Upper Clatford 2

Must be getting close to the end of our trip - the disciplined approach to the blog is slipping a little! This is a day late!

Had a sleep-in and listen to the rain on the roof - how lovely. So a late breakfast followed before we joined Fran late in the morning to spend the day with her. 

Later in the afternoon I did some repairs on the van before the MOT on Tuesday. A tail light needed fixing and the electrical connector for a trailer needed replacing. All completed successfully - now just hope the MOT is successful too! 

Another lovely meal with Fran before retiring for a good night sleep.

The classic English pub in Upper Clatford!

Upper Clatford

Raining again this morning but still a delightful view down across the valley.

Near Winchester

We were in the area of the world motorcross championship so traffic was starting to build up. We made our way to Winchester and then to Andover. 

Later in the day we arrived at Upper Clatford to visit Fran for the long-weekend. Great to catch up again. 

Quaint and beautiful Upper Clatford

Had a lovely evening with Fran and other friends. Home after midnight.

... and good company

South Coast

Off for an early morning walk along the beach. A very pleasant part of the country.

Goring by Sea

£25000.00 for this beach shed!

Nothing much of a day except for a number of traffic jams on the motorways! This is a continual way of life for a lot of Brits - the radio is full of reports of hour long traffic jams on motorways and other roads. Too many people  with too many cars trying to get to too many places too quick - and yes we can be accused of the same!

Spent most of the morning trying to organise our storage depot for the winter. We think we have located a suitable venue in Harrow. 

Later in the day we located our overnight at Cheesefoot Head viewing area in Temple Valley. We watched a farmer late into the night trying to get his wheat harvest finished before the forecast rain came - which it did during the night.

Passed Arundel Castle on the way.

Bodiam

Rained most of the night and again this morning. Still, a great view across the English Channel whilst enjoying breakfast and a slow morning.

An old Victorian water tower - now converted into a home!

Left for Rye mid-morning and then onto Bodiam and the famous castle.

Bodiam Castle

Old portcullis at Bodiam

Weather had cleared by the time we arrived at Bodiam Castle. A large number of visitors already there but we were surprised by the numbers arriving after us. We could see how quickly the car park filled. 

Bodiam

Later in the afternoon we moved on to the south coast to Goring-by- Sea for our evening and overnight stay.

Folkestone

Arrived in Dover at 12.00am! First off the ferry and headed straight for Marine Terrace in Dover - parked and into bed within minutes! A d a good night sleep as well.

Arriving in the UK by ferry

Took an early morning walk along the Dover beach front and was away shortly after nine.

Dover esplanade 

Folkestone was our first call - needing to sort out our SIMM card and recharge it - actually it was easier to get a new SIMM. Took a walk along the Folkestone cliff tops. 

Folkestone 

A Victorian invention - the water-gravity shuttle car

Checked out the area before moving driving to Hythe - where a Venetian festival was happening - and then onto the seaside village of Littlestone-on -Sea. A beautiful day with the coast of France being visible right along this southern coast.

Littlestone on Sea

Spent the afternoon and the evening here enjoying the day and the wonderful panorama on offer from the walkway.

Calais

Last day in Europe. Departed after farewell g our French neighbours. Made our way to Calais to stock up on supplies at The Cite supermarket.

At overnight in Belgium.

Later move on to the esplanade along the boardwalk in Calais. A beautiful day and the French and the tourists were out in force until very late in the afternoon. 

At Calais beach front.

Relaxed and had our meal enjoying the beautiful sunshine before heading to the wharf for our crossing to Dover.

Waiting for the ferry!

Ghent

Tomorrow night we catch the ferry  from Calais back to the UK.  So with a little time up our sleeves we thought that a day in Ghent would be worthwhile ... and yes it was!

We left early, by our standards, for Ghent, stopping off at a service station to end the saga of the Dresden gas crisis! We had left the refilling of the cylinder until we were out of Germany - it was thought that the German LPG gas system might have been different from the rest of Europe. The refilling went ahead without a hitch - no leakage at the end of the filling! Phew!!!!! But out of the saga no accolades for Gas-It, the supplier of the cylinder - after two emails inquiring what might have happened  - NO REPLY! And, Belgium gas is only €0.56 a litre!

Our first impression of Ghent was that is very forgiving - after driving into vehicle restricted zones and slowing traffic through some  careful decision making as to where to park!  Parked centrally with good access to the old  town.  

Ghent 

Ghent is often thought of as the poor relation to Brugge. Where Brugge missed much of the industrialisation of the 19th century  Brugge didn't  getting the dark coatings on all its medieval buildings. This has started to be rectified and Ghent's  old buildings are coming back to life as there were five hundred years ago. 

Some of the famous Guild-Houses on the Graslei in Ghent

Ghent was once one of the most important cities of Europe. It was larger than London with only Paris being larger.  Given that it received very little harm during the wars a wonderful legacy has been left to the world.

We visited most of the historic sites during the day but the highlight perhaps was the guild-houses on the Graslei - this is where the merchant ships would dock and unload their merchandise. The Cooremetershuys (guild house of the grain weighers), the guild house on the free sailors and the Het Spijker  ( a granary) are all impressive reminders of the city's economic growth.

There is something inspiring wandering the streets of a town with such history. Ghent is a town worth visiting.

Moved onto Veurne by the canal for our overnight - along with about 20 other motorhome - but not gypsies!

Ghent Town Hall