First stop - Eaucourt-sur-Somme

Wednesday8 April 2026

After telling various friends that we planned to take it easy this holiday and not do a blog, today has been quite an adventure and so I can't resist the equivalent of 'putting pen to paper'.

The day began in Otford after spending the night with Peter and Hannah. My 80th birthday yesterday, had been very memorable with a super lunch at a Sevenoaks pub with all the family - Peter Hannah, Emilie and Adam, Natalie and David. Great to have both grandchildren at home and able to be with us. We left early to drive to Dover for the very smooth ferry to Calais. Another beautiful, sunny and warm day to drive to our first Camping-Car Park at Eaucourt-sur-Somme which is just SE of Abbeville. We needed to stop for a bit of shopping en route, so aimed for the SuperU on the outskirts of the town. They obviously have it in for us big vehicles, because despite circling the building we couldn't find anywhere to park - we couldn't go through the height barrier to the covered parking and the few spaces that were in the open, were very short and with overhanging trees. Fortunately, just down the road was a small Carrefour Market that had everything we needed. Arriving at the site, we pitched to the sound of the circus on the adjacent car park and the aroma of the alpacas in the next field! And then the cockerel on the other side of the hedge piped up! We'd just sat down with our cuppas in the sunshine when another motorhome turned up. The owners decided to drive onto a grass pitch opposite us - a mistake as their wheels immediately stuck in the ground and they couldn't move. The chap next door first went to their aid, trying to push them out, then John joined in, taking our flat wheel grips to see if that helped. With a lot more pushing, that did the trick and they very sensibly parked on the hard standing the other side of us. Once they were settled they came to say thank you, told us that although their van has a UK registration, they come from Iceland. (Never met anyone from Iceland before.) Their English was pretty good and so we got chatting. Turns out they keep their van in Colchester near where their son lives, but when asking where we came from, Johanna said their daughter also lives in England - in Horsham!! Parsonage Road, to be precise! Small world, eh? Joahanna also gave me a gift - 2 hand-made dish cloths, one pink, one blue. Quite a few people know that I make dish cloths too and I happened to have a new one in the van, so I was able to give her one of my white ones!

Eating our evening meal and washing up out in the open, then going for a stroll by the River Somme - our idea of perfect camping! Another bonus was that this afternoon's circus performance was obviously the last, as they are all packed up now and ready to move on.

The Westhaus family will be pleased to note that I did not fall on this bridge over a French river!!