On the Road Again!

Well, I could have done with booking the ferry a little later in the month to ensure that it went on my next Tesco MasterCard bill. But it needed doing ASAP to ensure that the booking would get made and not sold out for the bike spaces. As we were unable to fill all the rooms we have decided to cancel both the triple and twin rooms at the hotel and book the quadruple room! It looks as though the days of a large group going are over for the Meldrews. A quarter share in the quadruple room works out at around £65 each for two night bed and breakfast. The ferry has cost £50 for the weekend.   I have entered the Advanced Passenger Information (API) onto the website and oddly the booking shows the times of the crossing to be different to the ones booked only a few minutes before!  later leaving the UK and earlier leaving France to come home on the Sunday! Anyway that's all done.

It's been quite a while since the Meldrews' had a trip away, just a weekend across in France or Belgium.   We (The Royal We?) used to go to the Bikers Loft. I only actually went the once as it seemed to clash with other commitments. That was on the Rocket and back in 2015!  The others in our informal group that we call the Meldrews' have been more often. You can read about my trip to the Loft here . So when one of the members suggested we have another look at a weekend away I didn't get to involved as the first two weeks in September I am away with Claire and the dog in France in the motorhome. I gave some dates when I am not away or at football.  The weekend 22nd to 24th September popped out at me.  It's the North London Derby at the Emirates, but we have already agreed that it will be one of Phil's games so I am free. I like the idea of being well away as I would want to watch and I prefer to wait until I know the score. Yes. Live football sometimes sucks! Ov...

It's hard to think about safe travel across international borders again, at least in the near future. I have been looking into 2022 for both family and bike club trips. At the moment in 2021 I have a week booked in Norfolk with Claire and Reggie the Dog.  Hopefully covid can't f*ck that up. We have been looking at "abroad" and we have a weekday trip booked to the Netherlands to look at tulips. It's quite a short trip with just a midweek at the beginning of May 2022. So. Wipers Times.  A Meldrews run to the Ypres Salient and a visit to the Last Post being played at the Menen Gate.   I have looked for a hotel in the centre and with over a year to the "go date" there are a few to choose from at reasonable prices. Dates so far? 24th June for a weekend. All it needs is a chance to travel again.

Another update. As the route would take me through Ieper/Ypres/Wipers anyway I will stop in the Grote Markt for a short time and visit the Tourist Office and also I might have time to get across the the British Legion shop across the road.  Always a sucker for a new pin badge! I don't want this to become a whistle-stop tour but I need the gate code from the Tourist Office to get into the St Eloi Crater park.  Although if it is anything  like Bayernwald,  when I got there someone had left the gate unlocked and slightly ajar so the code wasn't needed. If time starts to get away with me after Palingbeek I can always cut one or some of the stops out of the route.   When I used to plan these trips for the Kent Centre SOC and then the Meldrews I think I used to build in too many places to stop and then had to remove some on the hoof as it were.Probably better than too few and having to pad the trips out!! My primary focus is to see the exhibit at Palingbeek as it...

Once I had booked the Shuttle and gave myself plenty of time to get there and back I then started work on a bit of research of where to go. As long as there aren't too many delays getting across then I expect to arrive in the Ypres area about 1200 to 1230. Lunch. Might see if the chip shop in Vlamertinge is open. Being Belgian there will be a large selection of meaty products that can be deep fried... Sounds like a diet buster. If you have ever had fresh chips (frites/fries) in Belgium you will know how they are simply marvellous. From there. To Palingbeek. Then I have added the two mine craters at St Eloi then down to the Pool of Peace,  and finally the Island of Ireland Peace Park near Messines. That should bring me to time to head back. More to follow. St Eloi Crater -   http://www.toerisme-ieper.be/en/page/334-349-364/minecrater-saint-eloi.html Pool of Peace -  https://www.flandersfields.be/en/do/pool-peace Island of Ireland Peace Park  -  https://www.v...

To commemorate the numbers of troops killed in the battles around Ypres and at Passchendaele  an amazing memorial has been created in the domain of Palingbeek to the south east of Ypres/Ieper. The memorial consists of 600000 sculptures that each represent a soldier killed on that front during WW1. Pepe and I will be going over there in a few weeks to have a look. The official website (linked below) suggests at least an hour to view the installation. It's only there until 11th November - Armistice Day, so there is limited time to get across and see it. Hopefully I won't be Johnny No-Mates on the day but if I am I can enjoy it all the better myself. There are a couple of other places I'd like to call in where I have not been before or not for a long time. A report to follow in a couple of weeks when I have been over to Belgium. More information: http://www.comingworldrememberme.be/nl/praktisch

Not a theme park, although it sounds like it may be, but actually a recently rediscovered (in the 1970's) formation of trenches from WW1. These are around Messines Ridge to the south of Ypres. The trenches point northwards as this area was part of the bulge to the south the city. Entry is supposed to cost €1.50 per person but when we got there the gate had been wedged open and there were some other people already inside. The GPS location for the site is N50.80135 E2.87708. More reading http://bujold.co.uk/html/bayernwald.html

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A great day in Belgium. In the end there were ten of us on ten bikes and the drop-off system worked a treat. Click the link to see the full story: http://www.poi66.com/maps/show_album?album=wipersmay2009

There were six of us on the Flanders Day trip. We went across country to Poperinge (twinned with Hythe where I live) and then Ypres. Nigel and Jane Jones, John Bentall and his wife Anne, and Claire and me. This was the trip that got us intereste din days and then weekends away on the bike as a small group, derawn from the IMTC and SOC locally. THe pics are from Talbot House in Poperinge and of the Menin Gate in Ypres