The Belgium Excursion – April 2024

Having decided some time ago that we wanted to take Ziggy overseas, we had started planning in January where to go. (Booking Annual Leave is not a problem – I am the Boss, so…..)

 

Initially we had thought of going into Normandy, but having chatted with several folks on assorted Farcebook forums etc, we decided that it was too long a haul, so elected to look closer to Calais. We also looked at crossings, and – remember we booked in January so we did get decent rates – we elected to use the Dover to Calais Ferry at £150 all in return. The Chunnel was £120 more…. The crossing time was longer but…

 

We left Norfolk at 1310 on the Thursday afternoon and drove down via the A11, M11, M25, M2 to just outside Dover – Black Horse Campsite in Densole, a Caravan and Motorhome Club site. I chose this site as they have provision for late arrivals/ early exits. The site was clean, with a warm welcome. Just 100 metres from the site was the Black Horse Pub where we had a lovely meal – nothing fancy, but well presented for a fair price – thanks!

 

At 0530 the following morning we hit the road to head to Dover Ferry Terminal, arriving at 0650 to join the queue to get on the ferry. 

(Modesty forbids me from commenting on the four Blinged out cars - the drivers all having their Top Gear Issue walkie talkies - all lowered so I bet that they enjoyed the boarding ramps... but I will share the photo I took of the Doris' car exhaust....)

It did feel strange actually passing through passport control and our passports being physically stamped! The ferry was not quite full, but busy enough, and we were right at the bow of the ship – always concerning when you can see the “Keep closed” sign on the bow door….. 

We had time to stretch our legs and grab a Costa – and P&O are cheapskates as you cannot buy a Large Latte – medium only which no doubt helps drive the income.

We took our time on the blustery aft deck to get the obligatory photos of the white cliffs and enjoyed the group of Yorkshire teenagers en route to terrorise Disney Land Paris!

 In a brief time we were called back to the garage deck and then arrived in Calais. I had preset the Twatnav to our campsite in Ypres – Urban Gardens, and had elected not to use the Peage (Toll roads) at all.

 

We headed through that little corner of France and soon crossed into Belgium – with in two leisurely hours of driving, we had arrived at Ypres (Also known as Leper). As we arrived I spoke briefly with a couple who had arrived in their Laika and headed into reception to book in, really looking forward to exploring the town and then going to the Menin Gate but

 

Tempting as it is to say that the camp site had screwed up – actually – I had screwed up more than a Tory Politician in a Columbian Drug Cartel’s Brothel with a WhatsApp commentary.

 

I had booked the wrong Urban Gardens site

 

Bugger

 

 

So, no point in getting excited, we took the correct address and drove to G(h)ent – in the UK we call it Ghent but the locals refer to it as Gent.

Again we took our time and arrived in the city around 1500 – the camp site was not especially well signposted, but was in a Sports part of the city – close to the University. We had a warm welcome and were shown where our pitch was. However, there was no way that our electric lead was going to reach the few outlets available – the concierge allowed us to move to a different pitch, and we then set up Ziggy and walked to the Bus stop to head into the city.

 

We never really did get to the bottom of the bus tickets – I think they were heavily subsidised and were around 2.50 euro return but I could be wrong. I asked the driver to let us know when we got to the city centre – he told us we would know – he was right.

 

Ghent city centre is stunningly beautiful, and we could see the Café Culture in full swing.

 

We pottered around and saw some brilliant architecture – then we sat down and had a drink…. I asked the waiter to recommend a beer – this is what he brought me:

 

9.5% !!!

I soon began to realise that the Belgians are serious about their beer – and they consider anything less than 6% as light….. Over the next few days I did try several different brews, but I was very careful.

 

We then took the bus back to the camp site, and went to cook tea – the Daewoo Airfyrer that had been used for 7 times only disintegrated – their customer service has told me that the guarantee has to be taken up with the retailer, not with them – and effectively didn’t want to know. Call me a bluff old traditionalist, but I have added Daewoo to the list of companies that I wont be buying from ever again – customer care is key – and perhaps the word sorry could have been used.

 

Either way, we cooked – first time this year the BBQ was out, Steak and Mushrooms with a pepper sauce 

After a good nights rest we headed into Ghent again and started at the castle – Gravensteen. I have to say that the Audible tour is a Hoot and the castle is a delight to explore – the UK Health and Safety Nazi’s would have a fit with the narrow stairwells, open battlements but – it was great!

