There is rain during the night and the tents are wet but the boulongerie almost at the gate is open at 6am the earliest we have yet found. Tim finds a friendly cheerful lady in there at 6.30 and we get Pain au Raisin which sets us up well for the day.
We are out of town and arr soon through the first village,Sogny du Moulins the name but a hint of what’s to come. There is a warning in the guide that this stretch can be difficult in high wind. Today is quiet but most of the dozens of wind turbines visible from the old Roman road from Challons to Bar sur Aube are functioning. This is a gravel road and it is dead straight as far as we can see into the distance where it disappears into a point. The turbines are all around and the day is cool with occasional showers of rain. So we bowl along quite quickly. But get nowhere fast, the road goes on for ever with turbines to the left and right. But there are marbled white and black veined white butterflies and a lot of different flowers including St John’s wort incase we feel depressed.
Eventually after passing a very small and derilict Maire in Vesiguneul-sur- Coole we reach our goal of Coole. Village name taken from the stream in the valley. Where Betsy with the help of Mme.Jacqueminet from Trepail with whom we stayed the previous night has organised us into the home of Jean Pierre and Monique a retired couple.
We all get clean and the use of the washing machine and Betsy is soon engrossed in helping Madame and a neighbour pick raspberries for confiture. Tony and Betsy have been working at solving the problems of the next two days. Involving an even more remote stretch of French farmland. More about that tomorrow