This morning the weather wasn't much better - raining and blowing a gale. However Laon is a right on town - this sign next to the city walls reads - no parking except for camper vans!

We set off north west and soon passed the city of St Quentin - seen here with its fine cathedral.

We journeyed through the Valley of the Somme - the scene of a a first world war battle in which tens of thousands needlessly lost their lives - sent to their deaths by failed politicians. The landscape was littered by cemeteries, containing the graves of countless war dead, which we could not bear to visit or photograph.

By mid afternoon we arrived at today's destination - Dunkerque Ferry Terminal.

We have been here so many times that it feels like home from home.

The French and the British fly their flags here and their agents diligently search all the vehicles for "illegal immigrants" presumably on Prime Minister Cameron's orders to try to shore up his prospects and ward off the UKIP threat in the forthcoming General Election.

Is is quite interesting here - watching the ferries come and go, unloading and then loading many huge trucks together with a handful of cars and at this time of year very few camper vans. It's very wet and windy this evening.