Winchester
13-10-2009, 12:54 PM
Only a few photos so far, but I hope you enjoy the story.
The 6 of us decided to go to Belgium, the main attraction being Chateau De Noisy, a gothic pile on top of a hill in the Ardennes. Being such a way away, we needed to fill the weekend with adventures and things to do, so I arranged some. Yeah.
2 cars, a Land Rover and 6 people, one kerb-bash, one 2 hour delay in London, a trip round the perimeter of Cane Hill to see what's left (nothing), and some nervous moments on the thunderous M25 eventually saw us arrive in Dover just in time for last check-in.
We sat and chatted on the ferry, purchasing a bottle of whiskey for good measure later in the trip.
http://photos-a.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs275.snc1/10222_148823379233_510764233_2694744_5398057_n.jpg
On arrival in Calais we put foot down to get to the Castle of Mesen, our first destination. Within a wall inside a reasonably well-occupied residential area of the city of Lede, Mesen is well secured. We had to contend with drunken locals and curtain twitchers, but eventually we got over the first fence and into the dark woods with no real issues. As you arrive into a foreign site there is a degree of trepidation. Security is unpredictable, we don't have recent knowledge and we don't speak Flemish. The most relevant we had was that 'sometimes the guard enters the buildings to see if people are there'. Great.
Muddy bogs, brambles and heavy rain were our enemies for the next 15 minutes, before we found another fence to traverse. This was easy. Once we were into the surrounding woods we could enter the buildings through a basement window.
Our plan was to sleep inside the castle and explore it when the sun came up, the crisp morning light and the mist being photographic aspirations of the group. We found a cellar and bedded down, as water trickled through the head height windows. The pitch black tempted me to sleep yet the shriek of wild animals and the pitter-patter of rain were a combination that cruelly kept me awake.
Two of the party also snored like steam engines, yet apparently I did also. Surely not?
I awoke many times in the night, shivering with cold in my pathetic excuse for a sleeping bag. A t-shirt, a polo shirt, a cardigan, a hoody and a bobble hat were not enough to keep me warm on a cold concrete floor, and when the alarm pipped me awake at 6.30 local time I was relieved to be up and about, exploring this 18th century ruin. Bekah was adamant a wild animal had visited us in the night, miaowed and then run off, perturbed by unwelcome visitors in its usual haunt.
We stashed our sleeping materials in a cupboard in our dungeon, before making jokes about checking out of the 'hotel' and handing back the keys. We ascended into the entrance hall and a resplendent staircase was waiting, inside a 4-storied building that had lost its floors in the 30 years of dereliction it's endured.
http://photos-h.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs275.snc1/10222_148823214233_510764233_2694719_3280155_n.jpg http://photos-c.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs227.snc1/7428_148823394233_510764233_2694746_804271_n.jpg
Having navigated this trashed hole, we exited into the central courtyard and into another part of the building. Along a corridor, a space opened up for us and we could see a massive room. We emerged into a huge chapel, the roof crumbling and greenery protruding from the floors. Giant stained glass windows were situated across all parts of the building, few intact but all beautiful.
http://photos-a.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs255.snc1/10222_148823219233_510764233_2694720_5096486_n.jpg http://photos-c.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs255.snc1/10222_148823229233_510764233_2694722_4719832_n.jpg
http://photos-b.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs255.snc1/10222_148823224233_510764233_2694721_2826934_n.jpg http://photos-g.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs275.snc1/10222_148823259233_510764233_2694726_4071096_n.jpg
We entered other parts of the building but nothing matched the chapel. We left soon after and once over the fence into the road again, we congratulated ourselves on a successful first explore, and set off for Bloso Hofstade.
Bloso Hofstade was a leisure complex opened up at the start of the 20th century for the less affluent families who couldn't afford to travel to the seaside. Artificial lakes and beaches were made and the complex expanded through time. In June 1939 the Art Deco swimming pool was opened, yet when the Nazi's invaded Belgium, they used the site as a vehicle repair centre. The Americans liberated it and used the site for military purposes (a prison camp), and eventually it was handed back to the Belgian government for it's original purpose. Leisure. In time society changes and now Bloso Hofstade is a quiet centre, especially in October. With cheap airfares and the rise in travel, people go further a field.
