On we go!

Day 8 Licques to Tournehem-sur-la-Hem (9.5 miles) We stayed at a pretty little campsite in Licques, where we also had supper. We were grateful as there was nothing to eat in the little town unless you had made a previous booking. Of course we could have gotten pizza from the dispenser but we never had an oven, so that idea lasted 5 secs! It rained hard all night long, so we slept in and had warm chocolate croissants and fresh orange juice for breakfast. The forecast was more promising late morning, so we donned our rain gear and set off around 11am. The rain stayed light, and stopped completely after 1-2 hrs. making the rest of our walk very pleasant.

Smallest church I have ever seen, if you look close, you can see a small iron cross at the peak of the roof.

It seems early for wheat harvesting but this crop was turning golden and the heads of wheat where bowing, so maybe another few weeks.

This is the first day we have seen other pilgrims. One couple were cycling and stopped to chat with us on the way. When we arrived into Tournehem-sur-la-Hem, we were thrilled to see a little sandwich shop/bar open and these same folks were taking a break there. We joined them and with Dale's charade French we were able to have a reasonable conversation. The older lady at the bar was so pleasant and wanted us to stay until our Hotel opened. That was fine with us, we just chilled and enjoy a glass of vin rouge.

Next to the fridge containing the drinks there is a rack of Haribo candy/lollies/bon bon. I asked for some and she showed me that I just put my fingers in and grab whatever I want..no little tongs here..who cares how many fingers have been in the cookie jar!

That night at the hotel, Dale had the regional dish - cold jellied rabbit, chicken & pork - it definitely did not look appetizing to me but Dale loved it!

Day 9 Tournehem-sur-la-Hem to Wisques (13.8 miles) The forecast predicted rain again today and it was cold but we had only gone a short distance before we needed to strip off our coats. The day was beautiful but bipolar, we were happily walking along in the sun and then suddenly there was a clap of thunder and it started to hail...backpacks came off and rain gear went on in less than 5 mins and the hail lasted less than 10 mins. (There are tiny hail stones on the ground but difficult to see in this picture.)

The afternoon walk was pleasant with more beautiful wild flowers.

Wisques has a population of ~300 people but is home to two abbeys. Some of the abbeys are open for pilgrims to stay at, so we decided to take advantage of this opportunity. We stayed at the Abbey Notre-Dame which is for nuns. It was built in1891. We had supper with a monk and a couple of other folks staying the night. The nun in the picture below cooked our supper.

Dried herbs from the abbey garden to make our tea with, very cool!

Day 10 Wisques to Delettes ( 13 miles) We walked for a few miles through this very wooded area with amazing bird symphony - song thrush, Eurasian wren and Eurasian black cap (Dale has an app that picks up their song and tells us what birds they are.) We passed many windmills today and even seen one being constructed. The path took us through paddocks/fields with the occasional side pile of cow manure reminding us we are also in dairy country.

These are Dale's finds today...fossilized sea urchin, the gentleman at the BnB that we stayed at said that they are common in the cliffs around this area. A baby swallow who was huddled with his sibling next to a front step on the side walk. He is headed for a sad demise as they seem motherless and two have already died.

Stayed at a very nice BnB, had a long hot bath to sooth the tired muscles.

Day 11 Delettes to Enquin-Les-Mines (9.1 miles) After a wonderful breakfast of homemade yoghurt, fruit salad, crepes and stacks of fresh, warm, soft bread & croissants we started our walk. Shorter walk today, so made good time.

We stopped to load up on bread, sliced cheese and meat at a small grocery store and to our amazement we found a laundry mat in the carpark. The left drum is the dryer and the right two drums are for a small and large load of washing. Apparently, many small villages don't have the luxury of an in home washer/dryer.

This area was once a thriving coal mining area from 1757 to 1930, and once the largest company in France. The coal vein was 120 km long, 12 km wide and 1.2 km deep. There were numerous accidents in the coal mines, the worse recorded accident reported 1,090 deaths. WW2 bled the basin dry. Our accommodation tonight is beautiful, it was once a fortified farm, now a pretty BnB which also host weddings year round. The original building below was built in the fifteen hundreds but many changes have happened over time. It has a moat with a drawbridge and pretty gardens with cute chickens. Our room was lovely with the old exposed walls but modernized features. We bought our supper from the family - there was a choice of 5-6 meals that had been canned in mason jars. We then heated them in the microwave in our room - mine was boeuf bourguignon (beef stew) and it was excellent.

Day 12 Enquin-Les-Mines to Amettes (7.8 miles) The age of buildings in this country is mind boggling. We passed this historic home build in the fifteen hundreds, many homes are recognized by the French government as registered historical buildings and the exterior must be maintained in the original state (except for restoration).

We passed another tiny church today: we learnt that they are often at crossroads where travelers on foot in the past could pray to there patron saint for keeping them safe. Inside, there is usually a statue of the virgin Mary. An association called Oratoires has been created in France to preserve local shrines.

Lunch time!

We had just arrived in Amettes when we ran into Mark & Dawn, pilgrims we had first met in Tournehem-sur-la-Hem. They are staying in the same Gite (holiday rental home in France) as we are. The dog of the house welcomed us and the family reports that he loves the visitors that come and stay the night. The family cooked us supper as there is no cafe or restaurants in Amettes.

Day 13 Amettes to Bruay La Brussiere (14.8 miles) Started out strong, the day was windy with some mild rain. About one third into the walk I developed heel pain which continued to increase. I was able to limp my way to the end but sadly I can no longer put much weight on my foot. We have done 129.5 miles so far!

Day 14 Bruay La Brussiere to Ablain Saint Nazaire - We took a taxi to our destination. I sat near the destroyed church while Dale hiked up to Notre-Dame de Lorette National Cemetery. This cemetery covers an area of 25 hectares and holds over 40,000 bodies. This site emerged as the symbolic location where all the bodies of French soldiers killed in Flanders-Artois should be buried. Since 1920, it accommodates the bodies of French Troops from more than 150 cemeteries on the Artois, Yser and the Belgian fronts. Some foreign soldiers (Belgian, Romanian & Russian) are also buried there. French soldiers killed in WW2 were also buried there.

Nearby, stands the Ring of Remembrance Memorial to the hundreds of thousands of troops who were killed here in the First World War. In 1914-15, the area of land now holding the memorial was fiercely contested because of its strategic position. As an international place of remembrance , it unites for the first time the names of all the soldiers who gave their lives here, whether friend or foe.

Dale looked for any distance relatives..Savards & Frasers

The history of this little village traces back to the 13th century. The church was built in1505. Sadly, the village was situated on the front of WW1 and during the German & French fighting in 1915, the village was entirely destroyed and the church left in ruins. In 1923 the French council for historic buildings left the church in ruins as a symbolic sign against war's abominations.