The Week in Pictures: Calais to Arras

So far, according to my reverse cigarette box technology (back of a fag packet), I have walked 195 miles of the 1,500 mile Via Francigena; it is, as lovely Wheezie Cottrell so succinctly put it to me, as she kindly dropped me off at Barham before I made for Dover, "an awfully long way indeed!" and, indeed it is, in fact it is nearly twice as far as the Camino de Santiago, that doyen of Pilgrim routes and if you look on the big map (I rather not at this stage), you will see that I have hardly even started down the Via. BUT, that said, slowly slowly I am getting there and I have to say that as an adventure, the journey is living up to every inch of expectation and some!

I am now in Arras, having walked 100 miles this last week. Funny how you get used to the mileage and even pity the motorist, hell bent as he or she is invariably on getting somewhere at speed for a meeting or other which, frankly when all is said and done, is probably of little import. Ok, I stagger about with all my worldly possessions on my back and the weather has been very British indeed of late, but it's just so liberating an experience.

Night in a convent, night in a campsite, night in a school sick bay, night in a farm, I am now on a rest day before heading off to Reims which, I should reach by Monday 28th May, via Peronne, Ham, Tergnier, Laon and Corbeny. Please pray for the rain to stop.... Frankly the plants have had quite enough in my book, as have I!

Bon week tous!