What are these 40 English tractors doing on the roads between Forges-les-Eaux and Gournay-en-Bray? | The Pathfinder

You may have come across them on the road this afternoon between Neufchâtel-en-Bray and Forges-les-Eaux (Seine-Maritime). This morning, around 5 a.m., a forty old tractorscoming from theEngland landed in Dieppe. After setting sail from Newhaven, the British machines swallowed bitumen before making a stopover for lunch at Forges-les-Eaux.

40 English tractors on display at Forges-les-Eaux

This is not the first time that this exceptional convoy of Chailey Tractor Clubfrom across the Channel, crisscrosses the country roads of Seine-Maritime and Pays de Bray.

On the other hand, it is the 1^re time they stopped at Forges-les-Eaux where they stayed until around 4 p.m.

We wanted to take a break at Forges-les-Eaux to visit the Museum of Resistance and Deportation. It was important for us in this year of the 80th anniversary of the landing.

They were welcomed by the municipality which had made the livestock market to park their agricultural vehicles from another era and share a friendly meal prepared by a local butcher.

But where are they going?

If these collector tractors ranging from 30s to 80salso accompanied by a steam engine, are found on the roads of the Pays de Bray, this is because they are heading towards the Gournay-en-Bray racecourse where the machines will be exhibited all weekend on the occasion of the old-time festival.

Vehicles that circulate at “an average speed of 18 km/h”informs us Howard Venters, the president of the Chailey Tractor Club, resumed their journey a little before 4 p.m. From Forges, they will take the small country roads from La Ferté-Saint-Samson to Brémontier-Merval before taking the D915towards Gournay, on a section of a few kilometers from Dampierre-en-Bray to the Gournay-en-Bray racecourse.

This may create some traffic jams as Raphaël, Philippe Holt’s son, who accompanies the convoy by bike from Dieppe, testifies. “It’s easy to follow them by bike. We sometimes have to stop to wait for those who are lagging behind; because not all the tractors go at the same speed. There are sometimes a lot of cars behind us.” A word of warning to motorists who may have to be patient.

But this crossing of the Normandy countryside is an opportunity for some British people, who are making this trip for the 1^re time, like Kevin and Catherine, to discover the French hinterland which they describe as “charming” and “clean” with “small traditional farms like there are no longer here where this is not are just huge farms,” they say, delighted with their journey despite the fatigue of a night crossing the rough Channel.

Tractors on display in the centre of Gournay this afternoon

After being exposed for part of the afternoon in Forges-les-Eaux, 25 to 30 tractors will go to the Gournay center where they will park on the National Square between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m..

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