Wednesday 14th August
Last night i made an executive decision before it got too dark to camp up on some grass by a campervan and truck stop in St Omer. I had a bit of cover and the sun set pretty quickly so before I knew it I was cooking noodles with my head torch. During the night I was awoken to an almighty roar and the tent was shaking back and forth like an earthquake. My great spot for a nights kip turned out to be about 6 feet from a railway with just bushes between however for some reason not all the trains made as much noise as the first so I soon dropped back off.
Today was my first meeting with the French police, it turns out I can't camp at some truck stops. They approached with caution and kindly called out "POLICE, no camping" and I answered from inside my tent, "yeah sure no worries, 2 minutes." I forgot where I was at first as my tent is like a little time machine. I leave it in one country and wake up in it in another!
Things could've been a lot more eventful if they had charged in to wake me up though. As I heard the sound of branches cracking beneath their feet I was in a state of self repair, more specifically I was completely starkers nursing antiseptic cream into a rash/wound that I obtained in Portsmouth on day one! As it happened I got some shorts on quick smart and they were none the wiser.
When the police left and I had packed away it turned out that my barrier from the railway was a blackberry bush! So that was breakfast sorted although I didn't get too carried away. My friend Rocka will testify that when the stomach doesn't feel right, octopuses aren't the only species to shoot black ink when threatened!
Cycling into a headwind was tough today, after the slight disappointment of RC Lens (although the security guard did give me 4 bottles of water) i had to find a town called Arras. This is where I found out that the French can not do directions nor are they young. After one question to a man in the street, I found myself 10 minutes later with 3 old people and a man from over the road still with no clue where to go as they changed their minds constantly. As it happened I went with my instincts again and found my way only 100m from their house! Complete pain in the arras! Excuse my French!
Decided to pitch up early with the permission of a farmer so have a lovely little spot over looking a wind farm. No police, no trains, no problemos
Rocka is a very wise man!
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