We meandered down the D roads, through lush green pasturelands and medieval villages with their 17th century chateaux and pretty timbered houses until we reached St Valery-en-Caux, a pretty coastal resort on The Alabaster Coast- so called because of it’s striking limestone cliffs, reminiscent of The White Cliffs of Dover. Following the signs for Camping Cars Parking, we found ourselves in a perfect spot to watch a very “angry sea” crash over the sea wall and into the harbour entrance. A Westerly gale and a West-facing harbour entrance is never a good combination!

The wind was strengthening by the minute and poor Harley had to squat very close to the ground when emptying his bladder for fear of being blown off his paws! Sadly, the weather conditions prevented us from strolling around this pretty town so, after having a homemade lunch in Sebo, we headed off to Honfleur. Much as we would have liked to have continued down the Normandy coast, increasing wind and driving rain convinced us to relax our “no peage” rule and we hopped onto the A-road in order to reach our destination quicker. Thankfully, this meant we missed the horrors of having to negotiate the streets of Le Havre and we crossed La Seine by means of the hugely impressive Pont de Normandie , a relatively new suspension bridge which rises majestically over the great river, giving a wonderful view of the medieval port of Honfleur. We found our sleepy spot for the next couple of nights without too much trouble as it was well signposted. €11/24hrs, including unmetered  5Amps electricity, unlimited water and waste disposal , a fab Aire, at Bassin L’Est, just a short walk from the town – perfect location and, in our minds, well worth the outlay. There’s so much we want to see in Honfleur, we’ve already decided we’re gonna stay here for two nights!

We awoke this morning to more heavy rain – a bit of a downer having had fabulous weather in The Scottish Highlands recently ( for the second year running, I might add!). Nevertheless, we donned our waterproofs and headed out to walk around this pretty town. After a couple of hours of being awestruck by the stunning architecture, and total lack of modern development, and being soaked to the skin and, by this stage, freezing cold, common sense prevailed and we headed back to the comfort of Sebo to dry out and warm up. Thankfully, after lunch, the rain stopped and we were able to resume our exploration. Lots of cobbled back streets, filled with artists’ ateliers and galleries, along with harbour-side restaurants and bars and fishermen selling their day’s catches on the wall of Le Vieux Bassin more than filled our afternoon. Such a lovely town that we even made an unusual foray back in after dark for a beer in a local bar although, having splashed out a whopping €3.20 each for a 250ml glass of draught Heineken, we reverted to Carrefour for a 4-pack of beers and headed back to Sebo for dinner.