Blaarmeersen, gent, belgium.

[BarneyCumbria]

well, we are back, and what can i say, it was absolutely fantastic, very friendly people, they all speak english, all the menus have english, the motorways are 3 lanes and not 2 like in france and you don't have to pay to go on them. belgium beats france hands down. out of the 9 days we were there it rained on one morning then was sunny and every other day was sunny, some days too hot for us to sit out. the restaurant on site was excellent serving a wide range of food and drinks all we tryed were to a high standard and so was the service. gent was excellent, loads to see and do, lots of places to eat out, the boat trip is a must. also went to ypres and passendale, now these 2 places i think every british person should see. so many thanks to rob_jax, sue from norfolk, and my tom tom. regards barney and sue.

 

[rob_jax]

Hi Barney,

Pleased you enjoyed yourself and I hope you had a good celebratory dinner.

Blaarmeersen is one of the top sites in Belgium so I thought it would be OK.

What beer did you rate best at the end of your trip?

Robert

 

[sue_5094052]

Hi Barney

Glad you enjoyed it. You certainly seemed to be getting into the swing of things the couple of times we saw you. We had a brilliant time too. In 12 days, there was hardly a cloud in the sky. We spent most days riding the canal paths and lanes on our tandem, lunching in local hostelries, and drinking the local brew whenever we could. We had to force ourselves to do some touring things eventually, visiting Ostend for some tobacco and Gent last Sunday for the Cycling day. The whole city was closed to cars from 10-6. Bikes everywhere. Great. Keith did some fishing in the lake. First time for over 20 years.

Our fave brew is Corsendonk Agnus. Unbelievable.

Sue and Keith

Norwich

 

[BarneyCumbria]

sue, why didn't you intruduce yourself, i asked at reception for sue and keith from norfolk and they wouldn't or couldn't say. my favourite beer was a toss up between the corsendonk angus, thats the one wrapped in paper i think, and the large white beer hoegaarden and a close second was grim bergen blonde, tryed the palm it was ok, the maes wasn't so good, juliper was nice, sue realy got into the cherry flavoured beers, i couldn't believe the price for the campsite aswell, it was only 83 euros for 8 nights thats only about 7 pounds a night. you can't even get a CL in this country for that, and the site had everything on it. sue wanted to see bruges and didn't get there so next year she wants to go there, if i can't find a suitable site near by then it looks like blaarmeersen again and travelling up to bruges, the only thing that put me off was driving in the city, thats why we got the bus into gent, if only there was a site like blaarmeersen on the outskirts of bruges, if you know of any, sue and rob_jax, let me know. the wife doesn't want a site that doesn't have a bar/restaurant, or at least one very close by. regards barney

 

[BarneyCumbria]

forgot to say rob_jax, we had sue's birthday meal at a place called the belga queen on the river front near to where you catch the boats, very high class, and cost a fortune but worth every euro,

 

[rob_jax]

Hi Barney,

After Blaarmeersen, I think you'll find Camping Memling disappointing - nothing wrong, just smaller pitches and no restaurant / bar.

There is a CL type site near Damme to the North East - no facilities. Likewise the coastal sites - they are primarily for families with children. Blaarmeersen is best.

Don't worry about driving to Brugge - it's a simple journey down the motorway and follow the signs for the Railway Station Park and Ride (P+R). Or get the bus into Gent and take the train. Unless you have an electronic pass to drop the bollards, driving into the centre is a no no. It's mostly pedestrianised except for the taxis.

Robert

 

[trucker]

Hi, have you guys got a web address for this site??

Kevin H

 

[BarneyCumbria]

its not the driving to bruges i'm bothered about my tom tom will take me there, its just when in the city, driving can be a bit mad. at one point i was thinking of driving up to bruges and finding a supermarket on the outskirts, parking in their car park and getting a bus in. do you think the supermarket would mind? i'd hate to come back to a clamp or worse still a removal. maybe your idea of a bus into gent then the train into bruges makes more sense.

 

[rob_jax]

Hi Kevin,

For Blaarmeersen? Try http://www.gent.be/eCache/THE/1/10/792.cmVjPTEwMTk0Mg.html

It's in Vlaams (Dutch) so you'll either need an on-line translator or as often happens, they fail to translate compound words, I can translate it for you.

There are a number of reviews on a range of web-sites, but the Dutch ACSI annually inspected sites are accurate, good and free:

http://www.eurocampings.co.uk/en/and then navigate to Belgium / Gent

It's one of the top sites in Belgium.

Robert

 

[DavidKlyne]

its not the driving to bruges i'm bothered about my tom tom will take me there, its just when in the city, driving can be a bit mad. at one point i was thinking of driving up to bruges and finding a supermarket on the outskirts, parking in their car park and getting a bus in. do you think the supermarket would mind? i'd hate to come back to a clamp or worse still a removal. maybe your idea of a bus into gent then the train into bruges makes more sense.

Barney

I think you will find that Brugges has lots of car parks on the edge of the City, which is not that large anyway so you may be able to walk.

David