03/11/2025
Suddenly the end of our trip was upon us. It seemed like an age ago that we left Dover in the warm summer sunshine. Now we were in the depths of autumn and returning home to spend winter with friends and family and live a settled life for a while.
A night in Temse
After leaving Germany we crossed briefly into the Netherlands before crossing into Belgium. Our next stop was Temse, a stop chosen by proximity to our route and our energy levels.
The aire in Temse is at the back of a car park and is a standard functional aire with marked out spaces and electric hook up included in the reasonable price. We wondered how quiet it would be as it seemed so central to the town, but actually after 10pm we experienced very little in the way of noise.
The whole area had the feel of somewhere industrial which has declined and now is slowly being revived. It’s situated on the banks of the Scheldt river and must have once been an important shipping town. No doubt it still support shipping, but the heady days of frequent inland shipping are over. A huge crane sits in the river near some shiny new apartment buildings, carefully preserved by people who recognise that 20th century industrial history is as important as churches and castles. I hope it continues to get the funding it deserves.
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- Lots of historic warehouses among the towns old buildings
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- Crane being preserved for posterity
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- Sculpture of dock workers by the river
Calais
We have never stayed in Calais before. It’s always had a air of risk, with a lot of concerns raised about migrants trying to stow aboard motorhomes to get to the UK.
These days the big migrant camps in Calais have been dispersed. That’s not to say that you don’t still see people who are unfortunate enough to try their luck anywhere along this stretch of coast, but it seems to be managed a lot better and Calais town has put a lot of effort into rehabilitating it’s image.
So instead of our usual pre-crossing park up we decided to try out the Camping-Car Park aire in Calais. It was our first every CCP aire so I had to set up the app, and we were a bit frustrated that we couldn’t seem to use the services – which are outside the aire – without having entered the aire first. I think that was probably an us problem.
The aire is surrounded by high wire fencing and has the feel of a military encampment. A security guard patrolled regularly. He didn’t look as though he’d make much of a physical difference if something happened but I assume his main role was to deter anyone trying to sneak in, and radio for assistance if something untoward did occur.
We had a lovely afternoon wandering the windswept seafront of Calais, clambering around on Fort Risban and visiting the small exhibition which detailed the engineering and art behind the Calais Dragon. Sadly we couldn’t go and see this mechanical marvel, let alone taking a ride on it, but it will be on the list for next time.
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- Beach huts being slowly engulfed by the sand
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- Le Courgain maritime area, rebuilt after being destroyed in 1940
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- Looking out to sea from Calais pier
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- Fort Risban’s walls
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- The Tour du Guet watchtower, a medieval survivor of wartime bombardment
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- Statues of Charles and Yvonne de Gaulle
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- Notre Dame church where Charles de Gaulle married Yvonne
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- The Lighthouse – we didnt climb it on this visit
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- Exhibition of the creation of the Calais Dragon
And finally…we’re going home
Our ferry was early the following morning, but it was such a quick journey from the aire, I can see us using this spot more often. When we arrived in the UK we wasted no time in getting home. Probably the worst part of the journey is British motorways. We reward ourselves for our suffering with a bargain bucket KFC. Not such a bargain these days but it’s become a bit of a tradition.