Our Return Journey
The tour finished on Saturday morning, with many leaving almost at first light. Some had ferries to catch with very little spare time. Others had commitments elsewhere. We left the site at around 09:30 with Mick and Mavis following for company.
Saturday 11th July
Our stop for today was to be an ACSI site at Flensburg, just across the border into Germany. This meant a high mileage day, but with motorway standard roads for much of the way the journey was relatively easy. We arrived at the site mid-afternoon and were pitched. Although the site wasn’t the best, it was sufficient for the one night. There was a well-stocked supermarket just outside the site, which was not connected. It came as quite a relief to see standard European prices again. The weather was great and we were able to sit outside well into the evening.
Sunday 12th July
Our destination for today was the Motorhome Stellplatz at Bremen. We stopped here on the journey up and were impressed by the location and the city. During the afternoon we took a walk into the City Centre and were admiring the architecture of the buildings when the weather gods decided that we hadn’t yet seen enough rain. We managed to hide in the Cathedral for most of the downpour, but still managed to get wet on the walk back. To add insult to injury, Mick managed to have his umbrella destroyed by an unruly gust of wind.
Monday 13th July
Another day, another destination. The plan for today was to stop at the Motorhome Aire at Wilp, in Holland. As we approached in the incessant rain, Val and I started to recognise the location; at the end of the road our suspicions were proved correct. This was the Aire that we intended to stop at on the way up, but were unable to as it no longer exists. A quick look in the books and the Sat Nav showed a campsite close by at Deventer. We only got lost once getting to the site, but once there we were astounded by what we could see of the town across the river. We pitched up on the main field and took a look around. Just up the road from the site was a passenger ferry to take you across the river, from this point we could see more of the town and decided that it needed discovering. We had allowed one day flexibility in our route so that we could extend our stay if we wanted to. We decided that this was a place to extend our stay.
More heavy rain overnight.
Tuesday 14th July
A day to explore Deventer, what a lovely town. This is a traditional Dutch town with tiny cobbled streets and quaint old houses and shops. The main church is a magnificent building from the outside, but a disappointment on the inside with no atmosphere. All of the old streets are decorated with umbrellas hanging above your head. There are shops of all description and a massive town square where the main eating places are. The tourist information office is in the old Market Building, which stands resplendent at one end of the square. We wandered around and stopped for coffee and then lunch, and every time we started walking again we found yet another quaint street to explore. By 16:30 we were completely knackered and were glad to get back to the site.
After dinner it was time to walk down to the windmill at the side of the river. This is a post mill dating back to 1839 and is in perfect working condition. It is still in use today as a saw mill. In the grounds were a stationary engine and a plank saw.
Wednesday 15th July
This should have been our return date, however we decided to delay our return by a couple of days. Our journey today took us to the aire at Tholen where we stayed on the outward journey. Unfortunately, the aire was full by the time that we arrived. We stopped for lunch and then decided to try a campsite about 10 miles away at Bergen op Zoom. This is a massive site, mainly occupied by static caravans. The rain continued to beat down, eventually stopping around 19:00.
Thursday 16th July
Mick and Mavis have always wanted to visit Ypres for the evening ceremony at the Menin Gate, so that is our destination today. For once the sun is shining as we set off for the 100 mile journey. Traffic is busy as usual on Belgian motorways. We took the Antwerp Ring Road, which is a toll road as you go through the tunnel. This turned out to be a big mistake as whilst we were charged 6 Euros, Mick was charged 19 due to his height being over 3 Metres.
We arrived at Ypres at about 12:20, but took another 40 minutes finding the site; it is not well signed. Fortunately, we had phoned to book as the site was full. The pitch fee is 15 Euros per night including electrics, which considering that it is within easy walking distance of one of Europe’s main tourist destination, is excellent value. One wonders how much you would have to pay in the UK? The temperature outside is now up to 26.8C and for once we are sweltering.
And here it is!!!!!!!
The Order of Bluenosed Caravanners
Our Order of Bluenosed Caravanners: