Bastogne Travel Forum

My family, and my sister's family (in all four adults, one child, two infants), are planning on renting a villa/gite in the Ardennes next May, and I was wondering about the best way to travel from the UK. We live in Manchester, and thought about a ferry crossing from Felixstowe (it's much eassier to get to than Dover) to Zeebrugge, but it seems no ferry companies actually do this route (which seems peculiar, but there you go). Anyone here travelled from UK to Ardennes, which route did you take?
Also, anyone know of any great places to stay in the Ardennes? I, personally know very little about the place, other than Bastogne.

Hi

Isn't it possible to cross the channel from Hull ? I'll look for some info...

Check out these websites :
http://users.skynet.be/villers/ENG/VillersEN.htm
http://www.residencedurbuy.com/en/fs_index.html
http://www.sunparks.com/en/thermaeVS.dhtml

Success

PP

Thanks for the links, I'll check them out.
Only trouble with Hull is that one of our party gets seasick, so we have to keep the sea travel to a minimum.

In september last year i was in the french part of the ardennes in a little hotel in Buzancy (hotel du Saumon). It is near Reims, the Belgian border and the Luxembourg border and there is all sorts of things to do and visit around. The hotel is an absolute gem and also very child-friendly
on my Champagne-Ardenne page

WOW, I didn't know they had stopped ferries to Oostende...! Used to go on many spontaneous trips to Kent to stock up on swedes at the markets (they feed them to cows in Belgium). Well, I guess Calais is your best bet then if you want to avoid the sea. The drive isn't THAT much further to the Ardennes as Calais is close to the Belgian border. So close that the Eurostar trains go from Brussels via Calais to London...can't you get a good Eurostar deal and avoid ship altogether? My sister-in-law got a great deal from Lincoln when she visited us and that was always our choice when it was finished (probably why the ferry closed down). London to Brussels in 2.40. I know you might want a car but can't you rent one in the Ardennes? Of course there is Le Shuttle too but most of my UK colleagues with cars found it expensive and only used it when they moved things.
As for the (Belgian) Ardennes. La Roche en Ardennes is nice with its castle on a hill...

Thanks for that, guys. Great advice, as ever.

Hi, From my experience travelling is not that difficult. I am not sure of the distance from Manchester to Dover, maybe 300 miles, but from Dunkirk (I use the Dover to Dunkirk ferry) to La Roche en Ardenne is 186 miles, much less than your journey this side of the channel. The quickest route is via Ghent, then Brussels and Namur/Namir. Dead easy, the roads are good and the countryside pleasant. The province of Luxembourg is spectacular as it contains the forest of Ardennes, a wee bit hilly, but that is what makes the view special. Bastogne is lovely, and so is La Roche en Ardenne, only a few miles away. You will enjoy. Regards