 

After that we walked up through the city to the market – arriving around lunch time so sat and had a coffee – well, Jo did – me – I had another excellent brew! The bohemian part of the café culture was really evident and it was great to sit in the sun and chat. En Route we went by Graffiti street and saw some new works being made - we had seen several great bits of graffiti art around the city:

We walked back through the city, admiring the sights and ended up at the cathedral – this is OLD school Catholicism – but what stunning architecture inside.

 

We went and had a little look at some gift shops – we are trying to collect a fridge magnet from where ever we visit, and Jo wanted to buy a Snowy for Ziggy…. Don’t ask!

Realising that the sun was at its zenith, and that we had 24 degrees of heat, we headed back to the camp site, admiring the water sport / rowing festival that was occurring around us as the bus drove back.

 

Back at the camp site, we had chatted a couple of times with Kirsty and Dan who had travelled over from Bolton and were off exploring for a year. We agreed to meet up at a local bar hidden behind a tennis court that they had discovered. A few ales were supped, and SWMBO had three large glasses of Rose…. Tea was a couple of bits of toast for some reason! But a lovely evening with great company. (They do have a TikTok setup for their adventures, but as I don’t do that – the link may not work!)

 

Early on the Sunday morning, we packed up, emptied the grey waste / loo and headed off to Dunkirk – as we wanted to go to the Museum there. Again we went the leisurely route, and arrived safely around 1130. There is very little left of 1940 

 

Forget the film – I had no idea just how devastated the town had been during 1940. The museum showed that, and explored the story of operation dynamo with some wonderful diorama’s and exhibits – truly very poignant.

 

We left the museum and then took a walk onto the beach esplanade to get a feel for the evacuation site, and to admire the view – and pay our respects at the memorial.

 

We then headed to Le Château du Gandspette, our last location for this trip. We were greeted by a charming man, who assisted us with choosing a pitch, and advised us to visit the BlockHaus – a WW2 german rocket site, a mere 1 mile away.

We headed down, and were pleased to see the collection of WW2 vehicles in attendance – with the crews all in period dress.

 

We went through to the museum and started to follow the tour and I felt cold when I saw one specific exhibit – walking into this carriage raised goosebumps and the connection to those poor souls who had experienced those journeys.

 

There was an awful lot to see – and to experience – but then we saw this colossal structure through the trees and had some idea of the magnitude of the building – and the scope of the plans behind it.

 

All in all an entertaining ramble – and some history brought to life in a thought provolking manner.

 

We returned back to the camp site and slept well after a decent meal, getting up and being on the road to Calais Ferry terminal by 0600. Along the way, we did lose a panel that was loose – the winds were strong and perhaps I should have thought to apply some gorilla tape. 

Either way we arrived safely and checked in – we were on board quickly as the ferry was not full.

Most of the passenger group seemed to be made up with French Teenage knuckle draggers on the way to Angle Terre… Jo complained that she could not get to wash her hands in the ladies loo as it was full of teenage girls primping in front of the mirror – I pointed out the gents was full of hormonal soap adverse boys spraying cheap colgne to mask the Eau du Teenager….

 

The crossing itself was quite rough – wind gusts up to 40 knots, but we docked safely, and disembarked. Being a lucky lad we were selected for a random customs check for customs and had our van checked for illegal immigrants – all clear, and we headed on to the M20. 

 

This was the hardest piece of driving I have had to do in a long time – the winds did get up to gusts of 60mph in places, and being in a motorhome, I was driving very defensively – and the fuel economy was hosed to say the least and I am also going to single out the Esso Garage at Thurrock services – your prices are disgusting – when we visted to take on a small amount of fuel to ensure we could get home safely I was horrified to see that your price per litre of diesel was £1.79 – that was 20p a litre more than most other fuel stations.

The words Scalping Bastards comes to mind, and I hope you all get haemorrhoids.

 

We battled our way home and arrived back safely at 1400 – to be greeted with total disdain by the Siamese!

 

What a great trip – we covered 613 miles in total, saw things we had never seen before, experienced different cultures and met some lovely people

 

This is what owning a motorhome is all about!