Méteren

We were slow leaving the shade of Grenay today, delaying our departure by finding things to do before we left. We walk to the neighbouring village of Bully-Les-Mines and did some shopping. On our return we proceeded with other housekeeping which needed to be done.   

Late morning we set out for the large supermarket in Lille, and for the first time a large supermarket had a 2m height barrier preventing vans from entering! Initially frustrating, but we did find an adjacent business that allowed vans of our height to park. We eventually did our shopping before leaving for Méteren. 

At Méteren we visited the grave of my grandfather, William Samuel Sayer, who was killed fighting to capture the village in 1918. This is the centenary of his death (d. 23 April 1918), and so it fitting that we pay our respects to him for having sacrifice so much. He was 41 on his death, leaving a wife and three small children at home in Wynyard, Tasmania - one of these being my mother. 

The small village of Méteren was totally destroyed in 1918 from the bombardment and fighting that took place around this area. Prior to the war it had been a thriving market town for a basically rural area. 

Having paid our respects, and having reflected on the motivation of men like William Sayer, we drove onto Esquelbecq for our overnight stop. We were joined by five other motorhomes - all Belgiums. Flemish was the language across the aire during the evening. 

Lazy Day in Grenay

Our decision to spend a lazy day in Grenay was very profound!  Nothing like a fine, sunny Sunday to spend relaxing in a very peaceful environment. Spent some time chatting with a Spainish family, who were on their way to Corsica - too hot for us! They had some interesting views on Brexit.

We took an early morning walk around the village, noticing the remains of the highly industrial period of this town. Many old tailing-hills surround the landscape, the leftovers from 60 years of coal mining in the town. 

This area was also at the front line of the trench warfare along the western front in 1914-1918. The war cemeteries in the area are a sad testament to this conflict. 

We are very tempted, at this stage, to spend another day here - it is such a relaxing place! And, the friterie man comes back from holidays tomorrow!

Bavay-Grenay

A great nights sleep - in fact we slept a little later than we had planned. The sun was up early but another cool breeze kept the heat at bay for a while. 

We had breakfast and set out on a walk to the Grand Place (market place) in Bavay where we found the usual Saturday morning activity taking place. A block away from the centre of the village lay the unearthed Roman forum, part of the large Roman city that existed here over 2000 years ago. We followed the signs  to this intriguing archeological site, where we were surprised that we could walk around the site. 

The forum, from  the 1st century,  was uncovered by the 1940 bombing that destroyed the buildings covering it. Several hot bath structures (hypocausts) had been found under the church, and under some houses, signifying important baths - perhaps public baths. 

The Romans built the largest forum outside Italy right here in the town - it was a gigantic public building, 200 metres long by120 metres wide. Archaeologists found the complete foundations of a basilica - the Roman "town hall", an underground gallery, and porticos of other buildings - making it one of the best finds of Roman remains in France.

Bavay was an important administrative town for the Romans once Caesar had gained control of the area. It was a centre where Roman roads connecting the seaport of Boulonge-sur-Mer with the German province in Trier. The large Roman town was built around this crossroad. 

An artists impression of what it may have looked like gives you a glimpse of the magnitude and the importance of the site. 

We later walked back through the Grande-Place where the 17th century column of Brunehaut dominates square. 

We later returned to the van where we had parked just under the old medieval town’s defensive perimeter wall.  

We left for our next stop in Grenay, a town we had visited at the beginning of our travels in Europe. It is a very pleasant park with great opportunity for shade - and relaxation. Perhaps we could spend a couple of days here! 

Boussois -Bavay

Another lovely view across La Meuse when we opened the curtains this morning. A cool breeze was making things very pleasant.  

Many of our neighbours for the night were still fast asleep, or taking in the ambience of the setting too!

We slowly got ourselves together and headed in the direction of Erquelinnes where we did some shopping. We weren’t sure if we were in France or Belgium! So much for being seasoned travellers! In this neck of the woods you are in and out of countries all the time without realising it.

We did end up in France at a lovely aire de camping at Boussois- and plenty of shade too!  

We decided to stay here for most of the day and just relax, just like the like-minded French couple and a Dutch family. Always very interesting to chat with different nationals to get their views of the world. 

At the end of the day we all had to leave because the aire was being closed due to a fair in the area on Sunday.  We all parted late in the afternoon for different locations. 

We drove onto Bavay where we stopped for the night at the aire. Bavay has a great deal of Roman historical connection but we have not had the chance to explore this yet!

Our drive took us past more agricultural land which seemed to be under some stress. The sugar beet crop particularly in some sort of trouble. 

Too hot to cook in the van so an outside cook was on the cards. 

Givet

Our journey today took us from Belgium to France. The temperatures, though, were of a similar kind - not surprising, as we only travelled 20km! Again, the Belgium roads left a lot to be desired.  

