Conservatoire for Dance and Drama Graduation at Canterbury Cathedral

Friday 22nd of November 2013. A day to go to Canterbury Cathedral to spend time with CDD colleagues and to read the names of the three students who came to collect their BA(Hons) Degree in Circus Arts.

A Day in the Life - Trying Out My New Time-Lapse Camera

Here you go - Almost all day the Monday 7 October until the early hours of 8 October

 

 

Taken with The Autographer

Some Pictures from the August Adventure

Hello All,

After nearly a year and a half of planning, I finally actually accomplished the trip I had planned to do; ten days, 70km per day, through Belgium and Holland. The whole trip exceeded my expectations and it was the retreat that I never thought I would have.

Here are some of the details:

• Bike sent to Lille on the Thursday 01 August
• I followed on Friday 02 August on the first Eurostar train to Brussels at 06h50 in the morning
• Off to Roubaix, in the suburbs of Lille to catch the canal
• I rode an average of 70km per day, but got lost every once in a while trying to locate campsites, but nothing serious. I believe I covered nearly 750km over the time I was gone
• One day off - the Sunday 11 August, so that I did not have to spend two days in Rotterdam. Dortrecht seemed like a good idea for a Sunday break. I was kind of wrong about that one.
• 12 days away and only 7.5kg of gear.
• Minor achievements - didn't get sunburned once. Changed my mudguards with the tools I had. Didn't turn on my mobile phone for three days. Kept to 20.00 Euros per day and had no physical aches or pains.
• Convinced I could do 1000km someday, but would need to set aside 17 days for it. I am not a fanatic

Use the archive links on the right hand side of this blog (in 2011 and in December of that year - yes, I have been planning it that long)to go to each day; I have edited them with extra pictures and all so that it all fits together. Hope it works, and hopefully you'll find it interesting.

Day 1 - Lille to Bernissart

View Day 1 - Lille to Grandglise in a larger map

This was the first leg of the trip and, probably not surprisingly, was one of the toughest. I put it down to little sleep (as I had to get up at 4.00 to catch the Eurostar. Then I started late in the day from Lille, like 10.30 and had to ride through the heat of the day on what many said was the hottest day in August (35 degrees). Man, when I made it to the campsite "Le Camping du Preau" - rue du Preau 1/C, 7321 Bernissart, Belgium, tel: +32 69 57 71 14, 10.00 Euros per night, plus 1.00 Euro tourist tax - I thought I was going to croak.

Here's how the day panned out (the date stamps bug me too, but it was a new camera and I didn't realise I had it set. Please try to ignore them):

4.30am at home in London:

With Charline and our cat, Casey

Then 5.00am:

(They don't let you leave your gear on your bike when you dispatch it with Eurostar, so I had to carry it all with me in a John Leis bag. Good thing I wasn't taking much.

11.00am, finally on the beginning of the canal, in Roubaix, France.

I saw a bit of this throughout the day:

And finished like this in Bernissart. 

I was so knocked out after the first day that I crashed with my feet sticking out of my tent. A couple of kids went and go their father to check on me because they thought I was dead.

Also, the campsite had a café that was the social centre of the whole place and it was rocking into the night with a pretty rowdy crowd. Which I thought was kind of funny. Though my first impression of the whole place started off on the wrong foot when I read a sign on the shower facility building which said:

"Whoever the person was that shat IN FRONT OF THE TOILETS should be ashamed of themselves. If I ever find out who did this they will be banned from the campsite FOREVER. I can't believe the nerve of some people."

Signed - The Manager



Some details - road straight from Lille Eurostar station to downtown Tournai before I stopped for a drink at 13.00 (1.00pm - I will now only use 24h times, as I am on the continent - ooh, la, la). Road to Bernissart and got there at 15.30.

Day 2 - Bernissart to Luttre

For the second day of the trip, we head deeper into Belgium to finish up in Luttre (when I kind of wanted to go a bit further to Saint-Ghislain), which is just on the northern outskirts of Charleroi. The blue pin is where the campsite was, the red pin is where I would have liked to have ended up.


