Day 6 – Bellewaerde Theme Park - Sunday 13th April

 

Woke up to another bright day although showers had been forecast. We had breakfast and then set off to Bellewaerde Theme Park which was just a 10 minute drive from the campsite.  Motorhomes can park in  the coach area.

The park was open from 10am.  We arrived about 9.45 and it was already getting quite busy. It costs 30 euros per adult and 7 euros to park your vehicle. Soon the gates opened and the excitement began. This is a lovely theme park which is 60 years old. It has something for everyone. Big thrill seeking rides, water rides, a good section for small children and safari animals. It is themed in areas e.g Wild West, India etc.  It was clean and tidy and despite being quite busy, it didn’t feel busy as there was so much to see and do and it was nicely spread out. The longest wait in a queue was 10 mins so there was plenty of time to ride again and again. As it was so early in the season not all the shops and eating areas were open but there was sufficient. We enjoyed Bratwurst and crepes and sampled a very big candyfloss.

The zoo section is great. You get a very good view of the animals. A little safari train takes you through the big cat section where the lions and tigers were sprawled out sunning themselves. There are elephants, giraffes and various primates.

We were so lucky with the weather as it became hotter and sunnier and everyone dried out nicely after getting soaked on some of the rides. We stayed until about 5.30 having had a lovely time.

Day 5 - Ypres & Menin Gate - Saturday 12th April

 

We woke up to quite a foggy morning. We packed up as we were moving on from Parc de Cygnes.

We headed back towards Belgium – the roads were still very foggy as we set off but the sun was burning steadily through it and another sunny day beckoned.

En-route we stopped at Warlen Court British Cemetery. Another beautiful, moving place with cherry blossom trees watching over the graves.

We had received a tweet from @northallertonmh recommending that we try and find the Yorkshire trenches as we are fellow Yorkshire folk. This was located in an industrial park area on the edge of Ypres and had been discovered by accident in 1992. “The Diggers” found 2 corridors 10 meters below ground with small and large rooms. It seemed as though you are able to go and have a look down in the trench but on our visit it was taped off.

Approach to the Yorkshire trench

Walk around of the Yorkshire trench

Pictures relating to the Yorkshire

We continued on to our site in Ypres at Camping Jeugdstadion. We arrived about 1pm and had to use the automated check in as reception was closed 12.45 until 4pm. The automated check in had simple instructions to follow which then dispensed a card to open the barriers and our plot number was printed on the receipt.There are 3 areas –field for tents, motorhomes and caravans on grass hardstanding camping pitches and an aire style area for motorhomes only.In hindsight this area would have been perfectly adequate but  we had booked a camping pitch.There is electric and water to each pitch. The toilet block isn’t really big enough for the size of camp. The camp is handily situated - a 10 min walk into town and there is an Aldi 10 mins in the other direction. After setting up we walked along alongside a moat into nearby Ypres.

Approach to the site

360 degree view of the site.

We entered Ypres through the stunning Menin Gate. This is a huge memorial spanning the road. The Last Post ceremony is held here at 8pm every night.

After paying our respects we continued into Ypres. This is a very pretty town with lovely architecture ( a lot of which had to be rebuilt after the war). There are plenty of places to eat and of course there are shops full of fabulous Belgian chocolate.

We went to the In Flanders Field Museum which is in the Cloth Hall, a lovely building which has been rebuilt after sustaining heavy damage in the war. In contrast to the Museum at Peron this was fantastic. There was so much to see! It was interactive by way of a wristband. It was very good value for money.

We climbed the belfry which was exhausting but worth it for the view at the top.

 

Part of the exhibit showed a scaled down model of the Yorkshire Trench and dugout that we had earlier visited. This was really good to see. There were also items found in this trench in the exhibition.

We enjoyed a meal in the town and headed back to smarten up before attending the Last Post. We nipped into Aldi on the way back but there was no milk!! Paul and Sophie went further on to a Spar (wish we’d just gone there first as it was really nice and well stocked) and returned with 2 bottles of milk feeling rather victorious. It turned out later when everyone spluttered on their strange tasting tea that this was not milk but bottles of drinking yoghurt!!

Back to the Menin Gate. We arrived about 7.15 and already the main public viewing area was thronged with people. There were at least 8 coaches parked near.  We took up a spot on the road next to the Menin Gate and waited. The crowd grew and grew. It is amazing and a testament to the memory of all those lost men that this ceremony continues to draw so many people every day. It was very busy and the crowd was packed together but we were only 2 or 3 people back so had a reasonable view.  At 8pm The Last Post sounded and selected people went to lay wreaths. A choir sang a couple of songs including an anthem (not sure which country) followed by God Save The Queen. After the ceremony dusk was just drawing in and the Menin Gate looked lovely all lit up.

