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Ranks of pale Commonwealth war graves stretching into the distance beside a single tree, their carved regimental badges lit by low evening sun.

Arras to Trefcon (day 6)

Ridden · Jamie Brammer

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Arras to Trefcon gpx

Heat wave time

It was almost cold (well 18°C) at 0630 this morning. My favourite part of long distance bike touring is the early mornings and the feeling that goes along with it. It was extra special this morning because it was so pleasant and it was the first day for this year.

I knew the weather forecast was for high temperatures today so the only option was to leave early and finish early, which meant I arrived in Trefcon around 1030 when temperatures were in the mid 30s. During the trip today I didn't really stop for long... just a cup of coffee at a random cafe. Otherwise just kept going.

Unfortunately Trefcon is a really boring place way out in the middle of nowhere so not much to do.

Overnight: Le Val d'Omignon

A fine room which was amazingly cool despite no air conditioning. It's in the middle of almost nowhere and there wasn't an option for cooked food but there were options of getting some "fancy tins" and cooking it myself which I did and the food was "ok". Similar with breakfast the next morning > nothing formally arranged, but possible to get a croissant or simliar. Its the only place to stay anywhere near Trefcon and they’re great hosts but if I did this again I'd try to take a different route and find something else.

  • The sun setting orange over flat farmland near electricity pylons, seen through tall grass and thistles at the field edge.
    0630, just after sunrise
  • Ranks of pale Commonwealth war graves stretching into the distance beside a single tree, their carved regimental badges lit by low evening sun.
  • A loaded orange gravel bike leaning against the brick boundary wall of a war cemetery, its Cross of Sacrifice rising behind steps and rows of headstones.
  • Weathered wooden signposts in a hedgerow, one reading Sentier des Ecoliers 17km/4h15 and Sentier des Osiers 3km/0h45, with a yellow Via Francigena GR145 marker on a post beside them.
  • A dirt track running alongside a golden wheat field towards a distant line of wind turbines under a hazy sky.
  • A war grave headstone inscribed Pilot Officer A.F.B. "Peter" Ramsay, Royal Air Force, 21st April 1940, Age 19, among other Commonwealth graves on the grass.
  • Two groundsmen tending rose beds between rows of white headstones in a war cemetery, with the Cross of Sacrifice standing at the far end.
  • A red-brick village church with a stone rose window and a tall slated spire, set against a clear blue sky.
    There's only a few buildings in Trefcon
  • A red-brick village mairie-école building with shuttered upper windows and a tricolour flag hanging beneath its Mairie Ecole nameplate.
  • The shuttered brick facade of a village gite, its hanging sign reading Gite above louvred window shutters and a panelled front door.
  • A gite dining table laid with a fruit-patterned oilcloth, water bottle, phone and bread, flanked by wooden chairs with blue upholstered seats.
  • A weather app screen headed Severe Weather Warning, showing a map of France with red, orange and yellow risk zones beside the label Dangerous phenomenons and a Consult the Map link.
    No prizes for guessing where I am.