noses.
Now, back at the house, the wood burner is blazing and we will settle down for an evening of travel tales.
We drove up from the south to the north east on a lovely spring day. Roseberry Topping, the local hill, was stunning in the evening light. It felt good to be back up north.
Spent the late evening at the Riverside in support of Middlesbrough FC in their 3-1 win over Cardiff. Come on Boro!
We spent the best part of a day exploring ‘BP’, the Buckinghamshire estate and site of Britain’s top-secret world of WW2 Codebreaking. The mission of those working there was to crack the Nazi codes and ciphers. The most famous of the cipher systems to be broken at Bletchley Park was the Enigma.
It was mind stretching trying to make sense of how Enigma was broken with the help of the genius of such mathematicians as Alan Turing, whose life and work was recently portrayed in the film The Imitation Game.
It was good to know that WW2 hostilities were shortened by at least a couple of years through this project.
Took a stroll along the canal and through Campbell Park to a labyrinth we have walked a few times over the years. We passed a stand of snowdrops and some wild primroses alight in the low winter-spring sun.
It is good to be back in the UK but strangely it feels as ordinary as just the next day in the next place.
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