Are you going? Over 100 member vehicles will be in the club field, nearly 500 burgers will be served, the ever popular raffle, tea and cake, prizes and that’s just our field. Then there’s every type of stand, sales, auto jumble, dog beds, blankets, rugs, music, food and so much more.
If you haven’t yet tried busfest, give it a go.
Introduction
Jayne and I decided to use up a Shuttle ticket that we had carried over since last year.
As she teaches, it had to be Easter holidays. It was a great trip, the Dutch spoke good English, the French were frighteningly helpful but spoke no English. I don’t honestly think this was belligerence, they just have very few UK visitors in this area. Fuel was up to two Euros a litre, we did fill up before we left and arrived back nearly empty. We used Google maps extensively. There is so much information about towns, links to camping and websites.
We planned most of the trip this way, but we left with no itinerary except the shuttle times going and return. To have the best view of this trip, get google maps up and look at the links for towns and campsites – there’s lots of history and pictures.
So, here it is:
Sunday 31st March 2024
Left Somerset at 13.00 hours to Folkestone – Premier Inn – Operation Brock in Situ but good journey with no hold ups. We decided to break the first half of the journey up. Coming from Somerset it was about a four-hour drive to the tunnel. NB One should NOT come off at junction 8 services as have to go back up motorway to junction 7 to re-join motorway. Also note there is a Tesco petrol station at junction 13, worth a last fill up before jolly expensive fuel abroad. Premier Inn at junction 12. Premier Inn is perfectly adequate. There is a restaurant, good beer and adequate food. It does what it says on the tin.
Monday 1st April 2024
Breakfast 7.30 all you can eat- full English or continental. Just 10 mins to the Chunnel check in – perfect. We were able to get earlier crossing (they allow you two hours early free). Arrived France – 11.00 hrs French time.
Calais to Tournai (86 miles) for lunch stop – much longer than anticipated. Nice lunch in the historic square but very slow service – hey we are in France! It’s a very historic town, once ruled by Henry VIII. This could easily have been a day or two in its own right.
Tournai to Dinant 99 miles. – smaller and more enjoyable roads. Route Nationale rather than motorways.
Arrived in Dinant Went straight to Campsite – Camping Parc de vacances Villatoile, Pont – a- Lesse – £ 27 for 1 night with electricity and free showers. Possible to order bread and croissant for morning but we had just missed the time. Beautiful river side campsite with climbing, fishing, kayaking, but super muddy. Bar and café disappointingly closed – one reason why we had chosen it. However, very helpful and friendly hosts – English speaking Dutch. Absolutely stunning setting with old manor house converted into Gites and bar. The sun was shining and Belgium was a beautiful place.
Tuesday 2nd April 2024
Woke up to warm toasty van due to electricity and 10.5 arctic quilt! Packed up and drove to Dinant – Issue with French parking machine – gave up as assumed they were not working so free parking for us! Coffee and vanilla custard croissants and then up to the cable car to the Chateau. Cable car and chateau 12 Euros. Lovely views, very interesting. On August 14th 1914 in WW1 634 civilians shot as the Meuse was a major crossing point for the Germans. Lt Charles de Gaulle was injured in the leg while reinforcing the French troops. The Germans destroyed the city and shot the civilians. The oldest was 88 years old, the youngest 3 weeks old. Hard to comprehend. Church rebuilt afterwards, beautiful. Home of Adolphe Sax – Inventor of the saxophone. Can imagine superb jazz festivals here.
In the opening weeks of World War One, as the million-strong German army raced alongside the River Meuse in an attempt to outflank the French Army, its troops carried out a series of atrocities against civilians who were not in a position to defend themselves. Area known as the martyr towns – Dinant paid the heaviest price. Suspected to be the base of Belgium’s guerrilla force, the town was torched and the population slaughtered. In one incident, soldiers fired indiscriminately into a crowd that included mothers with babies; in another, 150 factory workers were ordered outside and summarily executed. In all, 674 townsfolk died.
Then 53 miles on to Dohan – Camping Maka – wow! Absolute paradise. No sounds apart from nature, beautiful scenery, great host. 50 euros for 2 nights with free showers. Able to order bread and croissants. Small shop on site with terrace and bar serving basic but good food. The sun is shining. It is the very beginning of the season but everything is open and we have everything we could possibly need. Decided to eat in the bar – superb pizza and ambience. Extremely helpful host – Nancy. Slept wonderfully to the sound of nature. We love it here – absolutely love it. Could stay forever. This is probably the nicest campsite we have ever done this lifetime so far!! – No WiFi, no phone signal, no TV, no loud music permitted. Certainly look that one up guys.
