Basel to Calais

I was now on my final leg and was cheered by the prospect. The downside was the weather that had caused me to abandon the Swiss section. Initially my ambition was to cycle to Rome, but my second ambition was “To cross the Alps”. When I set out it sounded preposterous and in the event that’s how it turned out. I had taken the train part of the way to Rome and similarly I had taken the train over (or through) the Alps. I was now deflated by not really having achieved either ambition.

In the end I completed the final section back to England,but I found it a curate’s egg. The weather remained patchy and the northern part of my route was heavily built up, which detracted from the expectation of open countryside. Nevertheless, it was part of France that I didn’t know and intriguing for that reason.