Day 2 – to Nevene, Belgium

Brill Common is an excellent stopover for the trip down from Cumbria, though it had been cold enough overnight for the dog’s water to freeze. A bonus of the weather, now heavy and frequent snow showers that settled on the ground, was that no one was out, and we enjoyed 3 or 4 miles wandering the Common.

Something of a panic, and there’s always one, was my covid phone app. The last time I used it was in France in November, so the barcodes are out of date. I knew this, but it does say that the certificate is still valid, to show double vaccinated. I was unable to download a new one at home because we have no mobile phone signal; it needs a two step authentication of a text message. I tried last night, and realised I had done it previously with a Portuguese SIM card, which I no longer have. It takes 24 hours to change the phone number, don’t ask why. So, I submitted my existing certificate and it was duly refused. Worst scenario, they wouldn’t let me board until the new one came through, at 10 pm tonight… However, I happened upon a decent guy at the terminal who said it was fine, though strictly, it shouldn’t be.

It would have seemed unnecessary admin, if you’ve a certificate that says you have vaccination. One can hardly remove the vaccine once it’s in.

Anyway, fine – and that decent guy actually let me board early, which has never happened on Eurotunnel to me. So I was in France at 5:30 pm, and the Belgian village I was headed to, Nevene, at 7 pm. There are a few campervan places at the sports centre, ideal for a night to break a journey. Roja ate, and I was in the town bar by 7:15, and made very welcome on a really rough evening, heavy and prolonged snow showers, and a much stronger north easterly wind than in England.