Mid-life gap year Tanya and Craig

Warwick is a town that has been populated for about 1000 years. It is best known for its medieval castle founded by William the Conqueror on the banks of the Avon River.  Warwick has two lesser known attractions that we loved (Mill Garden and the Warwickshire Museum). Mill Garden Mill Garden is on the picturesque Avon River and beside the castle. The river runs clear; but not too fast in the shallows. The river is full of life and Monet-esque with its water lilies, willows and stone bridge ruin.  Mill Garden is an English cottage garden in the truest sense and about 1/3 of an acre in size. It is colour filled with contrasting foliage and flowers; it is also teeming with butterflies, small birds, bumblebees and dragonflies.  The garden can be found at the end of Mill Lane in Warwick. It is privately owned and entry requires a donation to their local charity.   Warwickshire Museum  The Warwick Museum is...

Hastings is best known for the battle of 1066, where King Harold was killed with a long pointy stick to the eye by the invading Normans. This was the beginning of the reign of William the Conqueror. Almost a thousand years later and Hastings is a tourist town with museums, a Ferris wheel and a funicular railway.   It is also a working fishing village. It is the last of its kind where fishing boat are kept on and launched from the beach.  On a grey morning we spent a couple of hours walking through the boats, tractors and piles of fishing paraphernalia soaking in the smells and atmosphere.  Boats are unloaded, then winched up the incline of the beach to the level ground past the high water mark.  When it is time to fish again, the boats are returned to the water. Tractors are used to push them into the sea at high tide. The boats are fitted with metal skids that keep them upright when out of water. The skids also allow the boat to be pushed ...

We’ve been asked what van life is like. Our first response, is that it is great. We are loving it.   We have tried to answer some of the more common questions we’ve received. If you have any particular questions please ask. What is van life like? We largely wild camp ie legally parked; not in a paid camping area. We do this for a few reasons. It enables us to reallocate about 1/3 of our daily budget, to eating out, etc.   It is more enjoyable camping by the beach listening to seagulls; a river watching ducks, etc. We are largely self-sufficient with a 140L water tank, a 2 burner gas stove, gas heating, a solar panel on the roof which runs our electric fridge, lights and powers up our devices (but not our camera or computer, which are largely sponsored by McDonalds as we have a coffee and use their wifi about once a week). Our bathroom is tight in size, so hair washing is difficult. For this reason we seek out a proper shower every 3-4 days and need to do...

The Cote d'Opal is between the Belgian border and Boulogne Sur Mer on the northern French coastline. We first saw it on TV during a Tour De France. It was windswept, sunny and striking with it's yellow sand beaches and chalky cliff s. On a nice day, you can see across the channel to the White Cliffs of Dover. Boulogne Sur Mur is a fortified town, about 90mins drive south of Calais. The lighthouse at Boulogne Sur Mer in rough seas is one of those lighthouses on the posters completely cut off and fighting the elements to simply remain. It is at the end of the break wall.  The two capes: grey nose and white nose have onshore light houses. Calais was better than we anticipated having heard about it being filled with displaced people trying to stowaway to the UK. We saw no evidence of this.    We walked around the lighthouse, the cathedral, the belfry and the fish market on the harbour pier. Charles de Gaulle's wife Yvonne was originally fro...

Brugge is a beautiful Belgian mediaeval city. It is distinguished by its cobbled streets, canals and squares.  On the main square it has an ornately carved 14 th century city hall, as well as the Liberty of Brugge and the Basilica of the Holy Blood. From the 13 th to the 15 th century Brugge was at the centre of the trading crossroads in Northwest Europe. The magnificent facades derive from the embassies of the trading nations and wealthy merchant families from this time.  The city has a Begijnhof. A Begijnhof is a walled oasis of spiritual peace with a delightful inner garden. They were places where single religious women lived and prayed; however they were not tied to the church ie no vows.  Markt Square’s 13 th century belfry has a 47 bell carillon and an 83m tower.  Brugge’s streets are filled with chocolate shops; cafes selling mussels, fries and beers; and touters for canal, miniature train or walking tours. It is a tourist mec...

The Paris to Roubaix cycling race was first held in 1896 which makes it one of the oldest cycling races. The French call it L’Enfer Du Nord (The Hell of the North). In cycling terms it is a spring classic; a difficult one day race early in the season which anyone can win if they have fitness, courage and luck. Unlike most cycling races where mountain climbs sort out the contenders, the P-R travels through almost flat terrain. What separates the P-R from other races is the cobbled stoned roads through the forest of Arenberg. The route varies slightly each year but in 2019 it was 257 km long with 52km of cobbled roads over 29 sections. So the riders are cycling on cobbled stones. “Big deal” I hear you say, “Thousands of cyclists commute every day on cobbled stones in Europe”. We decided to try a section and see what all the fuss is about. Our friend Bartzie (AKA Gert-Jan De Baets) is a professional photographer for Bahamontes cycling magazine . He recommended the sect...

There are not many towns in the world that have World Heritage status. Tournai is a town with two World Heritage listed sites and before this week, it is a town that we had never heard of. Tournai is in southern Belgium, not far from the French border and not far from the city of Lille. Tournai is Belgium’s oldest town, with origins dating back more than 2000 years.   It is a city of art; beautiful facades and wide picturesque streets.  The World Heritage listed cathedral (Notre Dame) with its Gothic and Romanesque style is unique as it has five bell towers. The cathedral, in its current architecture began around 1140. Archaeological investigations show elements of previous constructions, also believed to be religious dating back to the Gallo-Roman period of -5000 to 406.  The other World Heritage listed building is the Belfry which was built in 1188 and signified the charter of municipal liberties ie King Philippe August of France granted the bo...

Gent had been described to us, as one of the most beautiful cities. Our friends who laid the claim may have been biased as they reside in Gent; but having visited them and the city, we agree.  The city is on the confluence of two rivers, surrounded by land ideal for sheep farming. Thanks to the wool trade Gent grew so much that it was second largest city in Europe to Paris.   While the town’s castle is 11 th century much of the beautiful architecture dates from the 14 th century onwards. The wealthy wool merchant families invested in beautiful and well-constructed architecture. It is a city with a strong rebellious history, dating back to 630. As the industrial revolution took hold and Gent became the first industrialised city in continental Europe, there was protest about impoverished conditions in which labourers lived and worked. As conditions in Gent mirrored Manchester in the early 1800s the first modern trade unions and socialist movements were es...

Dutch graphic artist M C Escher only really became famous in the 21st century. Despite a lifetime of work his first exhibition was held when he was aged 70. He died aged 74 in 1972.  He didn't particularly like school and reportedly was a poor student. He spent much of his time day dreaming about alternative perspectives. His famous staircase series is based on the central staircase within his school. His pictures would later provide inspiration for the moving stair case at Hogwarts in the Harry Potter series.  Escher was fascinated by the natural world in particular Italy. He and his family spent a great deal of time there, where he perfected his tessellated designs and illusions of perspective that became his signature. You can admire his work, and we recommend that you do if you have the opportunity in Het Paleis, the former Royal Winter Palace in The Hague where the is a permanent exhibition of his art.  The exhibition includes his Itali...