Sad Albion

Neufchatel-en-Bray to Wissant, 96 miles - Monday 29th May

Wissant to Buxton,  290 miles - Tuesday 30th May

First the usual pre-homecoming stuff - a visit to Auchan Boulogne - though my enthusiasm for draining the wine lake has wained over recent years due to having to limit myself to a couple of glasses a day and the need take a 'break' from glugging altogether every so often simply to keep my ageing digestion system happy. Gill however is unaffected so engages in finding the ultimate wine bargain with unabated energy and enthusiasm. Today's find - some nice looking estate bottled Visan for less than 5 euros a bottle. Generally, however, the impact of a weak pound and French inflation is beginning to make the country quite expensive these days. Goodness knows how it will all pan out over the coming years.

We stayed at the free aire in Wissant, which is a bit rough and ready, but OK for a stopover before the ferry. The previous time we stayed here we arrived late so stayed in the van. Today we had time to walk into the village. It is prettier than other places on the coast between Boulogne and Calais, a spread out former fishing village with old cottages and an interesting tidal mill building. I think we might use the aire again.

Wissant - surprisingly pleasant

with an old mill

fishing boats

and a promenade that is almost stylish...

There is no pleasant way to drive home, London lies like a great blot between Dover and Derbyshire. We have a choice, grind to a halt in a traffic jam near Heathrow by going clockwise around the M25, or take the anti-clockwise route and get stuck at Dartford. We chose the latter. Then it's trundling up the M1 - I suppose there may be some pleasant country park where youcould t take a break somewhere near the motorway in Northants or South Leicestershire, but we have never found one. Anyway, by the time we have survived the M25 we are in 'lets get home mode' our spirit has been broken and robotically we take a break by joining the fellow victims of some M1 service area.

Luckily British culture is not quite as dreadful in general as Newport Pagnall or Watford Gap services might suggest. I don't know why, but the fact that the dog bowl that had been left outside Burger King so people could re-hydrate their pooches needed to be chained to the wall struck me as some kind of metaphor for the state we are in. In a civilised country dog bowls would not be regarded as items at risk of theft. Right now it seems to me that we are in a sorrier state than I can ever recall. Nobody seems happy, we are hopelessly divided and all that anyone can look forward to is a continued reduction in living standards and whatever your hopes and aspirations, the chances are you are going to be disappointed.

In the immediate future we have quite a bit to sort out in terms of clearing Gill's dad's house in order to sell it as well as dealing with winding-up his affairs. The whole experience is somewhat sobering - it is important to take the opportunities that come your way and avoid, as best you can, becoming risk averse as you get older. Gill's dad certainly tried his utmost to live life to the full despite his developing issues with dementia. He remained determinedly independent right up until his final month or so. 

We will try to squeeze in some trips in the UK in between heading up the the Northeast. There is another matter looming. we have run out of excuses to put-off a big question - if we want to move from Buxton to somewhere with a better climate - where to go? It's a big decision and one not to be taken lightly. In a sense it gives some purpose to trips away - an opportunity to explore some parts of the country where we might wish to settle. At least it will take our mind off fretting about the latest debacle reported on the BBC or Guardian news apps. In truth, compared to people trying to buy their first house or bring up a familyas incomes decline, we are not affected particularly by the political situation - but our children are - and the sort of country we are becoming matters greatly to them. So much so that our middle daughter and her partner are relocating to Lisbon in September - they don't see much of a future here in the UK, and that is a great pity.