Well, in spite of a continued suspension of the utterly ridiculous and clearly impossible-to-implement EES scheme, it was still just utter carnage at Dover this morning. This is now the seventh time I've entered / left the Schengen area since the EES scheme was introduced and not once have border control staff been in a position to take my biometrics.
By 6.30am the port was already heaving and the scenes chaotic. Hi-viz staff were doing their best to feed six lanes of mustered traffic to the French border control points, whereupon the French seemingly responded by doing their passive-aggressive best to work as slowly as possible in order to back traffic up as far as the M20.
Anyway, even though it took me the best part of an hour to clear the (conventional) border control and check in, I did - unlike many behind me - make it onto the sailing I'd booked.
The crossing itself was uneventful and we managed not to sink any giant rubber dinghies heading the other way.
Once in France life got better. Instantly gone were the chaotic scenes, aggressive driving, mountains of roadside litter and generally antisocial / yobbish behaviour that is now the norm my country. It was like a weight was lifted.
And so, a very pleasant (if outrageously hot) bumble ensued that's eventually led me quite randomly to the place I intend to kip.
Highlights of the bumble included a chance encounter with the site of the Battle of Agincourt and a parade that made me grin from ear to ear for a full twenty minutes.
I had no intention of visiting Agincourt but when I passed loads of obvious information points pertaining to the battle it would have been rude not to stop, so I did. The information was easily digestible and, purely by chance, I happened to stop at the exact field where the major parts of the thing were fought out some 600 years ago. The suffering was clearly awful but at least humanity seems to have learned salient lessons from the folly of such conflicts ...
Just south of Agincourt I found myself held at a junction in a very small random town for no immediately obvious reason: until all was revealed. I have no idea of the occasion, but there followed a parade of classic / interesting / exotic / beautifully presented cars with much in the way of tooting of horns and joyous waving. There were literally hundreds of them ranging from humble vintage 2CVs right up to souped up boy-racer hot hatches. There was even a smattering of old English stuff in there, including a really lovely MK1 Cortina. Literally all of the participants, and all of the townsfolk were smiling, waving and just generally having an obviously wonderful time. It was all very much not like England.
The place I've chosen to attempt to kip was mainly chosen because of tree cover (pic). There's absolutely no way it would have been possible to set up camp without full shade this evening. The spot is basically a dirt track in a random woodland that's been pretty much untrammeled but for half a dozen runners and a couple of dog walkers. All that have passed me have been cheery and welcoming. The dog walkers even stopped for a brief chat and told me of birds they'd encountered hereabouts that they'd managed to identify using the 'Mehrleen' app.
I've personally not seen anything rare or unusual birdwise but have noticed the woodland floor is alive! Of the more obvious creepy-crawlies I've seen have been many European firebugs and a few prowling nursery web spiders.
Post composed at 22:10 on Sunday 24th May from my intended overnighting spot N 49.18319°, E 02.62992° / http://maps.google.com/maps?q=loc:49.18319%2C02.62992