View Day 2 - Grandglise to Saint-Ghislain in a larger map

This day was a bit of a surprise as I arrived at the next campsite by noon. Since I didn't have my phone on, I didn't really know what time it ever was. So I guess that I must have left Bernissart very early. My destination was: "Le Camping Trieu du Bois" , in Luttre, Belgium. More about that one later, there was still a whole day, well five hours, of cycling to do.

Like I said, I wanted to see just how light I could travel and I ended up with just 7.5kg of gear. This included my tent, groundcloth, sleeping bag, cotton insert, sleeping mat,a change of clothes, a very minimal toilet kit, a tool kit and a bit of First Aid supplies. I also had some flip-flops. I carried a camera on my belt, and various stuff in the pockets of my vest. The bike started out looking like this:

Things change and I will let you know when they do.

The day was amazing, mostly because it seemed to go a lot faster than the first day, the weather was cooler and in fact the distance I covered was a bit shorter because the campsite was north of Charleroi, so I didn't really have a full 70km to do, probably about 55km. Not only that, but I came across the most amazing thing I have ever seen on a canal - it is the Strep-Thieu barge elevator that is found at Strep-Thieu (funnily enough) on the Belgium Canal du Centre. Have a look at the website here Ascenseur Strepy-Thieu, it is in French, but still incredible. t is a massive elevator that lifts and descends the huge barges that use the Canal du Centre. Here's my picture of it:

You come rolling in along the path you see at the bottom, in the middle, then have to ride uphill until you are level with the black structure in the picture. The canal is at my back and heads off to the east, the cycle path is a dream.

The campsite was simple and clean, though a bit steep at 10.00 Euros a day, plus another Euro for the Tourist Tax, for what it actually offered. This was a shower, a loo and nothing else. Luckily there was a Carrefour Market close by and the campsite was just off the cycle path and canal, so there wasn't any added hassle. It all looks idyllic when you see the photos, so maybe it was and I am just being a bit cheap in hindsight.




This is the street side entrance to the campsite, there is another one at the back that goes straight to the cycle path. This is it below.

My tent was at the back end and you can see the path and the canal in the background.

And here is the office:

Day 3 - Luttre to Tihange

Day 3, and this ended up being one of the longest days of the trip. The previous campsite was in Luttre yesterday, about 20km north of Charleroi and the next campsite is in Huy, another 20km further than Andenne. Plus, to make matters worse, I missed the turnoff to follow the cycle path around the northern suburbs of Charleroi and followed the towpath until it dead-ended in some industrial shipping port with practically no way out.

This meant working my way through villages, massive inclines and a four-lane entry road to make it into the centre of town. There it was still too early to have a coffee - I must have left the campsite in Luttre at 6.30 or some ungodly hour like that, I hadn't turned my phone on since I left the house - so it was hard to find anybody to ask directions from. Finally, I managed to find my way out, in fact the system is pretty easy; follow the river, always head east. But since most of the days are relatively uneventful, the slightest incident becomes major drama.

That was one of the interesting conclusions from the trip; that I created an environment where there was very little stimulation from things like people, electronics, public transport, news, etc... and emotions were created from the internal dialogue I maintained. Eventually even that stopped and I became zen, just dealing with things as they came up and not commenting on them either way, or classifying them as hitches to my plans or bis where my plan succeeded. They just were, and all that kicked in at about this time.

Here's the map:


View Day 3 - Saint-Ghislain to Andenne in a larger map

The campsite was called "Camping Mosan", rue de la Paix 3, 4500 Huy, Belgium and the telephone is +32 85 23 10 51. It was a bit difficult to get hold of them as nobody answered the phone and e-mails went without a reply. But eventually I managed to get through and reserve a place for the night. Finding the campsite was a bit confusing as there is also a sporting complex called Mosan in the town and it is way up on a mountain, nowhere near the campsite, so should you decide to go there (it is quiet, clean and small, you need to know that it is located in a suburb called Tihange and is right near the nuclear power plant. You can't miss it.

See.

Day 4 - Tihange to Oost-Maarland

This leg is another 70km leg that takes us to the suburbs of Maastricht. There is a lovely campsite in Oost-Maarland called Camping Oosterdriessen and I highly recommend it. Beautiful, with a lake, a bar, wonderful facilities and all for a little over 8.00 Euros.


