Our journey began with a mix of emotions – excitement, nerves! Stayed overnight in Canterbury at the park and ride carpark, which was perfectly fine however we realised we had much better things to come. Bucket list No 1. Le Shuttle – after a smooth check in, we drove on to the train at Folkestone and just 35 minutes later we were in Calais. Not wanting to pick up a hitch hiker, we put our foot down and exited quickly. We decided to stop for a quick look at the beaches in Dunkirk, we had a brisk walk then set off for our first campsite. A family run farm campsite just outside of Bailleul. We stopped for some groceries to get us through the next couple of days and arriving at La Ferme Des Saules mid afternoon. We poured ourselves a glass of wine and attempted to get the WiFi in the van sorted.
Settling In!
We woke up to a lovely sunrise and a crisp fresh morning. Decided to walk to the local commonwealth war graves, then on to Mont Noir on the French-Belgian border, we walked one of the trails before heading to the small town that is sandwiched between the two countries. We crossed the border by foot and then back again. On the way back down we stopped off to explore a block house from the first world war and formed part of the Maginot Line. Back at the “Ranch” we decided to cycle down to Bailleul for a quick look around. Out come the bikes and G’s had a flat rear wheel. Luckily we had a pump and hoped it was only a flat. It wasn’t! We googled and found a local velo garage and set off in search of it. The guy there was an absolute star and saved the day with a puncture repair, whilst we waited! After all that we needed some refreshment, so headed back to the town for a drink. Back up the hill, we bumped in to our English neighbour and he invited round to his Moho for a glass of wine! How civilised and British. Each evening we have a “meeting” to discuss our next plans, write our blog and do budget and administrative tasks.
France To Belgium
No road trip is complete without a few surprises! We left Ballieul and our satnav took us the long way round (we need to check the settings) Got to Belgium and whilst on our way to Ypres stumbled on a family run museum that is dedicated to WWI – Hooge Crater Museum. Well worth a visit if in the area. We needed to get LPG before going to our stop for the night. Following the satnav, it took us right through the Menin Gate, so that was our first view of it. We couldn’t fill up as the LPG adaptor we have for Belgium is faulty! One more conundrum for us to solve. Checked in to the site and we were given a lovely large and sunny pitch, at this point we decided to stay an extra night to do some other bits in Ypres. In the evening we went off to have a look around the town, then back to the Menin Gate. At 8pm every evening the Last Post is played in honour of the Allied Soldiers who died defending Belgium in the Great War. Back to the “Ranch” to plan our next move.
