Once I’d extracted Sophie from Gisors, as well as squeezed the motorhome out of that tight space she insisted we park in, we were back on our way to Beauvais.

When we arrived at the aire, we again realised we’d been here before. That time was for a lunch break on a longer driving day, on our way home on our German trip in 2015.

This time we were staying the night, and unlike most of our overnights this trip, we had 3 other motorhomes for company. Before the sun finally set, it illuminated, in the distance, the town’s enormous cathedral in a very attractive orangey light.

I use the term “in the distance” deliberately, because the big debate was do we walk into town tomorrow or see if we can park closer. I could see a path that wound its way down the hill that would have been ideal for a walk, but the prospect of that winding uphill path on the way home didn’t really appeal. However, my concern was regarding available time, whereas for Sophie it was solely down to distance.

As it happened, after a reasonable night’s sleep, we drove to a carpark recommended by Park4night as being pretty close to the town centre. As we drove from the centre to the carpark, I could hear the cogs in Sophie’s head turning as she anticipated how far this walk might now be. Fortunately for her, there was a free shuttle bus from the carpark and back every 15 minutes, so a drama was averted.

The bus didn’t operate between 12 and 2 and seeing as we arrived in the centre at 11:50, there was every excuse to have a lunch there. After our usual scout around, checking out various set menus, we opted for somewhere more unusual for us in that it was something like a small cafe, but the menu did seem impressive as well as being good value. We both enjoyed our meals, and with our uninterrupted view of the street, our small minds were kept amused by the passers by on the cafe’s mirrored walls.

After lunch we discovered the impressive museum, which was principally an art gallery, and whilst we don’t usually bother with either museums or art galleries, the fact that this one was free was definitely a factor in its favour.

After this, that vast cathedral deserved the once over, inside and out, and then before we knew it we were ferried to our motorhome to continue our travels.