Tuesday 29 March

Another windy night with rain showers but not as bad as Sunday. Bright and sunny when we got up so a fairly steady start as not too much rush today.

First off was a visit to the vet. For those who don't know, for return into the UK dogs (and cats and ferrets!) have to be administered a worming treatment between 24 and 120 hrs before returning by a vet. This has of course opened up a money-for-old-rope trade amongst Northern French vets; the further from the port, the cheaper the fee so it's a bit of a balancing act and of course getting an appointment. We chose a practice in Rue, only a couple of hours away from Calais but very convenient for the aire at Le Crotoy, where we stayed overnight, who we were told operated a walk-in service after 2.00 p.m. We of course arrived at 11.30, ready to make an appointment but they were happy to do it there and then. €34.50 for a tablet and 10 mins – gotta be a good thing for them!

That gave us the option of getting an earlier Tunnel crossing, but the problem with that is that they get more expensive the closer you get to your booked time. The Eurotunnel operator was very helpful but the best we could get was tomorrow afternoon for £34 extra. Ah well it's only money.

So we motored steadily up the D940 along the coast, noticing how quiet everywhere was – even Lidl and Aldi were deserted when we called in for a baguette for lunch. Refuelled at Boulogne to save us some time later and stopped for lunch at Cap Gris Blanc overlooking a very rough sea. In the distance we could see three ferries off Calais which didn't appear to be going anywhere and later learned that the bad weather had caused many cancellations. Glad we use the tunnel!

After lunch we continued up to Wissant, our now regular pre/post crossing stopover. Short of the town a sign indicated that the crossroads in the centre of Wissant was closed and offered a diversion, which we eventually took (long story). Halfway round the signs disappeared so we turned off the satnav (which eventually gave up anyway when we took no notice) and Bren navigated us round the back roads to avoid the problem. Which turned out to actually be at the entrance to the aire which was being repaired! Fortunately we were told to wait 5 mins while they finished one section and we could get in, joining a number of vans who had been trapped there since midday.

So our last night in France is upon us; no rush in the morning and once we've crossed over we'll go up to the Canterbury aire and have a meal in the rather nice pub before the long slog home on Thursday.