please can you tell me more about camping memling, on the website it says something about a swimming pool in the woods. is this correct? its my wifes birthday when we will be there, do you know of any posh restaurants nearby? and you say the pitches are on the small size, i have a bailey senator indiana at 7.2 metres long and a vw sharan (people carrier)we wont be using a awning, will we fit on??? regards barney
rob_jax or rob_iax
- Thread starter BarneyCumbria
- Start date
Hi,
A special occasion then? I'd recommend Camping Blaarmeersen (Gent) rather than Camping Memling (Brugge) - both take Camping Cheques.
Why? Blaarmeersen is rated as a 4 star site compared to the 1 star Memling - the major difference is in the size of pitches, electrical power rating, and other facilities like on-site shop / bar / restaurant and on-site swimming pool
BLAARMEERSEN
A bit further (30 minutes) along the motorway from Brugge is Camping Blaarmeersen, just south west of Gent. This is a well run 4 star site, pitches are 100 sq. metres or bigger - low hedges divide the pitches - with a shop / Belgian bar / restaurant on-site.
It's still an easy drive along the motorway to visit Brugge, or take the bus into the centre of Gent.
MEMLING
This whole area around Brugge is wooded, with Camping Memling in one large forest clearing.
We didn't use the indoor swimming pool - which is off-site - about 300 metres from the camp site.
The pitches around the edge of the site feel bigger than those in the centre - we have an Eriba Triton (5 metres long) and we would have been "back to back" in the central area. A bit too cosy perhaps.
In summary, the reason that Camping Memling exists is to serve the needs of people visiting Brugge - it's OK as a camp site and ranks one star in the Belgian classification - this just means it is small (around 80 sq. metre pitches) and has no shop / no bar.
BRUGGE:
Are there any good restaurants in Brugge? Most certainly. We are both vegetarians so can't help with recommendations for meat eaters, but take a look at www.viamichelin.com for restaurant recommendations.
Eating in the city centre is relatively expensive but with great views of the historic centre - eating in the surrounding streets is better value and has the better restaurants.
If you want something quieter, take a look at the town of Damme.
Gent is an industrial city (Volvo car factory, etc. - all in the outskirts) but the centre is just as interesting as Brugge - both are real show pieces of medieval wealth - and has good restaurants too. I've only eaten in Gent once, when I took some American colleagues out for an evening meal, and it was great.
Robert
A special occasion then? I'd recommend Camping Blaarmeersen (Gent) rather than Camping Memling (Brugge) - both take Camping Cheques.
Why? Blaarmeersen is rated as a 4 star site compared to the 1 star Memling - the major difference is in the size of pitches, electrical power rating, and other facilities like on-site shop / bar / restaurant and on-site swimming pool
BLAARMEERSEN
A bit further (30 minutes) along the motorway from Brugge is Camping Blaarmeersen, just south west of Gent. This is a well run 4 star site, pitches are 100 sq. metres or bigger - low hedges divide the pitches - with a shop / Belgian bar / restaurant on-site.
It's still an easy drive along the motorway to visit Brugge, or take the bus into the centre of Gent.
MEMLING
This whole area around Brugge is wooded, with Camping Memling in one large forest clearing.
We didn't use the indoor swimming pool - which is off-site - about 300 metres from the camp site.
The pitches around the edge of the site feel bigger than those in the centre - we have an Eriba Triton (5 metres long) and we would have been "back to back" in the central area. A bit too cosy perhaps.
In summary, the reason that Camping Memling exists is to serve the needs of people visiting Brugge - it's OK as a camp site and ranks one star in the Belgian classification - this just means it is small (around 80 sq. metre pitches) and has no shop / no bar.
BRUGGE:
Are there any good restaurants in Brugge? Most certainly. We are both vegetarians so can't help with recommendations for meat eaters, but take a look at www.viamichelin.com for restaurant recommendations.
Eating in the city centre is relatively expensive but with great views of the historic centre - eating in the surrounding streets is better value and has the better restaurants.
If you want something quieter, take a look at the town of Damme.
Gent is an industrial city (Volvo car factory, etc. - all in the outskirts) but the centre is just as interesting as Brugge - both are real show pieces of medieval wealth - and has good restaurants too. I've only eaten in Gent once, when I took some American colleagues out for an evening meal, and it was great.
Robert
Robertthanks for that robert, that site you said doesn't have a web site for me to look at, i'll just have to hope i get a pitch around the edge at memling, bruges looks so tranquil, a bit like venice
Hi
We're off for our annual 12 day visit to Blaarmeersen next Wednesday.
As Rob says, Blaarmeersen is a lovely site. It's part of the Gent municipal sport complex, and is only 5 minutes from the motorway. To one side of the site is a large lake, with a beach where you can fish, swim and sunbathe. On the other side is a sports hall and a rowing course.
The bar and restaurant serves good food at reasonable prices, and there's a takeaway and a shop. You can get a bus to the city centre every 15 minutes. Tickets are 1 euro each or 10 for 8 euros.
Gent itself is a really beautiful place, with lots to see and do. We love the flower market on Sundays, the botanical garden, and the lovely cathedral. Eating there is brilliant on nice days, with lots of al-fresco going on.
The pitches are in enclaves of about a dozen, with hedges between each pitch. Not too many Brits either.
We'll look out for you.
Sue and Keith
Norwich.
We're off for our annual 12 day visit to Blaarmeersen next Wednesday.
As Rob says, Blaarmeersen is a lovely site. It's part of the Gent municipal sport complex, and is only 5 minutes from the motorway. To one side of the site is a large lake, with a beach where you can fish, swim and sunbathe. On the other side is a sports hall and a rowing course.