Wednesday 3rd April 2024
After coffee in the easy chairs in the bar, we headed for Herbeumont upon recommendation for friends. Tres Bien – well worth the visit. Chateau de Herbeumont – ruined fort. Even in the rain it was stunning and we could imagine just how fantastic it would be in the sunshine. Beautiful views of the meandering Semois river amongst pine forests.
Drive to Bouillon along route nationale – beautiful scenery en route. Boullion – great river side town with cafes, restaurants, hotels but dominated by the elevated by the castle above us. The town is known as the Pearl of the Semois. It survived WW1 and 2 unscathed although the Germans Panzers stormed through the town in preparation for the Battle of the Bulge.
After a coffee in a riverside Brassiere, we headed along through the tunnel along an avenue or beautiful pollarded Lime trees and into the castle itself. Free parking outside with stunning scenery. Entrance a mere 10 Euros each for a fabulous journey back in time. Louis XIV seems to feature rather a lot. Castle hewn out of solid rock. Running from 800 BC to present day. Well worth a visit. Stopped and enjoyed a picnic in the rain with our fishing umbrella enjoying the fabulous views. We want this trip to be many weeks rather than one.
On to Sedan, Quick drive around the castle – absolutely huge, lively city, possibly worth a day or two in its own right but for us, we were castled out and our hearts were calling us back – back to paradise at Camping Maka – Wine – cheese – dinner – peace and tranquillity.
Thursday 4th April:
Journey from Bouillan to Preux-au-Bois – Camping la Foriestier – 91 miles. Weather absolutely tipping it down. Headed towards Cambrai but destination in La Foret de Mormal now part of the Regional National Park of the Avenois. Camping la Foriestier – 17.6- euros per night free showers. Very rustic and old facilities but very clean and super friendly host. Enjoyed a sunny 6 mile walk around the forest – from acorns of WW1. Cambrai was the first time tanks were used in battle. Screech owls, birds singing.
The Forêt de Mormal (Forest of Mormal) is a forest in France, near the Franco-Belgian border. It is best known to the British for its role in the retreat from Mons in August 1914
Battle of Cambrai nearby, British offensive (November–December 1917) marked the first large-scale, effective use of tanks in warfare. Unfortunately, the museum in Cambrai was not open.
Friday 5th April
Preux au Bois to St Omer 89 miles for lunch stop and a bit of reminiscing for Matt. St Omer nice river side town. Large canals and irrigation systems in fields where our crops are grown.
The market town of Saint-Omer was for centuries a key staging post between London and Paris. It has an impressive network of canals in the lower town.
Another 33 miles later and we arrived in Escalles – camping Opal – Blanc Nez, just outside Calais. Very convenient ideal stop over. 18 euros per night with 1 euro shower tokens.
Walked to Calais beach and looked around a couple of old WW2 defences. Could see the white cliffs of Dover.
Saturday
Just under 8 miles from tunnel, we stopped off at Cite Europe to stock up. Don’t rely on Sat Nav to get you to the correct terminal from here though as Gloria (satnav) sent us to the freight area and had to be escorted out. The French guy thought we had been drinking until I showed him my phone screen. Top tip – don’t head for terminal tunnel – head for Flexiplus tunnel!!! Still managed to get on an earlier train and back in Blighty for midday before a busy but not too arduous journey back to Somerset.
For the Belgians, an ‘s’ makes all the difference between one country and another. Signs in Belgium that are inscribed with ‘Ardenne’ refer to the Belgian region, whereas those with ‘Ardennes’ are on the French-side.
Julius Caesar called the Ardennes ‘The greatest forest in all of Gaul’, lots of history in this area, particularly WW1. It was a great trip and superb scenery. Campsite of the trip award is definitely Camping MAKA. It was a week of sunshine and torrential showers. Florence didn’t miss a beat in the 950 odd miles of the trip. Love and hugs to all Matt and Jayne
A full week of Welshness! St Fagans for traditional village, the Royal Mint for the history of making money, Bara Brith, Welsh cakes, Penderyn whisky, BBQs and singing. What’s not to like?
Michelle says:
After months of planning, we were headed to Wales at last. Our home for the week was the White Wheat Caravan Park, a small family-owned site on the edge of the Welsh seaside town Porthcawl. Some of the management team arrived on Sunday afternoon to get everything set up ready for the week ahead but as the wind was picking up a bit only one tent was erected, and the rest of the construction plans were postponed until Monday morning.
Monday morning saw the arrival of gruesome weather with lashing rain and gale force winds. A strong gust of wind caught the roof of our lovely new marquee as it was being put up and caused significant damage to it, bending some of the supporting posts as if they were silver foil. I silently hoped this was not an omen for the rest of the week and wondered if it was too early to open the wine (It was 11.00am). I consoled myself with a cup of tea and one (or two) of Val’s amazing Welsh cakes.
