We crossed Northern France in a series of short hops, together with Joy and Alan who by good luck happened to be crossing the channel the same day as us.
Mutigny
First stop was a small aire in the hilltop wine village of Mutigny in the heart of the Champagne region of France.
Champagne Fields
The village is surrounded by rolling fields covered in vines. Each vine apparently will provide enough grapes for one bottle of bubbly.
Baby Vines
The Aire
The aire is just next to a pretty chain of wildlife ponds.
Sushi
Along with a good supply of spare parts for his motorhome, Alan had cunningly bought some seaweed along on tour and knocked up this luscious plate of sushi for supper.
Le Cateau Cambresis
Next stop was Le Cateau Cambresis, a small town to the East of Cambrai.
Il Pleut
It was a scorching hot day to begin with then after we arrived, luckily just after we had re-provisioned at the Lidl up the road, the skies opened.
Arques
For the final day we stopped at this aire tucked away in a park at the back of Arques, a town next to Saint Omer, about 40 miles from the Channel Tunnel.
One of the lakes at the Aire.
Clam and Prawn Chowder
After a visit to the Auchan in Arques we had a seafood feast…the last supper.
We were up at 6 the next morning to catch the 9.20 train. It was a good drive up the motorway back home, enlivened by listening to the Bill Bryson autobiography on audiobook.
Time to cut the grass……
Rambling about Europe with the Kray Twins (Colin and Penny).
Travels with Mavis 
Fantastic adventures as usual Nia and Peter . We have really enjoyed your reports and the pictures are so very good . We away in France and then into Switzerland ( Beautiful scenery and very scary roads in the mountains ) and then we went into Italian Lake country . Brilliant camp-sites and smashing people . Now in Mid Piranees ( ?)in France and is so hot we think poor old salty is going to get a haircut to cool her down a bit . She heard us discussing it and hid under the table . She probably thought i was going to do it like mine !
Hope you had a comfortable journey home . Regards Susie and John and Salty
Lovely to hear from you….enjoy the trip…Peter and Nia