The bar and restaurant serves good food at reasonable prices, and there's a takeaway and a shop. You can get a bus to the city centre every 15 minutes. Tickets are 1 euro each or 10 for 8 euros.
Gent itself is a really beautiful place, with lots to see and do. We love the flower market on Sundays, the botanical garden, and the lovely cathedral. Eating there is brilliant on nice days, with lots of al-fresco going on.
The pitches are in enclaves of about a dozen, with hedges between each pitch. Not too many Brits either.
We'll look out for you.
Sue and Keith
Norwich.
i'm in 2 minds now.which do i stay at, memling or blaarmeersen? how much is blaarmeersen a night? do you have to book? robert says you can pay by camping cheques but neither of them 2 sites are in the camping cheques book. blaarmeersen seems the better site with bigger pitches and more facilities. memling has its own website so you can see what your getting. i've tryed looking for blaarmeersen but there is no website, i don't know what to do.
Hi,
One of the great delights of this Practical Caravan forum is that you can't correct typing errors after you've hit the "Submit" button. I had meant to say that they both take Touring Cheques but didn't notice it until you had discovered the error.
Price for Blaarmeersen is around Euro 17.50 per night - their web-site is part of the Gent city web-site - but it is in Vlaams - so try an online translator like Babelfish.
Go to http://babelfish.altavista.com
Then select that you want to translate from Dutch to English and then enter the web page for the Blaarmeersen site - when I tried the link was broken - but this page from the site cache still works
http://www.gent.be/eCache/THE/1/10/792.cmVjPTEwMTk0Mg.html
Robert
One of the great delights of this Practical Caravan forum is that you can't correct typing errors after you've hit the "Submit" button. I had meant to say that they both take Touring Cheques but didn't notice it until you had discovered the error.
Price for Blaarmeersen is around Euro 17.50 per night - their web-site is part of the Gent city web-site - but it is in Vlaams - so try an online translator like Babelfish.
Go to http://babelfish.altavista.com
Then select that you want to translate from Dutch to English and then enter the web page for the Blaarmeersen site - when I tried the link was broken - but this page from the site cache still works
http://www.gent.be/eCache/THE/1/10/792.cmVjPTEwMTk0Mg.html
Robert
will i need to book at blaarmeersen even going mid sept??? if you had to choose between memling and blaarmeersen which would you choose???
Hi
They're likely to be half empty by then.
There's a phone number for Blaarmeersen on the Gent website. A two minute call will reserve a pitch. And they all speak English better than most of us, especially us old Norfolk boys.
Sue and Keith
They're likely to be half empty by then.
There's a phone number for Blaarmeersen on the Gent website. A two minute call will reserve a pitch. And they all speak English better than most of us, especially us old Norfolk boys.
Sue and Keith
Sue, have you been to both sites? what is blaarmeersen caravan site like, i read on the forum of site finder europe that it is the best caravan site in belgium, is this true.
Hi
Sorry, we've not been to Memling. After seeing a recommendation for it, we looked at the website a couple of days ago to see how it compared. It looks good, but nothing we read made it sound better than Blaarmeersen, especially the smallish pitches. We will check it out while we're there this time. We spend our holidays cycling in the area. Damme, which is only a few miles from Memling, is a great favourite of ours, and is the start of the Polderroute cycle ride.
Blaarmeersen is as good as the Camping Club sites in the UK. As far as we're concerned, you can't say fairer than that.
The one thing that's impressed us most in all the times we've stayed there is how safe we feel while we're there. There are literally hundreds of people, mostly children and teenagers, around the area of the lake and sports park most of the time, and they are all there to have fun, and not to cause trouble.
Brugges is a great place, which we like to visit often. It is full of history but for us it tends to be very touristy, with prices to match. Gent is much more a place to live in, though the historic centre takes some beating, with literally dozens of attractions including a castle and a cathedral, a very pretty waterfront area.
You pays your money and takes your choice.
Sue and Keith
Norwich
Sorry, we've not been to Memling. After seeing a recommendation for it, we looked at the website a couple of days ago to see how it compared. It looks good, but nothing we read made it sound better than Blaarmeersen, especially the smallish pitches. We will check it out while we're there this time. We spend our holidays cycling in the area. Damme, which is only a few miles from Memling, is a great favourite of ours, and is the start of the Polderroute cycle ride.
Blaarmeersen is as good as the Camping Club sites in the UK. As far as we're concerned, you can't say fairer than that.
The one thing that's impressed us most in all the times we've stayed there is how safe we feel while we're there. There are literally hundreds of people, mostly children and teenagers, around the area of the lake and sports park most of the time, and they are all there to have fun, and not to cause trouble.
Brugges is a great place, which we like to visit often. It is full of history but for us it tends to be very touristy, with prices to match. Gent is much more a place to live in, though the historic centre takes some beating, with literally dozens of attractions including a castle and a cathedral, a very pretty waterfront area.
You pays your money and takes your choice.
Sue and Keith
Norwich
you've just talked me into it, i've just reserved a pitch, we sail on 13-9-06 we have a bailey senator indiana and a red vw sharan, see you there, barney and sue.
Hi Barney / Sue
Enjoy your time at Blaarmeersen, I'll be heading the other way that week - returning from Rotterdam via Gent - to hitch up the Eriba Triton and head off for an EribaFest in Cirencester.
Groetjes, Robert
Enjoy your time at Blaarmeersen, I'll be heading the other way that week - returning from Rotterdam via Gent - to hitch up the Eriba Triton and head off for an EribaFest in Cirencester.
Groetjes, Robert
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