Dwti Draig

I don’t even know where to start with this blog! It’s been a rollercoaster of emotions.

Let me rewind to our canalside stopover in Belgium. We’d had a really peaceful second night there and went out for a walk along the canal path to look at the huge boat lift. The Central Canal  or Canal du Centrale is vital to Belguim’s industrial heartland and allows barges to effectively transport raw materials and goods through the coal and steel rich region.A key challenge was the elevation change of about 66.2m or 217 feet across a relatively short distance. To compensate for this the canal incorporated 4 hydraulic boat lifts which were engineering landmarks between 1888 and 1917 when they were completed.  

In 2002 the Strpy-Thieu Boat Lifty was built to supercede the original lifts. When completed it is one of the tallest boat lifts in the world; bridging a height difference of 73m or 240 feet.  It cost about 160E million to build. This allowed bigger more modern commercial vessels to use it and modernised Belgium’s inland water transport system.

We carried on over one of the bridges and walked down the other side to visit the immaculately kept monument for Private George Price, who was the last commonwealth soldier killed in WW1, 2 minutes before the ceasefire at 11am . He was shot by a German sniper when he stepped out in to the street. George was Canadian and the Canadian flag flies proudly above the monument, which symbolised a drop. This can be seen as a drop of blood or a teardrop. The sculptor came up with his design when he was given a piece of blood stained cloth that had been preserved from George’s blood soaked uniform. His name will forever live on, as they renamed the footbridge over the canal at that point to honour him, and also the local school takes his name. 

Interestingly I later found out that nearby there is also a memorial to the last Belgian killed in the First World War, Corporal Antione Fonck, who was killed 15 minutes before the ceasefire, again by a German sniper, when trying to cross the canal with his unit during a final advance. 

We were having a quick lunch when a canal party boat went past, it was impossible to miss the thumping music. We sat on the steps to watch them, it didn’t take long before they were waving at us, Lyn replied with a wave and some of his unique arm movements, which they replied to with more waves and cheering. A surreal few moments of stupidity. 

They seemed to appreciate our truck side dancing by the cheers and waves we got off them 

We packed up and left Belgium, keen to hop over to France where the roads should be cheaper. It didn’t help that I was watching the OBU tick up to another 2 boxes of Leonidas chocolates whilst on one of the bumpiest roads we have been on. Flashbacks to Lithuania!

The scenery was beautiful as we passed through the Ardennes region of Belgium and into the French Ardennes. We hoped to have cheaper park ups here as we have subscribed to the France Passion scheme again. We found this scheme so useful when we used it last, as it connects you with places such as farms, vineyards, breweries etc where the owners let you stay for free and you get to look at their goods and hopefully purchase. One of my most favourite stays in Harvey the RV was at a beautiful vineyard in the Champagne region, where the owner sells half his grapes to Moet & Chandon, and bottles the other half. We came back with cases of very cheap but amazing champagne! Unfortunately we cannot get access to the app until they send out the hard copy of the book and map, so we are in a state of limbo at the moment waiting for all the info. 

Today we are heading towards a town called Charleville – Mezieres which is on the river Meuse. There is a motorhome aire and a campsite there. Unfortunately there is also a low bridge right by the entrance. I’ll spare you all the drama, (mainly because I can’t bear to relive it!) but let’s just say we got too close to the low bridge, necessitating me climbing out of the truck to stop traffic in both ways whilst Lyn reversed down a narrow busy road with traffic parked on both sides, to do a three point turn in a little gap, before I clambered back in, mortified! I’m sure we were either a source of amusement, or ridicule to the many who witnessed it. There are no photos of this! I was too stressed!

We got the hell out of dodge and immediately took the wrong turning. We pulled into the side of the road to contemplate our next move. A car immediately swerved in front of us. Unsure what to expect we looked on as a French man got out and came to side of the truck. He spoke no English, we spoke no French, but we got the gist that he was telling us to follow him, so we did. He took us through some narrow back streets where there were again hairy moments as oncoming traffic refused to stop even when they could see a big red beastie head towards them, meaning some driving with mililmetres to spare each side. Eventually we got to the campsite and thanked our French angel profusely. Phew, he appeared like a gift from the French gods just when I was beginning to abandon all hope! 

We had been aiming for the aire but pulled into the campsite instead. Amazingly they are both the same price, and the aire is just outside with less facilities and less scenic park ups. It was so good to stop, and I needed to get my head in the right place again after such a stressful day. Needless to say Lyn coped with it all admirably; his driving is second to none, even in really testing conditions. He is far less stressed and phased by it all than me, which is something I need to learn to manage. Maybe, just maybe, though he will listen to me next time I say there is a low bridge ahead!! 

Lyn here, I love the challenge of driving the lorry, although planning routes can be difficult. I totally read the directions wrong this time.  The road I wanted to use, loops around, so I took the right road name, but just the wrong end. Hence I  originally felt very confident taking the wrong turn and ignoring the warning as I knew I was turning off 20m before the bridge.  When we followed our French angel, we got in to the campsite, 20m before the bridge from the other end. One good thing, I got to use all Dwti strobes (from when she was a construction site lorry)  for the first time in anger 🙂 

Once we got into the campsite we immediately paid for 2 nights to give us time to chill and destress. 

It was lovely to wake up and see some lovely weather for a change, so I took the chance to do some washing and hung it out on our makeshift line.

After lunch we walked into the nearby town, which was only about 5 minutes walk, across the river. I was desperate to see the big square, or the Place Ducale. When we got there, to our amazement it was full of, wait for it, a beer festival! Our French angel really sent us to the right place! Lyn thought he’d died and gone to heaven, especially when he found a sausage stall!

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It was the last day of the festival, and the square was heaving with people enjoying the sunshine and, of course, some of the 165 beers on tap offered by 57 breweries. Lyn had a drink or two then we walked through the town of Charleville and across the bridge to the town of Mezieres. The two towns merged in 1966, and are famous for puppetry, including a puppetry school and international puppet festival. Not for me, thanks, puppets are creepy! We stopped to admire the Hotel de ville in Mezieres and walked back to Charleville to find a bakery that was open. So many shops were closed on a Monday. We found a gorgeous bakery and I had a fabulous Moka ( coffee) cake and Lyn had his ultimate favourite, flan. 

We ate those back in the beer festival, where I had graciously conceded to some alcohol. I haven’t drunk since February, but decided if I was going to have some alcohol it needed to be worth it. Fortunately the ambience of the festival and the inclusion of a champagne stand meant it met my strict criteria, and two glasses were much enjoyed!

Lyn, needless, to say, stuck to the beer. He found his favourite beer right at the end of the afternoon, and quickly made friends with the owner of the brewery, who gifted him a boar hat, in the name of “la promotion!’ Only Lyn could rock a furry boar’s hat on a hot afternoon in a French town square! he’ll be looking out for the Brasserie Minne again on our travels!

We wandered back to the campsite, after eating some frites. No games of cards tonight, the alcohol won!