19th June 2109
Edinburgh to Tankerton
Early start to head down to Kent and spend a few days with my sister.
22nd June 2019
Tankerton to Bergues (France)
Late afternoon ferry crossing (Dover to Dunkirk) to park up at the convenient aire outside the walled town of Bergues some 20km south of Dunkirk.
23rd June 2019
Bergues (France) to Le Nouvion en Thierache (France)
Vague plan to head down towards the Ardennes and into Germany (last chance to use the autobahn for free before they inflict tolls from late 2020). Ended up at an aire next to the municipal campsite at Le Nouvion en Thierache. Warming up and had to wait until about 5pm to follow a trail through forestry partially along a disused railway track. Looks like an interesting area to explore with dozens of fortified churches.
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| Fortified Church in the Thierache - absolutely no recollection where! |
24th June 2019
Le Nouvion en Thierache (France) to Cattilon sur Sambre (France)
Hmmm best laid plans etc...planned on a bit of culture to day with a visit to the Henri Matisse Museum in Le Cateau Cambresis..all the info outside said it was open but 100% shut! So much for that! Damn hot afternoon and ended up at an aire a few kilometres down the road with some shade next to the Sambre-Oise Canal at Cattilon. Hoped on the bike in the early evening and came across the Commonwealth War Grave at Ors with Wilfred Owen's grave, the WW1 poet killed on 4th November 1918. I like it when when you come across things unexpectedly, sad though in this case mainly young boys 18 and 19 in the cemetery, Owen was 25.
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| Castle at Guise |
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| Fortified Church at Englacourt |
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| British Cemetery at Ors - Wilfred Owens Grave |
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| British Cemetery at Ors |
25th June 2019
Cattilon sur Sambre (France) to Rozay sur Serre (France)
Detoured through Guise to visit the castle there with connections to Mary of Guise and James V(?) of Scotland. Seems to have been damaged by the Germans in 1914. Later following a rout past some of the fortified churches of the Thierache stopped off at a quite aire just outside the village of Rozoy sur Serre. Stopped a couple of nights and did a short cycle tour around some of the nearby churches: Parfondal; Dohis; Cuiry-les-Iviers and Archon. Hitting low thirties in the afternoon, glad that I wasn't further south where they were having temperatures in excess of 40C. Have had that a couple of time before and try and avoid it now!
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| Fortified Church at Parfondal |
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| Fortified Church at Archon |
27th June 2019
Rozay sur Serre (France) to Rocroi (France)
Initially headed for an aire at Anor parked-up did a 9km walk and decided that I would move on heading towards the Ardennes. Actually more comfortable driving along with the windows open than sitting around trying to keep cool. Picked out a good looking aire at Rocroi - star shaped town and fort surrounding it dating from around 1560. How strange, as I parked up in the grassy and partly shady aire adjacent to some bastion...I realized I had been there before! Something like 2002 when I was taking a slow route to a conference at Waterloo (Belgium) where I had been invited to give a presentation about some specialized piling works of HS1 (when I worked for ARUP).
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| Rocroi |
30th June 2019
Rocroi (France) to Haybes (France)
Late start and a slow drive into the Ardennes proper to end up parked next to the Meuse at Haybes. Germans passed this way in 1914 flattening the village on their way.
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| Parked-up next to the Meuse at Haybes |
1st July 2019
Haybes (France) to Bouillon (Belgium)
A slow drive through the forests and hills of the Ardennes into Belgium to the riverside town of Bouillon, in the valley of the Semois (a tributary) of the Meuse. Which is on an incised meander and dominated by a castle. Shady green aire near the sports ground.
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| Bouillon - Semois and the Castle |
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| Ditto - from the other side of the meander |
2nd July 2019
Bouillon (Belgium) to Poupehan (Belgium)
After a morning visit to the castle a Bouillon including a falconry display a slow potter along the Semois valley to another riverside aire at Poupehan. Not much there apart form a rent-a-kayak depot - must get an inflatable kayak for these riverside locations!
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| Typical Ardennes Scene - near Poupehan |
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| More of the above |
3nd July 2019
Bouillon (Belgium) to Fumay (France)
Completed a circuit back to the Meuse near Haybes to a great little green parking spot right next to the Meuse at Fumay. Spent a couple of nights here and spent some time using the cycle paths up and downstream - 24km round trip to Lidl at Revins was a little excessive!
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| Fumay - Parked-up by the Meuse - great fishing spot but no body seemed to catch anything! |
5th July 2019
Fumay (France) to Muno (Belgium)
More Ardennes hills, forest and incised river valleys to a small village, Muno, with a cycling trail. It seemed a bit pointless - it was an old railway line and went down hill to the French border to stop in the middle of nowhere and uphill to end up somewhat pointlessly in another village (can't recall the name and it doesn't even appear in my 1:190,000 road atlas! Anyway have the T-shirt for Ligne 195A!
6th July 2019
Muno (Begium) to St Virth (Begium)
Had intended a short trip to an aire a few kilometers away from Muno; but, the village was 'en fete' and the aire and village full of cars. Ended up driving north east through the Ardennes, sort of parallel with the Luxembourg border, via Bastogne to end up in a large parking area on the edge of the village of St Virth in the German speaking eastern cantons of Belgium (Malmedy, Eupen and St Virth) - annexed by Germany in 1914 and yet again in 1940. The place was flattened in December 1945 as it had the misfortune to be the location of the first encounter between the US and German armies at the the start of the Battle of the Bulge.
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| St Virth |
7th July 2019
Signal de Botrange (Belgium)
Still in the Ardennes headed to the highest point in Belgium (694m) where there is a large parking area. Surrounded by shallow hills, heathland and forestry. Seems like a popular spot for cross country skiing in the winter - but just hikers and bikers today. Weather has turned chilly, barely 20C this afternoon! Six vans parked up overnight.
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| Signal de Botrange |
Signal de Botrange (Belgium) to Heimbach (Germany)
One of those 'can't find a place to park' days. First location - closed for circus. Second location - closed for building stages for rock concert. Gave up and driving along spotted a Stellplatz in the village of Heimbach. Still in the same range of hills but as I sure as all will recall they become the Eifel as soon as you cross the German border. Weird - Eifel sounds pretty French to me. Had to cough-up 7 euros to park here! Arms struggled to reach the bottom of my pocket to find the coins for the machine.
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| Burg Hengebach, Heimbach |
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