Leaving Dinant we passed the Rocher Bayard but not through the narrow side on this occasion - much to the relief of the onboard navigator! 

We followed the Meuse River towards Givet, which is just across the border in France. Some of the views across the water at this time of day were well worth photographing.

A scenic lookout over the Meuse Valley gave us a good view of Château de Freÿr on the other side of the river.  A beautiful renaissance Château on a forested  bend in the Meuse with narrow cliffs jutting from the river.  The Château has been in the one family for the past 20 generations- since 1410! Over time some very important treaties have been negotiated here - including the boundary treaty when France took over the administration in 1772. A very impressive Château and garden. 

Harvest was well underway giving us a picturesque view of rural Belgium. 

And we passed the first of the Napoleon tree-lined roads we knew we crossed into France - just to give his soldiers shade while marching off to war (so the story goes!). 

Our arrival in Givet coincided with the dramatic increase in the temperature. The town immediately struck us as a “beau village” with the ancient Charlemont Citadel dominating the river and the town... 

... and Hilton! The building of the citadel was commenced in 1555 and altered consistently over the next 450 years until its bombardment in 1914. The Germans occupied the town in 1940 until the Americans retook the town in September 1944, accommodating 11,000 troops in the citadel before the Battle of the Ardennes in that year. 

Many motorhomes were parked up along the Meuse in full sunshine- this wasn’t going to be our plan at this stage so a shaded area was found around the corner! From here we could explore the surrounds. 

Later we did move position to be on the banks of the Meuse with the other vans 21 of them - and a slight breeze off the water helped to keep things cool...ish -  34deg.

We delayed our town walk until after our evening meal when the sun had set behind the old town. Many others had left it to this time of the day to stretch their legs too.

Our neighbours!

Centre Ville

Being another town stretched along the riverfront every sound travels its full length- the incessant trail bikes buzzed the town well into the night.  Where were the Gendarme when you need them! 

As the sun set the lights of the town were switched on and made quite a picture from our position from across the river. I can understand now why this is a very popular town for motorhomers to visit. The sight across the river is quite mesmerising. We sat out well after sunset to see the changing colours of the town opposite. 

Dinant

Today we travelled a little further north into Belgium and stopped in the quaint town of Dinant situated on the Meuse River, the birth place of,  Adolphe Sax, the inventor of the saxophone, and the Abbey de Leffe beer! 

Our day started with a cooler outlook this morning with cloud cover and we even thought that there may be some rain, but not to be! 

After taking on water etc, we drove on to Dinant, arriving shortly after midday. The roads and highways in Belgium have quite a way to go to meet the standards of the roads in Germany.

Our entrance to Dinant was through the rock outcrop, Rocher Bayard, with a breadth of 2.5 metres - a narrow squeeze for our van! The town is stretched along both sides of the Meuse, and protected on both sides by towering cliffs - perhaps a great place to build a citadel! We found a shady parking spot from where we could visit the town. 

We set out on our walk along the banks of the Meuse but were not that impressed with what we saw, not a lot of care had been taken within the town. The further we went however, and as we entered into the town proper,  we quickly changed our minds. The surrounds became cleaner and tidier, and the scenic area of the town opened up. 

And, surprise, surprise, there was a citadel! A very famous citadel, in fact. The strategic location of the town has been recognised over the centuries, with the citadel being built as the guardian of the Meuse Valley. Many battles have been fought over the centuries because of this position. 

The Dinant’s other main attraction is the landmark Church of Notre Dame de Dinant.  It was rebuilt in Gothic style on its old foundations after falling rocks from the cliff above partially destroyed the former Romanesque style church in 1227. Plans for a pair of towers on the west end were completed before the project was abandoned in favour of the present central tower with the famous onion dome.The large stained glass window was particularly impressive. 

A walk across the bridge  opened up a most delightful scenic view of Dinant. The Bridge was lined with colourful arty saxophones from all parts of the world. 

The story of the invention/development of the saxophone by Adolphe Sax, a native of Dinant, was well told in a museum dedicated to his life and the development of the Saxophone.  The issues he faced around this plagued him for the rest of his life, sadly dying a pauper in Paris in 1894!  

A culinary tradition in Dinant is the couque de Dinant,  Europe's hardest biscuit, made from equal amounts of wheat flour and honey that is pressed into a carved wooden mould before baking.

We later returned to the van just as the day started to warm up late in the afternoon. We decided not to move on to Givet but to stay the night in Divant. 

Other things that caught our attention around Divant: 

A simple but attractive home front. 

A memorial for the victims of  an atrocity in 1914. 

The martyrs memorial. 

The Battle of Dinant in 1914 saw Lt Charles de Gaulle wounded - now a statue of him stands on the Meuse in his honour.