After passing through a belt of typical French forest, composed of thin trees without beauty or individuality, one begins the long curving descent to Rouen, the historic capital of Normandy. The city appeals so much to the student of history that this first view of the place as a whole, threaded by its broad river, and dominated by the fretted spire and beautiful towers of cathedral and churches, is one that stands out vividly in the memory when other impressions have faded.
DIEPPE TO ROUEN (36 miles—58 kilometres)
This is a direct road, with a few hills, the ascent from the river at Sanqueville and the winding descent at Malaunay being the only ones worth mentioning.
Town Plan No. 2—Dieppe.
Walker & Boutall sc.
BOULOGNE TO ROUEN (109½ miles—176 kilometres)
This road is through the little town of Samer, where there is an interesting fifteenth-century church and the ruins of the Abbey of St. Wulmer. Soon afterwards there is a steep hill.
Montreuil-sur-Mer has a Palais de Justice, which was formerly part of a Carmelite convent, and the college and École d’Infanterie occupy the buildings of the Abbey of Ste. Austreberthe. The chapel of the Gothic Hôtel Dieu has a curious altar-screen, and the very interesting Church of St. Saulve dates from the twelfth century. The view seawards down the Canche from the citadel, which is surrounded by towers and walls of the Middle Ages, is remarkably fine.
On the road to Abbeville there is a steep ascent at Nampont St. Martin, and a steep descent to Bernay-en-Ponthieu. The forest of Crécy lies to the left of the road, and on the farther side of it is the medieval battlefield, where the English army, under Edward III., crushingly defeated the French in 1346.