Featured

A life less complicated

Featured / freedombird / 13 Comments

Having completed a large chunk of the British coastline and visited 1467 beaches on the way, ventured into the unknown, crossing the English Channel for the first time and seeing what the coastline of France has to offer and adding a further 459 beaches to our tally, we are off again. This time, as a complete change we are on the pursuit of stunning scenery and again crossing the channel and meandering down the core of Western Europe to see what we can see…

If you would like to see our earlier journeys around the UK, they have loosely been grouped together by location and you can find the links below.

NB some of the links below are not yet working properly as it is a work in progress….

Beach Guides:

To catch up with our earlier adventures in:

  1. North coast of Cornwall from 5th October 2017 to 11th February 2018 –   Freedombird in Cornwall
  2. Back in Cornwall at various times to complete the coastline – Freedombird back in Cornwall
  3. North coast of Devon from 11th February to 19th March 2018 – Freedombird in North Devon
  4. Somerset from 19th March to 29th April 2018 – Freedombird in Somerset
  5. South Wales coast from 29th April to 14th August 2018 – Freedombird in South Wales
  6. West and North Wales coast from 14th August to 21st October 2018 – Freedombird in West and North Wales
  7. North West England from 21st October to 26th November 2018 and 27th January to 4th February 2019 – Freedombird in North West England
  8. Cumbria from 27th January to 5th April 2019 – Freedombird in Cumbria
  9. South Coast of Scotland from 5th April to 25th May 2019 – Freedombird on the South Coast of Scotland
  10. West Coast of Southern Scotland from 26th May to 17th July 2019 – Freedombird on the West Coast of Southern Scotland
  11. Edinburgh and surrounding area from 18th July to 30th July 2019 – Freedombird in Edinburgh and surrounding beaches
  12. East Coast of Southern Scotland from 28th July to 15th September 2019 – Freedombird on the East Coast of Southern Scotland
  13. North East England from 12th September to 20th November 2019 – Freedombird in the North East of England
  14. Yorkshire from 14th January to 22nd February 2020 – Fredombird in Yorkshire
  15. Lincolnshire from 23rd February to 13th March 2020 – Freedombird in Lincolnshire
  16. Norfolk and Suffolk from 15th to 24th March 2020 and 28th June to 18th July 2025 – Freedombird in Norfolk and Suffolk
  17. Inland England on various dates travelling through – Freedombird in inland England
  18. West Coast of Northern Scotland Part 1 from 11th September to 14th October 2024 – Freedombird on the West Coast of Northern Scotland Part 1
  19. North Coast of Scotland and the Orkneys from 15th to 27th October 2024 – Freedombird on the North Coast of Scotland and the Orkneys
  20. East Coast of Northern Scotland Part 1 from 28th October to 15th November 2024 – Freedombird on the East Coast of Northern Scotland Part 1
  21. In the Highlands of Scotland from 15th to 26th November 2024 and 10th to 21st June 2025 – Freedombird in the Highlands
  22. West Coast of Northern Scotland Part 2 from 8th to 17th April and 31st May to 5th June 2025 – Freedombird on the West Coast of Northern Scotland Part 2
  23. Outer Hebrides Part 1 from 22nd April to 12th May 2025 – Freedombird in the Outer Hebrides Part 1
  24. Outer Hebrides Part 2 from 10th May to 30th May 2025 – Freedombird in the Outer Hebrides Part 2
  25. East Coast of Northern Scotland Part 2 from 15th to 18th June 2025 – Freedombird on the East Coast of Northern Scotland Part 2
  26. North and West Coast of France from 11th September to 7th December 2025 – Freedombird on the North and West Coast of France

Saturday 21st March 2026 – Neufchateau, La Roche en Ardenne, Durbuy and Esneux…

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After another frosty night we are again rewarded with a lovely sunny day and after a short walk along one of the many trails at Herbeumont we wend our way through the Meuse Valley to our first stop for today at Neufchateau.

After wandering up the hill to view the castle, only to be disappointed to find out that it is purely a model of the castle that once stood and a few bits of remaining wall. The town itself being nothing special we took the slow path around the lake to enjoy the sunshine instead….

From here we headed north (there is a reason for heading north again, as I want to drive down through Luxembourg), with a much more successful visit to La Roche en Ardenne a pretty riverside town with the remains of the castle overlooking the town…

Further north again to the ‘smallest city in the world’ (historically) being Durbuy. It was very busy, though there was plenty of parking on the outskirts and certainly did not disappoint….

This was our last planned stop as we headed on to our Aire for the night at Esneux, another pretty riverside town and enjoyed a stroll in the late afternoon sun….

The Aire was a small semi circle of 10 spaces looking onto the river at the far end of the above street but I forgot to take a photo! From here on in it is southwards we go.

Today’s stats:

  • Miles driven – 94
  • Miles walked – 7
  • O/N – £10.50

Friday 20th March 2026 – an admin day in Herbeumont….

