2005, Day Sixteen, Saint-Quentin

Day sixteen 9th July

Set off again towards Belgium again, heading for a stop in Saint-Quentin overnight, leaving via the N77 and the supermarket (where we get a seesaw for the twins and a lot of beer for me).  As I said in 2003, getting from the N77 to the A26 via the A5 is not very straightforward as there are not that many places you can get onto the A5 (we have now done it twice, two different ways and it's not simple).  I think it may be just a easy to drive though Troyes, but I haven't tried it.  From the A26 its onto the A4 for Reims and then its back on the A26 the rest of the way to Saint-Quentin.

Saint-Quentin Camping Municipal De Saint-Quentin Boulevard Jean Bouin, 02100 Saint-Quentin Web Site

This municipal site just over the road from the river Somme and about 1.5 miles from the centre of town, Saint-Quentin is nice place, pity about the campsite though, looked like it was good site at one time but is now very rundown.

Got a street map from reception and set off into town with a nice walk along the river Somme, it didn't take very long to get to the town centre.  After a walk round the shops and the church, we came upon a very strange sight.  In the main town square there was a beach, sand dunes, swimming pool and beach volleyball, along with stages for bands and other amusements.  If everyone is going to go away to the beach for summer, why not build the beach in town?  Had a wander round the beach and then had a couple of drinks at one or two of the many bars.

 

We walked back to the site via the back streets, quicker than walking back along the river but we couldn't have done it without the map and it wasn't as nice.