View Day 4 - Andenne to Lanaye in a larger map

The day started out very well and I left my little snug area beside the nuclear power plant and moved on towards Holland. It was all getting very exciting as I was about to get to a point where I could say that I had completely crossed a whole country on my bike. The country was Belgium, but still it was almost 280km and it still counts as a country.

Leaving Tihange was fine, but part of the path is on a busy four-lane highway, but you soon leave it for the calmer towpaths along the river. I also dead-ended into a stone quarry and had to manoeuvre through the delivery part of the factory. The worst part though, was the entire cycle route ending in Seraing, just outside of Liege and a crappy sign system that leaves you hanging. Getting into Liege was fraught with highways and major road systems and I think in the future I will scout out train stations around that area just to avoid the whole frightening scenario. Once in Liege though things were fine and the path out was beautiful.

And had interesting bits along the edges.

It didn't take long out of Liege to get to the border with The Netherlands and getting into the country was over a bridge that was actually an hydraulic dam that generated electricity. This is it.

I arrived at Camping Oosterdriessen at 11.30 in the morning! So I figure that I must have left Tihange at some ungodly hour, especially taking into account all the hassle I had getting into and out of Liege. But let's not dwell on that.

Once there I got everything out and while it was drying a French guy started up a conversation with me. This really threw me because I hadn't really spoken with anybody since I left the house on the previous Friday. Nothing more than , "A coffee, please" or "How much?". So actually responding to questions like, "Where have you come from?" and "Would you like a cigarette?" stretched my imagination. The young man, because he was only 26, was named Antoine Duvernoy and he was on his way from Amsterdam all the way to Lyon, in France - 1200km away. He had left on the 21st July and on the day I met him he had been out 17 days. He had 85kg of stuff in a trailer that he was pulling behind his bike, and tried to average 60km per day while pedaling more than 10 hours per day. I couldn't believe it, since it was just about noon, so was wondering if he was taking a day off. Which was the case as he had gotten up that morning, cycled 4km and was so fed up that he decided to stop again.

Antoine, with all my gear drying in the back.

We spent the day at the beach on the lake.

He fished while I slept.

And then he made a pasta and tuna dish with tomato sauce.

You see, Antoine is a chef/bartender in Lyon and he had all kinds of kitchen stuff with him, like frying pans and pots, which explained why his load was so heavy. Afterwards we drank beer and watched the sun go down. I had news from him when I got back, his bike broke down in the east of France and he decided to take the train back to Lyon and next time he thinks he will travel lighter.

Day 5 - Oost-Maarland to Massbracht

We join the Netherland's network of cycle paths and start on the LF3 - De Maasroute. There is a campsite in Maasbracht and it is Campsite "Mispadenhof".

View Day 5 - Lanaye to Maasbracht in a larger map

When you arrive, it looks like this:

The pictures they could show would be like this:

They wouldn't show you this:

Yes, another lovely view over-looking a nuclear power plant. I was beginning to wonder if all this would mean my nuts would glow in the dark and I could read my Kindle in my tent.

In any case I got set up and went into town to do some food shopping at the Lidle and the mudguard on the back of my bike finally got to a level of rattling that it was doing my head in. So I stopped at a cycle shop and the guy showed me that it had split in two at the bracket and would always rattle no matter what I did, unless what I did was to replace it. Which is what I did. The set of mudguards cost 20.00 Euros so I bought them, managed to get them and my food back to my nuclear campsite and changed them  with my set of tools.

This was all a personal achievement for me as it was the first time I did this kind of operation, which did require two trips back to the cycle shop for them to show me how the washers worked (they are a self-tightening thing that I had never seen before) and to get some degreaser. But the tools were fine. My hands were a mess at the end and I gunged up the sink in the facilities. Luckily another camper had a sponge to lend me. Proud with my accomplishment, I ate a cold dinner on a bench watching the sun go down over the cooling towers, wondering where Antoine was and if the cute waitress that was on duty when I arrived this afternoon thought I looked like a wizened traveler. Probably not, wizened travelers don't drink Sprite and hardly ever stay in campsites that could nuke them.