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Frosty again last night and very cold in the van as the heating on electric is not very powerful, though I will up the setting to 1800w tonight to see if that makes a difference. However the clear skies of the cold night soon gave way to another gloriously sunny day, which confirmed our plans to stay here another night and get a few bits and bobs done around the van ie laundry etc.

We took a couple of walks out from the Aire checking out the nearby Viaduct by following a trail over the top of it looking to the west and the east…

And then by finding the correct pathway to give us views of the Viaduct itself…

The Viaduct is now part of the hiking and cycling network, having been disused by the railway network for many years….

Today’s stats:

  • Miles driven – 0
  • Miles walked – 5
  • O/N – £13.24

Thursday 19th March 2026 – Following the Meuse to Dinant and deep into Wallonia….

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After a very cold (frosty) night another stunner of a day followed as we set off heading south along the side of the river Meuse…

By about 9.30 we were parked up on the edge of Dinant and followed the river towards the centre, with spectacular views of the Citadel and Notre-Dame on the other side…

The town itself was nothing to write home about but we spent an enjoyable hour or so wandering in the sunshine along the river….

As we left Dinant behind, we encountered the amazing shard of rock – Bayard Rock, through which the opposing traffic had to negotiate their way through (2.7m width restriction) but unfortunately there wasn’t the opportunity for us to stop and take a photo. I must admit, even though it wouldn’t have been a problem for us, it still would have come as a bit of a shock!

Heading south through Wallonia, seemingly leaving any traffic behind as we drive through swathes of forestry along wide straight roads, alternately climbing and dropping down into valleys, as we make our way towards the most southern region of Belgium and into the National Park of the Valley of the river Semois, where we find tonights Aire for the night in Herbeumont….

Making the most of this beautiful day we head straight back out for a walk around the area and up to the ruins of Chateau Fort Herbeumont….

Enjoying spectacular views down the Vallee de Semois in the late afternoon sun….

Thoughts of the day:

  • We are enjoying being a little more rural today, I think we might be citied out for a while.
  • Pot holes are not the problem in Belgium it is the lumps and bumps where they have filled them that makes for a bumpy ride!

Today’s stats:

  • Miles driven – 64
  • Miles walked – 5
  • O/N – £13.24 (inc EHU)

Wednesday 18th March 2026 – Waterloo, Namur and Profondeville….

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Another beautiful sunny day, gradually getting warmer as we negotiate our way out of Ghent after a very peaceful night.

Our first stop today is the site of the Battle of Waterloo – the main attraction though is covered in scaffolding but we still enjoyed walking around the Battle field trying to imagine the sights and sounds it has experienced….

Our next stop was the city of Namur, driving into the heart of the city as we ended up doing was a little nerve racking, but we were lucky enough to find free parking in a little Aire just tucked away – we could stay the night here but I didn’t fancy negotiating our way back out of the city in the morning. Instead we wandered down to the river La Meuse and followed the riverbank along to the Citadel….

We then meandered our way back through the old town with echos of Ghent…

Craving a little peace and quiet we left the city behind and followed the river down to the small village of Profondeville and found parking for the night besides the Sports Centre….

Once parked we took a stroll through the village with its rather large and exotic houses, down to the riverside, before calling it a day…

Thoughts of the day:

  • How is it that you can never quite achieve the same shot of a place as represented in all the guide books?
  • Having assumed this sports centre would be a bit sleepy hollow, as of now (8pm) it is anything but with a constant steam of cars in and out dropping off or picking up, hopefully by about 10 it should have quietened down.

Today’s stats:

  • Miles driven – 109
  • Miles walked – 7
  • Fuel – £74.55 (just over 2 euro’s a litre – thanks Trumpety Trump)
  • Groceries – £26.32

Tuesday 17th March 2026 – An afternoon stroll around Ghent….

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Another lovely day for us as leaving Bruges behind, we drive along the lanes across flat farmland and through rural villages to our next location – the medieval city of Ghent…

The park up we have found for tonight is a rather ugly large park and ride carpark in the heart of an industrial zone on the outskirts of the city – no services but it is flat and seems quiet and quite safe, as I don’t think the park and ride is running at the moment.

We are soon settled and making our way the mile and a half or so into the Old Town of Ghent. May be because our walk started in the heart of the large industrial zone surrounding Ghent but the city feels bigger and in many ways grubbier than Bruges, however once in the old town the stunning architecture soon grabbed our attention…

Not as many waterways but largely traffic free (excluding the trams and of course bikes) along the cobbled streets and squares and the shopping here feels a bit more mainstream ie H&M and Primark, than the many independents in Bruges. A rather impressive castle and several large churches / cathedrals with the skyline being crowded with spires makes for a very different skyline….

Another lovely walk enjoying being a ‘proper’ tourist on a beautiful sunny spring afternoon.

Thoughts of the day:

  • To be honest, though the guide books suggest Ghent as a less busy alternative to Bruges, I found Bruges more attractive and atmospheric.
  • 2 cities in 2 days is more than enough busyiness for us – so tomorrow we shall be seeking some natural space.

Today’s stats:

  • Miles driven – 28
  • Miles walked – 6
  • O/N – Free as machine not working – should be £1.50