Hi all
Time to take stock of where we are.
So far I have 17 teams on the list. (12-13 of these will be BX’s so potentially a big up for the BX).
The route has undergone some tweaks, incorporating modifications suggested by those ‘on the ground’ in France. First, DAY ONE: The leg of the route that is always a bit of a grind is the Calais to Rouen section. It could be that familiarity breeds contempt, but it is a bit of an uninteresting start.
Most will need to cross the Channel but not everyone wants to cross Dover/Calais or via Eurotunnel. A fair number of potential teams are in the West of the UK. Those, and others in the North and Midlands (to be honest anyone not in SE England) might want to cross at Portsmouth or Newhaven - or even Plymouth rather than drive hundreds of miles to Dover.
So, the 2015 Challenge will start somewhere a certain distance into France, where the route to our first overnight (Gien) can be done at a more comfortable pace as the first third isn’t taken up by the Calais - Abbeville and Rouen run.
Before this decision was made, planning a way around Rouen, along interesting roads through Gournay-en-Bray etc. was the first step, and Neufchatel-en-Bray, on the A28 to Rouen, became an important way point; the point at which the familiar road to Rouen is abandoned for a something more ‘cross country’.
So, given the ease of access to and from the A28, (which of course is a key part of the network of autoroutes that links the ports of Cherbourg, Caen, Le Havre, Dieppe, Calais/Dunkirque) Neufchatel-en-Bray was clearly worth considering as the start point. It’s also perfectly poised for the drive south on ‘Day One’.
There are good facilities there: supermarket, fuel, eateries but most important an excellent camp site: Camping Saint Claire
http://en.camping-sainte-claire.com/
There’s a decent hotel or two in the town too.
Therefore, on the morning of Saturday 13th June, we can assemble and given it’s comfortably less than 6 hours drive to the stop over at Gien get all our CB’s sorted etc. in good time. It’s a simple task to get us onto the A28 to travel one junction before heading south, into the countryside…
Neufchatel-en-Bray is 2 hrs from Calais, 40 mins from Dieppe, 1hr 45 mins from Le Havre, 2hr 45 mins from Caen, and an admittedly long nearly 4 hours from Cherbourg. But Calais is not central so penalises anyone from the West who has to travel there on the UK side.
Attached is the DAY ONE route. Subsequent route plans to follow as and when they become available.
a transfer box would suffice as a spare? lol
