Day 5 – Sunday 3 August

Buzancy to Hirson

Rough Camping

Bois du Catelet, Hirson

Possible Alternative Campsite

Domaine de la Motte, Signy-le-Petit (http://www.domainedelamotte.eu/en)

Notes

I had breakfast of bread and cheese at the campsite before setting off into the Ardennes hills. This was hard riding up steep hills and down steeply on the other side. I found a good lunch at a hotel restaurant and that was the best part of the day. I got to Rumigny where I had identified a Municipal campsite but on the ground it was nowhere to be seen and people declared that there wasn't one. I carried on hoping that a hotel would crop up, but to no avail. The towns and villages were too small to have any accommodation but I had hopes of Hirson, which looked big enough, but in fact there was nothing. I found road signs to Camping de la Cascade just north west of Hirson but when I came to it there was a sign across its arched gateway saying it was closed because of work, or at least that's what I thought the sign meant (Camping Ferme Cause Travaux).

Perhaps I should have prospected to make sure but instead I swore and rode on, only to pass a track leading into the forest barred by a wooden beam that slid easily through its posts. I checked that no-one was looking and opened the barrier, pushed my bicycle through, and shut the barrier behind me. I cycled down the track until I came to a corner that took me out of view of the road and stopped in a clearing big enough to pitch the tent. It was really quiet and peaceful, and I made use of my emergency rations and washed in a litre of water in my Sea to Summit collapsible camping bowl. I'd not used it before and can thoroughly recommend it.

In hindsight there is another campsite at Signy-le-Petit that looks like a better option, but it's too late now.