After the success of the recent trip to Birmingham, it was time for a rather larger adventure. France! A 2CVing chum is, today, marrying His French love (a lady, not any of his Citroens) so several of us have driven to the Continent in our 2CVs. 

Our trip began on Thursday, when we drove from Wales to Sussex. Here we are lunching in Crickhowell. 

Earplugs were very necessary, but Elly lapped up the miles with no bother. Motorways can be scary places in a 2CV. The legal limit is your top speed and actually passing people can be annoying if they speed up. Sometimes, they look in the mirror and refuse to let you past. I just assume these people have a need to compensate… 

After a pleasant stop over with Rachel’s family, we headed to Dover. Three miles from the port, a collision up ahead brought everything to a halt. We had a nervous wait while the emergency crews did their thing. 

We were very glad to reach the ferry port in time! 

We were even more glad to find friends that would be on the same boat. Yes, the yellow one is a 4×4. It was on Top Gear a LONG time ago, driven by Kate Humble. 

The crossing itself was undramatic, and some friends in an Ami joined our happy convoy. 

Then we pushed on for Saint-Amand-Les-Eaux. This is a town tucked near the Belgian border, and is suitably French. We even found a Renault 4!

There are two minor problems with Elly. One is that the speedometer bulb has stopped working, which made driving around last night entertaining. The other is that oil seems to be misting on the inside of the windscreen. There must be a mild leak on the offside cylinder. Hopefully not a major one. We need to get back home yet! 

More in the next post.