Our plan when we left Corps after the Tour de France was to retrace our steps and return to the top of Italy to set ourselves up for an attack on the Croatian coast. The weather in that area has been so hot and uncomfortable for riding we decided to go with Plan B!

We headed north and set the GPS for Dijon – completely in the opposite direction I hear you say. Correct! We have decided to return to the UK and head for Scotland for another stay at Neil and Isobel’s home in East Kilbride. At least we should get more comfortable riding weather, maybe even a little rain because we are well and truly over the heat.

The GPS was also set to avoid the motorways. We rode through beautiful French countryside surrounded by sunflower fields and freshly rolled crops. When we reached Louhans we were confronted by the Agriculture Blockade that has been happening throughout France since April. Farmers are protesting about low meat prices and are blocking roads, especially those near tourist attractions - although what their protest has to do with tourists we have no idea! There were tractors blocking the streets in all directions, one had even emptied a load of manure over the road. There were police in attendance but luckily they turned a blind-eye to the motorcyclists – including us – who mounted the footpaths and went on their way. Our accommodation was on the south side of Dijon, chosen for the air conditioning once again! As we had spent the day travelling completely on minor roads we did not arrive at the hotel until 6pm. No sooner were we off the bike than a rain storm swept through – we settled for dinner in the hotel restaurant!

We enjoyed the country riding so much we repeated the GPS process the next day and enjoyed the ride further north. Our lunch stop saw us enjoying quiche and baguettes while sipping delicious coffee on the footpath outside a Patisserie in Chatillon-sur-Seine. An older couple approached us and asked if we were from Australia – they had spied the bike. We chatted with them for a while – they were British, originally from Essex but have been living in the town’s Chateau for the last 8 years. We wondered how you get to live in a Chateau but were too polite to ask. We rode on to our destination in our rain suits as the sky threatened to dump rain on us. We managed to stay dry but kept the rain suits on as it was actually cold with only our summer jackets for protection, today we were cooler than we have been for the last month. Our stay tonight was in Epernay – just outside Reims. The area is famous for Champagne production with signs up everywhere to The Caves – tasting rooms. Our hotel tonight was on the outskirts of town - one of the Campanile Hotel chain. They offer a reasonably priced buffet dinner including dessert - we had more dessert than the main course!

Day three, and we were still heading north avoiding the Auto-routes and big towns. We rode passed the vineyards that produce the grapes for Champagne. Every little town was neat and clean and most had flower displays, either hanging or in boxes in front of the homes. There didn't seem to be many people about, guess they were sleeping in as it is Sunday. The largest town we rode through was Douai which had a magnificent Cathedral on top of the hill. Greg obligingly rode up the hill for me to get a photo and regretted his decision all the way down the hill on the cobbled road - he hates riding on cobblestones which are always uneven and slippery! We continued on through the countryside and passed several Military Cemeteries as this area was the site of many Western Front battles during the First World War. Once again we put on the wet weather gear as it started to drizzle. So glad we did because by the time we reached Dunkerque, our destination, it was raining steadily.

Tomorrow morning we cross by ferry from Dunkerque to Dover. We would prefer to go via the Chunnel on the train but the delays have been up to 4 hours daily because of the continuing problems with the migrants in Calais. The last time we crossed the English Channel on a ferry was in 2007! We are heading to Felixstowe tomorrow to swap over some of our clothes at the Shipping depot.