The day was also memorable for other reasons besides the mudguards and stuff; I saw my first windmill,

And I was officially well and good on the amazing Dutch cycle network. The whole system is amazing; there are signposts, waypoints, excellent maps and all you have to do once you plan where you want to go and how you are going to get there is to just follow the markers and by some massive and collective initiative, you arrive. All hail the Dutch Cycle Network>

The Maas Route was what I started on in Maastricht and would follow it north until somewhere south of Nyjmegen. Once you understand the system - the LF3 is the route, the small "b" is for north, a small "a" would be if you were going south, the numbers in circles are the waypoints that you link up - it is all very simple like following a motorway. It is so complete that it takes away any worry about getting anywhere and you simply enjoy going everywhere and the cycling becomes a true joy. I can't praise it enough.

Day 6 - Maasbracht to Arcen

The day from Maasbracht to Arcen started out like all the others before and I was even quite pleased that it would be my first day of relative silence since I had replaced my ratting mudguard.

View Day 6 - Maasbracht to Arcen in a larger map

However, within 30 minutes of starting out from the campsite, it started to rain and kept up raining; sometimes harder, sometimes not, but never letting up for the entire day. When I say day, I really mean the whole day.

Not only did it rain for the leg that I was cycling, but rained even after I arrived at the destination, and continued to ran until well past six that evening. What made the day a bit more trying was the fact that this leg ran through a massive forest just north of Venlo, which the path followed all the way to Arcen. People loved that forest, all the locals kept asking me if I wanted to spend more time in it, but I am afraid with the mud and the wet, it took all my zenitude to make it to the campsite.

Luckily, when I arrived at the Minicamping Nabij de Fossa I felt like I had reached salvation of sorts. I had not held high hopes for the campsite as I could not find much information about it. But boy was I glad I was wrong; the lady that greeted me when I arrived asked me where I had come from and when I said London, she said that it was a long way to ride in a day and that I should probably be used to the rain. Good thing she had a sense of humour.

Also, the place was magnificent; clean as only the Dutch could do, pleasant and best of all, the place had an enormous recreation room that had sofas, a television, books, comfy chairs, everything. On top of that, yes, it even gets better, the shower facilities also had a laundry room where I was able to wash and dry all my cycling gear. 

The host of the campsite, the same lady that joked with me before, allowed me to spread my gear out to dry in this rec room, to use the washer and dryer and to even take a nap on the sofa while I waited for the rain to stop. Which, like |I said earlier, never really did. When she came to ask me to pay for my night, I asked, that since it was raining and I hadn't the courage to set my tent up and sleep in the rain, could I please spend the night in the rec room. She leaned forward and wispered, "It happens". So, I got to sleep on the sofa that is in the middle of the photo just above this paragraph and watch "Midsomers Murders" on the TV.

That said, the day hadn't been all rain and gloom, it was the first day that I rode a ferry, the first of many as it would turn out, and the landscape became a bit more countryfide.

Day 7 - Arcen to Grave

All rested after a night on the sofa. Day seven and I felt great especially since this was the day I would eventually finish heading north and head west towards the sea.


View Day 7 - Arcen to Grave in a larger map

We jump between the LF3 and the LF12 in this leg. This happened at the yellow marker. 

The day was also memorable for the number of ferries that I had to take between different banks of a variety of waterways. The first one was a bit of a surprise as I followed the path and hit the water, and the slip for the ferry, but there was no ferry. I wandered around looking for somebody and eventualy found some man collecting his mail. He said that the ferry didn't start until 10.00am, and I had no idea what the time was. He told me it was 9.00am. Man, I had been cycling for hours, and must have left at 7.00, or something like that. So, I asked him where I could get a coffee and he pointed to a cafe that was just behind hi, but that didn't open until 10.00 either. But since he was the owner, he would let me in while he set up for the day. I had a coffee, read quite a lot of "Wyrd Sisters", by Terry Pratchett and waited for the ferry to run.

It showed up spot on at 10.00 and seemed to be a retirement activity for the two people that ran it, a man and his wife. I never paid more than 0.80 Euros for a trip.

This leg was interesting, not just because of the ferries, but also for some art along the way, and of course the ferries.

And sheep on the line.

The campsite was set way back in the countryside, the Camping Bruinsbergen was very quiet, but was a strange place with a set up that looked like the inside of Granma's knick-knack shelf and a dog that made itself quite at home.