In a swirl

A kaleidoscope of a day. Left home early to drive to France via the Channel Tunnel. Destination Le Touquet and the very grand, very quaint Hotel Westminster. Here for the launch of the Peugeot 308 SW, new estate version of the model recently crowned European Car of the Year. The range includes a new three-cylinder 1.2 litre turbocharged petrol engine, very sprightly and 60 mpg fuel economy. Loved the sporty sound it makes, except that it's fake, or as Peugeot prefers to describe it, 'digitally amplified'.

We went to visit the Douvrin factory near Arras where the engines are made, at a rate of 50 an hour. Had to wear armoured protective safety shoes that were incredibly uncomfortable. Necessary in case someone dropped an engine on our feet, presumably. We had a rapid tour past production lines, so it was all a bit of a swirl of industrial colour.