Sunday 15 April

We’re in France, so what do you do on a Sunday morning when you aren’t going anywhere, croissants and coffee.

We had concluded yesterday that we would stay another day because there was still fog forecast for this morning, and we did not think it would clear in time to leave and catch the required tide into Dover.  So we had a lie in, although we still woke early, and then Dave and I set off in search of a boulangerie. Unlike every other French town I have ever been to, there was not one on every street corner, and we had to walk a surprising distance before we found one. Eventually we spotted a gentleman carrying a baguette, and concluded we must be close by. We found the shop and bought the appropriate ingredients for mid morning coffee and lunch before setting off back to the marina.

 

The same view as we showed a day or two ago, better visibility today

We have cleaned the boat a bit, topped up the fuel and planned our route for tomorrow. We have also had a quick practice of singing about “the white cliffs of Dover” just to get us in the mood for being back in Blighty.

After lunch we walked along the beach promenade for some distance. We passed a restaurant where the was obviously some sort of private party, as there was a swing band on a balcony in 1940’s uniform, churning out Glenn Miller style music.

We then visited the Dunkerque 1940 museum. This is a town committed to not forgetting the heroics that were performed here by the French, British, Dutch and Belgians. On the major streets, every couple of hundred metres, there is a plaque or board with a photograph of that period, and a suitable inscription. The museum was small, and stocked with the jettisoned equipment of the era. There are also boards telling the story of what happened, day by day, in both English and French. There is also a feature about the Czechs, who were tasked with liberating what was left of the town, after the Normandy landings. It was quite a harrowing experience to be confronted with some much evidence of mankind’s inhumanity to others.

Distance covered today - 0 nautical miles

Total distance covered - 536 nautical miles

Steve (and Tricia)