Gardens of Picardy Backwaters River Cruise & Stay

Day 1

After departing, we travel south for our ferry to France, then continue via a scenic journey through the Opal Coast Regional Park to our hotel in Amiens. Once checked in, why not take the time to explore the little Venice of the North, home to an attractive city centre, whose UNESCO-listed thirteenth-century cathedral of Notre Dame is the tallest Gothic cathedral ever built? Dinner is included at the hotel this evening.

Day 2

After breakfast, we board our cruise in Amiens and set off on our journey west. Travelling via a series of locks and along an intricate canal section that bypasses the city centre, you'll journey through pleasant parkland before a further lock at Montières brings you into the countryside. Passing the village of Dreuil-lès-Amiens, the river meanders pleasantly alongside a significant area of shallow lakes and marshland whilst our lunch is included aboard as we pass the Samara prehistoric park to the village of Picquigny. Here, we are met by our coach for a short ride back to Amiens and a cruise of a different sort as we take an electric punt ride through the city's famous island gardens - the Hortillonnages. This area to the east of the city centre was once dedicated to intensive horticultural production but are now private gardens as we cruise the narrow channels between them.

Day 3

Today, we make the short journey to the village of Paillart by coach, where we find the sheltered Jardin Moulin Ventin, 'the Windmill Garden'. Waterfalls and cascading waters of the River Noye pass through the heart of this intricate garden, set in the grounds of an old mill dating back to the early nineteenth century and oozes period atmosphere. From here, we continue to the busy market town of Abbeville, where we board our Backwaters cruise with lunch awaiting on board. After getting our journey underway, we soon return to the French countryside. Cruising back upstream, the river wanders quite extravagantly enroute to the village of Pont-Remy, named in recognition of all the bridges needed to cross the different channels of the river at this point, continuing to the village of Long, where the coach meets us for the journey back to the hotel.

Day 4

For today's final leg of cruising, we return this morning to Long; keep an eye out for the Château de Long, which overlooks the river and boasts a fascinating history dating back to the eighteenth century. It was seriously damaged during Nazi occupation during WWII but has been restored post-war, whilst the enormous Church of St Jean Baptiste is best known for its world-renowned and rare Cavaillé Coll organ. After boarding the boat, we continue upstream, passing the small village of L'Étoile and into a long canal section to Hangest-sur-Somme. Here, we return to the meandering river, which passes the village of St-Pierre-à-Gouy, with lunch served onboard as we cruise onwards to Picquigny, where our will be coach waiting. This afternoon, we visit the Floral Gardens of Digeon. Found within the grounds of a historic château, the gardens are part of a family restoration project that started in 1987 and are lovingly tended by the owners. Here, you'll explore a superb rose garden, a large English-style landscape garden, and a geometrical vegetable plot lined by pathways before we return to Amiens for our final evening.

Day 5

We leave Amiens today, with a stop enroute for a journey on the Bay of the Somme Steam Train. From here, we continue back to the Channel port for the return ferry crossing and home.

B=Breakfast, L=Lunch, D=Dinner