After being in France on and off for sometime now, I have to say there are many amazing things to do here. I have spent most of my time in a little village where the population is about 220 people full-time. There are no stores and definitely no restaurants. However it does have a beautiful forest about 600 metres from where we are staying and it has great paths and trails to wander through and to cycle through.

I arrived back here in Boursonne in Picardie with Karine five days ago. After sleeping for about four hours on day one and resting a little on day two, we decided to step straight back into our exercise routine. The thing that makes this special is the stunning environment we get to do this in.


The forest and the villages have an ancient feel and the history in this region is very impressive. 12th century churches, man-made weirs, cobble stone paths and robbers hideouts are just some of the great things to see.


I have always wanted to cycle through the French countryside. We decided to do a ride that took us through 5 or 6 villages, along the old canal and back through a part of the forest, where we startled a young fawn from its afternoon feeding frenzy. 20 kms later we arrived home tired but exhilarated.
Cycling gives one the opportunity to get places relatively quickly, but also allows you the time to take photographs and take in the stunning sights along the way. The poppies are blooming currently and the varying colours of green contrast with the deep orange and brown of the winter leaves on the ground. The wheat has a gorgeous golden hue that contrasts against the forest and the brooding sky.


I have been looking forward to riding around here and would recommend it as the premier mode of transport through the area. As I rode yesterday I was grinning from ear to ear with excitement. This was a bucket-lister for me and something I had spoken to my friend Tracey about for years. I am yet to ride to the closest bakery for baguettes in the morning or to the cheese shop for the days new release, but it will happen….…Believe me!

Our second ride of the week took us to a very unique part of the forest: Cave du Diable. It is an old hideaway by the look of it, or possibly a distant underground entrance to one of the closest castles in the area. It is built under a sandstone cone that seems to protrude through the limestone sub layer. The whole area is built on sedimentary rock (limestone) with the exception of this bulge at the top of one of the hills……very unusual indeed. We even discovered a few suitable rocks to do some bouldering on.



20 kilometres later and some very beautiful scenery including a very brooding sky again, we arrived home. I am loving riding again and I am very very happy to be doing it in this stunning part of the world. 🙂