A rebel without a clue.

Passing a rotisserie stall at the morning Marché in Le Tréport I bought pomme de terre for the midway morning matter conversion and three large slow roasted saucisse for petit dejeuner. And I leave vast Normandy and cross a frontier into petite Picardie once more. A very elongated circular walk... With two assistances forward thanks to SNCF, when I had run out of options, and a few nice little auto-stops, when shuttling between places,and I will be back in Beauvais by Saturday for a mid afternoon flight. There is a toilet on the beach front where I can deposit spent fuel rods before another long day and the heat will be unbearable (it's 8 o'clock). *** 40% left on the phone, but a filled belly and a place to stay in Abbeville: I must just get there, or as far as is possible before my body stops me, then auto-stop  Coming down from a 'difficulty', off of the cliffs with its relentless up and down, I am on another difficuly - the flat open uncovered pan of La ...

The sweet perfume of tansy along the way, precarious near the edge of the fragile cliffs: I took no notice of the two or three signs giving me 'obligatorie' advice not to walk that way... and here I am with an April 2021 Orval in Place Notre Dame (Bar Les Cordiers €5.60). Opposite me is Chris Pizza. All along the harbour frontage folks have mounds of steamed Moules. Can it be so good in such quantities? Like fish and chips along the seafront in Whitby... It's farmed mussels. If can find a place which feels less prole and more bourgeois... Such a fool. As an erstwhile paysanne I opt for a pizza... There must be more to me? Another 35/40 kilometres. I am killing myself as I burnt the soles of feet on the exposed chalk heading up from a cleft where the ladders had been ripped off the surface, with some force(water water everywhere, but not a drop has fallen on my feet), and were difficult to manage; going up. *** Another day dawned and I am still here? Another day ...

Déville-les-Rouen for a detour slightly back on myself. Coffee and croissant. There is a stream passing north here. I guess it feeds the Seine. Am I walking today or am I sodding off back to England this evening? *** Long day yesterday. Exhausted by the time I reached Cleres, where I noticed that a train was going through at 1431 so I polished off a Galette complet and arrived in Dieppe where I found just one bed in Neuville-les-Dieppe for €63. Heading north east along the E9/GR21 passing Plage du Puys and it's memorial to the Canadian dead from the assault in 1942 This morning I was mindful of catching the ferry to the UK in this heatwave. And overall the cost of being in France for another 5 nights should be something I can manage? Newhaven to Leeds, via London, would've been expensive too... Long morning along the coast. Finding a place for food was difficult, but, finally, I have a Repas filled belly for the afternoon craziness! It is just after 2pm, which was t...

Day three and day two undid me. Two days of struggling to find accommodation which is a reasonable cost(€126.04 for two nights works out as tres expensif). The night was hot in the hotel bed. The covers were too warm for me, but the tiny window and thick curtains kept it quiet in the space and I don't think there were bedbugs... Back in the centre. Actually Mantes-la-Jolie is a bit disappointing as a city, but it was largely destroyed in 1944 as Patton crossed the Seine here. It's as average as Bastogne... Today I revert to backpacking and try to find a more reasonable option: there appears to be an Auberge du Jeunesse in Rouen, but I can't get an answer from them. Caught the 8:49am to Rouen. Mantes-la-Jolie was nothing that I expected it could be. The mix of middle eastern, north African, west African, etc, made me feel uncomfortable. Really I saw only a couple of folks who appeared 'French'. The gentleman from the Amis Saint Jacques back in Beauvais didn't kno...

A truly mammoth day. At least 45 kilometres by the time I'd paid for one night in Hotel de la Val(€76.04 - ouch) because the lady who welcomes pilgrims is on her holidays and an Abbey was at first willing and then not (but very far from the route I am supposed to take for one more day tomorrow). On the route it's impossible to find anywhere in the various ville and court I have passed (there wasn't a shop at all) and in Magny-en-Vexin the suggested Hotel was complete... It is Friday and it is mid July. If I can't find a reasonable place to sleep tomorrow: a much shorter etape, I will walk north towards Rouen and an Auberge du Jeunesse. On Monday/ Tuesday, when the heatwave returns, I really need an Airbnb somewhere. I want to head to Amiens, Somme etc... The guy on reception gave me a discount and a room with a bath so I soaked me, socks and pants. But I don't want to talk about the colour of the water! One days dust... Some wind is picking up as I sit below the Col...

It is not yet 7 and I am sat opposite the grande eglise here in Gisors. Auto-stop from Trie-Château as Le Bar/Tabac is closed and so too the Boulanger, but not coming to the main centre is definitely something overlooked by those planned the route from Beauvais. It's not a Cathedral but it is definitely a Collegiale standing proud on the horizon with the streams passing around it heading towards the River Seine. Eating pizza was not good for falling asleep. It's too rich a food, especially the old fashioned, high in phoney Mozzarella...but once I finally conked out that was it until 6am. No toilet break. The weather looks less extreme this morning and, indeed I am wearing a long sleeved midlayer: the only one I have from the lost luggage... ...and I have to walk to get back on The Way? So silly. Where am I going? There is no way of knowing, but I love the haphazardness of the end of the day yesterday - traipsing everywhere for cash, beer and food - and today hitching into Gisor...

End of the day. The final section, without tree cover, was hard going. A farmer in  Énencourt-Léage gave me a lift in his electric buggy - a golf buggy for working the Noix trees behind the Ferme - back to the farm, took me to the office,  in an old dovecote, where he gave me water, then brought me to Chez Robins - but they're full. Now I am in a Chambre d'Hotes, but she has retired and only accepts cash for the room. I think she's going to run me to Gisors to get money... But I could probably hitch there and back. Running low on energy I ate all the nuts I had since the UK - one of the only items to escape the wrath of airport logistics. Now I am heading for a shower and repose. It was a lot of nuts and I feel gassy. The gentleman of the house runs me around, but I struggle to make myself understood. It's another area of France: Vexin, but am now cradling a Rebelle Pale Ale in Villiers-sur-Trie and will walk to find a pizzeria later. The wasps are active an...