Video of todays ceremony

 

Slideshow

We visited a chocolate shop to stock up on Belgian Chocolate and popped into Tommy’s Souvenir shop for postcards, stamps and souvenir car stickers (Paul likes to get Monty a sticker of places we have visited). The lady here was very friendly and chatty and told us about the Cat Festival held in Ypres tri-annually since the 1950’s. This involves a Cat themed parade culminating in (toy) cats being thrown by a jester, from the Cloth Hall Belfry into the crowd below. There are various legends how this cat throwing originated, some related to witchcraft and dating back to Medieval times. The local story is that Ypres had a mouse/rat problem so cats were brought in to keep vermin down but then bred so much that they then became a problem themselves and were thrown off to reduce their numbers.

We headed back to the campsite. Shortly after going to bed the local disco started and unfortunately the heavy base beat could be heard until about 2am.

 

 

 

 

Day 4 – Lochnagar Crater & Peronne - Friday 11th April

In the morning (another nice sunny day) we set off to visit the Museum de la Grande Guerre in Peron. This is housed in a nice, castle like building. The outside was more impressive than the inside. Some interesting displays but it was a big space with not a lot in.We also had a wander around Peron which had shops and places to eat.

 

After dinner we drove to La Grande Mine – Lochnagar Crater. This was very impressive. It is almost 300 feet in diameter & 70 feet deep. The Lochnagar mine was an explosive packed mine created by the179th  Royal Engineer Tunnelling companies who tunnelled underneath a German strongpoint and blew it up on 1st July 1916 at 7.28am.Tremors were felt as far away as London. At the time of our visit the site was being worked on by British volunteers who were updating the surrounding pathways. See lochnagarcrater.org or twitter @laGrandeMine

 

Approach to the crater.

Walk around of the crater

On the way back to the campsite we called in at a large intermarche. A circus was performing nearby and all the animals were tethered on land near the supermarket carpark. There were 2 camels, a zebra, 2 llamas, a donkey,  a bison, goats, shetland ponies and a black stallion. They all looked in good health.

We arrived back on the site and made the most of the sunshine with another barbecue tea – No not from Netto !.

 

 

 

Day 3 - Holland to France & WW1 – 10th April 2014

We said goodbye to Gaasper Camping and set off driving down through Holland. Dutch drivers all seemed to obey the speed limits and drove respectfully using all the lanes properly rather than hogging the middle lane as they do in the UK. The sun was shining and soon we passed into Belgium and then on into France. The journey was thankfully uneventful. We were heading for Amiens but wanted to stop at Thiepval. The route I had planned to take was closed so I followed the diverted route and we saw a sign for  Pozieres British Cemetery.

And there it was at the side of the road, shining almost white in the sun. It was a very moving, humbling experience. So many lives lost. Row upon row of headstones. All the graves are beautifully tended and it is a serene place to pay your respects to all those brave men.

 

We then drove onto to Thiepval. This is a huge monument dedicated to over 72,000 men who died in the Somme but who have no known grave. Again the sheer scale of loss is enormous. All the names are carved on the monument. Line after line of familiar British surnames. It is so peaceful in the countryside setting which sits at odds with the horror those poor men suffered. Again it was a very moving experience.

 

Car park                                           Thiepval village

There is a good sized car park and an informative visitors centre.

Nearby we visited the Ulster memorial. This is a turrett like building which is a copy of Helen's Tower which stands in the grounds of the Clandeboye Estate, near Bangor, County Down.

 

After an emotional afternoon we continued to Amiens to stay at Parc de Cygnes. This is quite a quiet site at this time of year – very peaceful  (Caravan Club and Camping and Caravan Club listed.) It has friendly , English speaking reception staff. Bread and croissants can be ordered for morning collection.

Approach to the site

360 view of the site

 

There is free wifi if you are near the reception building otherwise wi fi cards can be bought. There is also a small aire here. Toilets are clean and the showers are powerful. There is a bar and small shop but these are closed at the moment.
With hindsight we should have stayed nearer to the Memorial area as we are heading back that way tomorrow. The sun was still shining so we enjoyed a barbecue tea.

Day 2 - Amsterdam - 9th April

 

The Royal Palace, Dam Square

 

Having breakfasted  on fresh croissants from the on site shop we took the Metro into Amsterdam again. We walked around the 9 street area which had unique gift shops and boutiques. Then we checked out the more commercial area. Besides the big name stores there were lots of cheese shops with tasty samples which made choosing easier from the wide and varied types on offer. Many shops offered the same range of tempting pastries and waffles.There were plenty of souvenir shops. Every now and then you would catch a pungent whiff and there were lots of shops selling “magic truffles”, seeds and grinders etc. We stumbled upon Dam Square where there was the beautiful Royal Palace. Madame Tussauds was here as well.

 

Amsterdam was clean and litter free but lacking in toilets. I’m sure lots of people pop in for a drink in a cafe  or bar but with one of our party having a bladder the size of a mouse, drinking more defeats the object. We saw a McDonalds and popped in there for lunch and to use their facilities. There was a charge and even a toilet attendant down there but it was 50C well spent.

After lunch we went and wandered through the red light district. There were little glass fronted rooms with an office chair in. Most were empty but a few had women in dressed in their underwear, standing around looking bored. I don’t know what I expected, and it’s probably more exotic on a night time when it’s all lit up but it was all a bit underwhelming.