As the day rolled on the wind and rain gradually moved on the pastures new. Blue skies and sunshine arrived just in time to welcome the steady stream of campervans of all shapes and sizes gradually filling the pitches complete with smiling occupants looking forward to the days ahead. Monday night concluded with a welcome BBQ. After so much planning and with mother nature trying her best to scupper our plans, I was certainly relieved to see the long line of tables and chairs snaking across the lawn and to hear the lively chatter and laughter of our club members and our German guests as they settled in.
Tuesday morning saw our first outing – St Fagan’s Welsh History Museum near Cardiff, an amazing place and worth a visit by young and old alike. I can certainly recommend the cream scones. In the evening some of us strolled down to the beach to enjoy a drink from the super café Coney Surf Shack introduced to me by member Kim-Ann and then the Porthcawl fireworks which sparkled over the sea. The evening just gets better with impromptu singsong with our German party one of whom had brought his guitar and music over from Germany. A pattern is set for the rest of the camp.
Wednesday started with bright sunshine and a morning visit to the beautiful Castell Coch, a stunning Victorian indulgence and a testament to love. Then a short drive on to The Royal Mint Experience and a nice lunch at the Mint café – locally sourced steak pie, chips and mushy peas – I am northern after all – £7.95 – bargain! At 2.15pm we gathered with mounting anticipation for our private tour of the minting room. We are greeted by a mean looking security guard and then our guide Daniel who is not at all mean looking. The tour ended with a very informative exhibition which includes the first ever minted coin from the time of King Alfred. Some of us even minted our own £2 coin – a super memento of the day. We headed back to the camp for a quiet night but the evening took a turn for the better with impromptu sing song with our German friends one of whom has brought his guitar and music over from Germanysome guitar work from Ulli.
Thursday we were heading off further afield today in rather drizzly and dank weather to The Big Pit. What a fascinating museum and exhibition space it is. The underground visit has certainly left me with a better understanding of Welsh coal mining and the mining communities. Thankfully the afternoon brightened up ready for our Welsh themed BBQ back at the campsite. Freshly made Dragons Breath sausages resting on a bed of delicious leeks accompanied by homemade coleslaw and potato salad were swiftly dispatched. I didn’t even get to see the homemade Bara Brith (I was not happy!). Val assures me no Dragons were harmed in the making of the sausages.
Friday was a free day when members and guests explored the local area at their leisure – Cardiff, Swansea, Porthcawl and the Gower. For me it was Porthcawl for shopping, gin tasting and a trip to the 100 year old fun fair.
Saturday – I had initially planned a convoy outing along the promenade but due to a number of reasons I had to cancel. However, all was not lost and disappointed frowns turned to smiles of joy when new member Simone Smith suggested a convoy to Cowbridge. Simone is a local and knew the way and with Nick’s help a beautiful convoy of campers headed off to explore.
Sunday morning was sunny and warn but sadly saw us packing up and saying our goodbyes to old and new friends and one by one the camp became silent.
Before I sign off I would like to thank the people who did all the work tirelessly behind the scenes and who without their help, kindness and their time, this event would not have been possible. My grateful thanks go out to Val, Malcolm, Kim Ann, Martin, James, Marina, Nick and Steve.
A huge thank you goes to campsite owners Alyson and Mike who did us proud. They even installed large new sinks in readiness for our visit and Alyson made VW Campervan blinds and embroidered campervan pictures to make us feel welcome. And I can’t forget Barney, a site resident who was very helpful during our time there and his fresh roast lamb sandwiches were to die for – thank you!!!
Some of you will know that this was my first event, and it would be fair to say it was a bit nerve wracking at times. However, I thoroughly enjoyed it and it was made very special by all of the lovely members who came, our wonderful Germain guests and all people I met during the week I was there.
Michelle
Colin has invited us again to his back garden. 2024 saw 232 classic cars – can he beat that this year?
Are you going?
Another one pan recipe for cooler evenings
Ingredients
Fry the chopped onion for about 5 minutes until nicely soft and starting to go translucent. Then add the garlic, herbs, fruit and nuts. Stir a few times over the next few minutes. Add the can of tomatoes and the meatballs then simmer for 10 minutes stirring occasionally. Serve with crusty bread.
What’s not to like about this show? On a cider farm, traction engines, classic cars, tug of war, ice cream, music. Mr Gwatkin opens the doors of his cider farm for the weekend and we were invited to return for another year.
What’s not to like about this show? On a cider farm, traction engines, classic cars, tug of war, ice cream, music. Mr Gwatkin opens the doors of his cider farm for the weekend and we were invited to return for another year.
One of our favourites – Barnstones Camp Site on the outskirts of Banbury in Oxfordshire. Scene of our first member BBQs and a popular event for the members.
Always a great show up in Leicestershire. A lovely house with huge grounds offering up everything that Volkswagen has made pretty much.