We set off in late April for a month of touring with the caravan. It didn’t start too well because the car engine management light went on within 2 miles of leaving home and the car went into limp mode. We called out the breakdown people and they reset the computer and we were on the way within the hour – good service!
We arrived at the Dover caravan site and went to the Battle of Britain Memorial on the cliffs above Dover. It was a lovely day with views over Folkestone and the channel.
The Memorial Stuart with two of the replica planes
Our first stop in Belgium was at Blaarmeersen Camping on the outskirts of Ghent. The site itself was situated on a large sports complex which included sports fields for football, rugby and hockey also many indoor sports facilities, including a velodrome. In the evenings we walked around the area and we even went in and watched the cyclists racing around the track. All very impressive.
On one of our evening walks
In the velodrome
taken on my phone hence the dodgy quality
It was not until the late 18th and early 19th century, when the city became a part of the French Empire, that peace and prosperity were restored to Ghent. From 1800, new factories were constructed such as sugar refineries and cotton mills. The plans for a cotton mill were smuggled out of England by Lieven Bauwens, and Ghent soon became the Manchester of the Continent.
The city continued to grow as an industrial centre throughout the 19th century, and the number of inhabitants tripled. The poor working and living conditions of the working-class resulted in the creation of the first Belgian trade union in Ghent. Today, Ghent, which is the capital of the province of East-Flanders, has a population of about 250,000 inhabitants.
The Graslei – This is the main tourist spot in Ghent. The buses are close by and the tourist boats leave from here
The city pavilion is one of Ghent’s new architectural buildings. The space below is used for concerts, markets etc. Stuart relaxing with trappist beer (a Westmalle for those in the know)
A few photos of the Graslei below.
Sue in a couple of places around Ghent.
Next stop Oude Maas, south of Rotterdam, Holland
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