A much nicer day for us today with pretty much brilliant sunshine all day long, still a harsh coastal wind blowing but we survived. A tour up the rest of the coast of Belgium is our plan for today, starting with a short drive, followed by a long walk along the beach from Strand Raversidje, along Strand Diksmuide almost as far as Plage d’Oostend….
Back into the van and a drive around Oostend, across the river to continue our walk along the picture perfect and wonderfully deserted Strand Turkeyen and Strand Bredene….
Another short drive to Strand Wenduine and Strand Harendijke….
And ending our day at Strand Zeebrugge…
An absolutely glorious stretch of fine, silky sand with plenty of firm wet sand to make walking a pleasure. We didn’t get right to the top of Belgium and missed a few of the more popular resorts, as being a fine Sunday afternoon, parking was a bit of a challenge, but we have to leave an excuse to return. From Zeebrugge we made our way back to Strand Westend park up as the location was perfect (for a final beach walk in the morning before we head inland for a while) and parking is free after 7pm.
Thoughts of the day:
It would appear that during the off-season much of the parking is free during the week. We also discovered that there is generally roadside free parking either side of the beach resorts, if you are happy to walk a bit.
Can we last the next couple of months without the sea as our constant companion?
A cold wind blowing all the while, cloudy in the morning but a nice bit of sunshine for most of the afternoon as we explore part of Belgium’s small coastline. We travel a short distance along the coast to the far end of De Panne to capture the sculpture and beach of Strand Canadezenplien….
Before moving a little further east to Plage Sint Idesbald and Koksijde Beach….
At the far end of Strand Westende we found an amazing park up for the night right beside the beach (though we did shuffle down a bit forfeiting an amazing view for the shelter of the dunes)….
After a quick cup of tea we ventured out for a lovely walk along the beach, enjoying the sculptures on Strand Westende….
Before heading eastwards along Hondon Strand to Middelkerke and it’s rather impressive looking Casino at the far end….
A walkway around the Casino affording great views along the fine beach of Middelkerke and off into the distance Ostend…
After having our tea we popped out to catch the setting sun before calling it a day….
Thoughts of the day:
These sculptures, though random do make a great focal point along this otherwise featureless long stretch of sand – well done Belgium – though a little tag telling you about them wouldn’t go amiss!
Unlike France, so far most of the ample parking, though cheap, is paid, but that might be because we are hugging the coast.
Well today is the day and we are very excited and yes a little apprehensive as we make an early getaway from Canterbury Camping and Caravan Club site at 7.30am to drive the short distance to LeShuttle. It feels a little overwhelming when you arrive at LeShuttle as it seems there are so many lanes and potential ways to get it wrong but in fact it is all quite straightforward and there really is only one way to go!
After checking in at a machine which has already identified who you are by your numberplate and confirming a couple of details, you follow the road around to pet check in which means parking up (for me in the large vehicle section) and wandering in through the main terminal with Duty Free and plenty of eateries – the process was very quick and straightforward and Tilly got a little bag of treats for her bother and then back to van to wait to be called.
Visible from the van is a large check in board which indicates the waiting time for your call, based on the number that you have been allocated. Within 20 minutes we were off on our merry way to the train via British and then French passport control (all done from the van)….
What an amazingly easy way to travel, so much less stressful for Tilly and so fast, just half an hour and we are driving out of the train and onto the road system in France – no further check points just voila and you are there! Driving more or less straight onto a dual carriageway almost means that you don’t have to think about driving on the right as it is obvious.
Our journey from the terminal is quite short and by midday (11am UK time having got on LeShuttle for the 9.45 crossing!) we are arriving at our first stop for the night at the Camping Car Park Bray-Dunes….
After a rewarding cup of tea and to be a fair a little mental clap on the back for yet another new experience ticked off we got wrapped up (there is a fair chilly wind blowing) and walked the few hundred metres to the beach….
On consulting the map, I realised that we are just a short hop from the Belgium border so we decided to walk eastwards to Belgium, well why on earth not? The beach is a lovely long stretch of sand, literally as far as the eye can see – with Dunkirk just visible to the west and possible (time will tell) the whole of Belgium’s short coastline, visible to the east and Tilly as happy as I am to be back on our travels again….
The border istelf took some finding with the only marker I could find being this rather unassuming block…
So here you are France to the west and Belgium to the east….
We continued our walk into Belgium along the beach De Panne to get a closer look at Westerpunt a 6m high architectural structure ‘offering a symbolic connection between the sea, dunes and residents’ and pretty panoramic views as you can walk over the top, towards France and De Panne Beach in Belgium….
We about turned here and battled our way back against the seemingly strengthening westerly breeze – I think you could say a very successful and enjoyable first day.
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