Plenty of lovely Winter sun when we woke in Laon. It was a hair-washing day for Sophie, which also means our smalls get a wash too. Once these were done they enjoyed the sunshine too as they were hung outside on twirly driers on the bike rack.

After a lazy morning we then set-off in a Northerly direction, with our objective being Cambrai. We stopped for a canal-side lunch at St Quentin, a strategic town in WW1, then had a “centre ville” drive through.

The great weather didn’t let up which made the drive even more enjoyable, and we were in Cambrai by 4ish.

We thought we’d head into the town centre to where I’d planned to park the following evening so that we could see the son et lumiere. However, a big market was in full swing which meant diverting down some side streets, which had Sophie on edge, but all was well.

We found a decent parking spot not too far from the action and strolled into the centre to familiarise ourselves with the town. Sophie spotted a churros vendor, which is instinctive to her and so we shared a bag of the freshly deep-fried and sugar-drenched delicacies. I was then informed that was our evening meal.

Our next objective was to establish our parking spot for the night. We’d already sussed out that Marcoing, just a 15 minutes drive, had an official aire, as well as a park4night. There was no contest as we opted for the latter by the canal and a very peaceful night was had.