My only small criticism is that for such a large, touristy city there are very few signposts. After a while lots of the roads, canals and bridges look similar and you find places more by luck than judgement. At least with the hop on and off tram system you can go on a magical mystery tour safe in the knowledge that you can easily hop back on and get back to Centraal Station.

Day 1 - Rotterdam to Amsterdam - 8th April 2014

 

Having put my route into Sygic satnav we left the ferry port. It was very busy as our arrival coincided with morning rush hour. The roads were excellent – very smooth. We had a little moment where we got a bit lost (satnavs fault obviously!) but soon we were on our way to Amsterdam via the motorway. The country side was fairly flat with plenty of windmills – mainly of the new turbine variety with a few traditional old windmills spotted here and there.

After approx 1hr 45 mins we arrived at Camping Amsterdam Gaasper. The staff were very friendly, welcoming and spoke excellent English. We were shown to our grass pitch. The pitches are decent sized, arranged in little avenues. The toilet block was basic but clean. If you want to shower or have hot water to wash, then you need to buy tokens 80C for 5 mins. There is a small shop on site with all the essentials. it also has fresh bakery goods each morning. There is a restaurant here as well. This site is very handy as there is a metro station a 5 minute walk away. The reception sells travel cards which allow you to hop on and off the metro and the trams in Amsterdam for 24 or 48 hours. You can also buy museum tickets and canal trips. We opted to buy a 48 hour travel pass and a 1 hour canal tour.

Armed with our tickets we set off for the metro station. The metro is clean, fast, efficient and regular and within 10- 15 mins we arrived in Centraal Station, Amsterdam.

 

The canal cruise departure point was over the road from the station so we hopped onto our boat. The tour commentary was in many languages and pointed out all the places of interest as we passed them. it was a good way to get an overview of the city and its history. The old, tall, narrow houses were lovely with most having their original architectural features and decorated gables. Lots of

them still had their hooks for lifting bulky items. Apparently the narrow, windy stairs inside mean that the hooks are still utilised today when moving house.Some of the houses are a little slanted and leaning as the water has damaged the pilings. We passed beautiful churches and the largest floating Chinese restaurant. Some of the bridges that we went under had very little head room left as the boat squeezed through! There were also lots of houseboats on the canal ranging from traditional barge types to the very modern types as featured on Grand Design type shows. Although we had seen plenty of people pedalling about on their bikes it was amazing to see how many thousands of them were parked, locked to railings everywhere up and down the canals. The canal tour passed Anne Frank’s house. We had heard horror stories about horrendous queues to get in but from the canal tour the queue didn’t look too bad so we decided that we would go there next. We joined the queue at 3pm and only queued for one hour.

The Anne Frank house is a very moving experience. It is very well laid out and you flow through the house almost in queue formation and this gives everyone the chance to see everything as you pass.

After the museum we caught a tram back to Centraal Station and returned back to the campsite via the Metro.

That night we ate at the restaurant on site run by an English lady and her partner who also run the shop. Very nice meal and good portions. If it had been warmer there was a very nice terrace area outside if you  prefer to dine alfresco (blankets and soft cushions provided). Wish we had checked our paperwork more carefully as we had been given a 10% off voucher for the restaurant but didn’t discover it until later that night.

I will post more video footage & pictures when we return home

Hull to Rotterdam

7th & 8th April 2014

We arrived at Terminal 1 at Hull nice and early ready for sailing on the “Pride of Rotterdam” P & O Ferries. Check in didn’t open until 3pm although the website had said 2pm. We were the first in line and after checking in we were directed through for a little detour via a security and customs inspection! We then continued to line up for loading.

The cars entered the ship on deck 7 by a gangway halfway up the side of the ship near where the foot passengers boarded. The motorhomes were loaded with the lorries through the back of the ship onto deck 3. We said goodbye to Monty and made our way upstairs.

The ship had the usual duty free shop, 2 cinemas, children’s play area, coffee shop, lounge bar & 2 restaurants.

We headed for our cabin. It was a good size with a window and everything was clean. It had a tv, fridge and tea/coffee making facilities.The bathroom had nice White Company toiletries. Another nice touch was a little box of Belgian Chocs on the table in the room. After dumping our bags we headed out in search of food.

At the time of booking our crossing we opted to pay for inclusive meals. At check in, along with our cabin key we had been given cards to access our food on the crossing. We went to the buffet restaurant which offered soups, salads, cold meats, curry, rice and naan etc., hot meats, roast potatoes, vegetables and chips – something for everyone! For desserts there was cheesecake, icecream, chocolate cake and cheese and biscuits. This was a nice restaurant. Although it was self service you were seated at your table (there’s nothing worse than having a plate of food in your hand and turning round to find all the tables occupied). There were many attentive waiters whisking away plates and providing new cutlery. After a lovely meal we went back up to the cabin for an early night. The crossing was beautifully smooth and uneventful.

We were due to dock in Rotterdam at 8.30 so we rose early and breakfasted at the buffet. Again there was something for all tastes – continental and full English. After we had docked, we made our way back to Monty and were soon off the ship.