It took me 12 days to walk across Belgium, although that included a day off in Brussels at my cousin Sarah’s house and a two-day detour out of the country and back into France. Why the detour? Testing the painful leg necessitated shorter days and so I strung together some closer camp sites and this …
It was all going so well. After the leg incident a few days into France I was worried I wouldn’t be able to carry on with the walk. But then 10 days of rest at the lovely organic farm/campsite I thought I was cured. I continued into Belgium. After a few days of low mileage …
I walked as slowly as i could but shin pain returned after a handful of miles and then got worse and worse. I was reduced to 3km/hr. It was another rural day. Belgium has so few shops in its little villages. I couldnt spend money here even if i wanted to. By early afternoon it …
Turned out that the tap at the free site didnt have drinkable water. Stank of sulphur. Another boring day. Flat and rural in a dull way and when civilisation encroached that was boring too. Visited a lidl and bought breakfast snacks and then just walked and walked. Around 5pm stumbled upon a bar and got …
Another very rural day and one that was disappointing for shopping. First of all maps.me directed me to a garden centre rather than a supermarket. Inside i asked a lone woman in french if there was a supermarket nearby. I may as well have been speaking martian. I thought all these dutch speakers could speak …
Didnt mention yesterday, sarah and cyrille took us out for Chinese last night. First time my trainers had been in an enclosed space and their odour was making me feel nauseous. Bleurgh. Late start. Cyrille made a salad for lunch and then boxed up what was left to take away. I left at 1pm into …
What makes a thing a thing that tourists want to see? What makes a crowd flock to this statue but not to that one? Especially when the one to which they flock is so extraordinarily crap? I ask this after yesterday’s viewing of Brussels’ Mannekin Pis, the city’s emblem, a little boy having a waz. …
France was supposed to one of the easy ones: a short, three-day hop over the entirely flat, north-east part of the country. Three kilometres short of the Belgium border I ended up stuck at a lovely organic farm/campsite for 10 days by a mixture of a painful shin that needed resting and the inability to …
Didnt like where i camped last night. Too close to civilisation. Was going to wait out the 10am rain but instead packed at half 8 and buggered off. Rain never came. A nice walk across Brussels. I stopped for a coffee and croissant at a scruffy little caff and walked around an interestingly ethnic diverse …
With rain forecast for 11 i was going to start late and hope to arrive late, plop into the woods and fall asleep no messing about. But then i thought I’d like at least some dry walking and so i was off by 10. Very rural day. Hardly passed a business. Did pass supermarket after …