In 1978 it failed it’s H&S and was closed. Didn’t stop us having a swim in it though!
http://photos-h.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs275.snc1/10222_148823269233_510764233_2694727_6288716_n.jpg
http://photos-b.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs255.snc1/10222_148823279233_510764233_2694729_823405_n.jpg
On from Bloso, we headed for Leuven, the home of Stella Artois. We ate in a café staffed by gorgeous girls who spoke Flemish and smile politely at our bumbling attempts to purchase waffles and sausage rolls, before returning to the car and into the grounds of Stella. Everything that would have been possible in the summer was bricked up, and contractors were working away inside the main section, attaching planks of wood to anything that would take a nail. We walked around the site 3 times, and the only potential entrances were up walls with no footholds. Despite Stella being one of the sites I was looking forwards to most, alas we couldn’t access the buildings.
More to come…
The 6 of us decided to go to Belgium, the main attraction being Chateau De Noisy, a gothic pile on top of a hill in the Ardennes. Being such a way away, we needed to fill the weekend with adventures and things to do, so I arranged some. Yeah.
2 cars, a Land Rover and 6 people, one kerb-bash, one 2 hour delay in London, a trip round the perimeter of Cane Hill to see what's left (nothing), and some nervous moments on the thunderous M25 eventually saw us arrive in Dover just in time for last check-in.
We sat and chatted on the ferry, purchasing a bottle of whiskey for good measure later in the trip.
http://photos-a.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs275.snc1/10222_148823379233_510764233_2694744_5398057_n.jpg
On arrival in Calais we put foot down to get to the Castle of Mesen, our first destination. Within a wall inside a reasonably well-occupied residential area of the city of Lede, Mesen is well secured. We had to contend with drunken locals and curtain twitchers, but eventually we got over the first fence and into the dark woods with no real issues. As you arrive into a foreign site there is a degree of trepidation. Security is unpredictable, we don't have recent knowledge and we don't speak Flemish. The most relevant we had was that 'sometimes the guard enters the buildings to see if people are there'. Great.
Muddy bogs, brambles and heavy rain were our enemies for the next 15 minutes, before we found another fence to traverse. This was easy. Once we were into the surrounding woods we could enter the buildings through a basement window.
Our plan was to sleep inside the castle and explore it when the sun came up, the crisp morning light and the mist being photographic aspirations of the group. We found a cellar and bedded down, as water trickled through the head height windows. The pitch black tempted me to sleep yet the shriek of wild animals and the pitter-patter of rain were a combination that cruelly kept me awake.
Two of the party also snored like steam engines, yet apparently I did also. Surely not?
I awoke many times in the night, shivering with cold in my pathetic excuse for a sleeping bag. A t-shirt, a polo shirt, a cardigan, a hoody and a bobble hat were not enough to keep me warm on a cold concrete floor, and when the alarm pipped me awake at 6.30 local time I was relieved to be up and about, exploring this 18th century ruin. Bekah was adamant a wild animal had visited us in the night, miaowed and then run off, perturbed by unwelcome visitors in its usual haunt.
We stashed our sleeping materials in a cupboard in our dungeon, before making jokes about checking out of the 'hotel' and handing back the keys. We ascended into the entrance hall and a resplendent staircase was waiting, inside a 4-storied building that had lost its floors in the 30 years of dereliction it's endured.
http://photos-h.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs275.snc1/10222_148823214233_510764233_2694719_3280155_n.jpg http://photos-c.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs227.snc1/7428_148823394233_510764233_2694746_804271_n.jpg
Having navigated this trashed hole, we exited into the central courtyard and into another part of the building. Along a corridor, a space opened up for us and we could see a massive room. We emerged into a huge chapel, the roof crumbling and greenery protruding from the floors. Giant stained glass windows were situated across all parts of the building, few intact but all beautiful.
http://photos-a.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs255.snc1/10222_148823219233_510764233_2694720_5096486_n.jpg http://photos-c.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs255.snc1/10222_148823229233_510764233_2694722_4719832_n.jpg
http://photos-b.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs255.snc1/10222_148823224233_510764233_2694721_2826934_n.jpg http://photos-g.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs275.snc1/10222_148823259233_510764233_2694726_4071096_n.jpg
We entered other parts of the building but nothing matched the chapel. We left soon after and once over the fence into the road again, we congratulated ourselves on a successful first explore, and set off for Bloso Hofstade.
Bloso Hofstade was a leisure complex opened up at the start of the 20th century for the less affluent families who couldn't afford to travel to the seaside. Artificial lakes and beaches were made and the complex expanded through time. In June 1939 the Art Deco swimming pool was opened, yet when the Nazi's invaded Belgium, they used the site as a vehicle repair centre. The Americans liberated it and used the site for military purposes (a prison camp), and eventually it was handed back to the Belgian government for it's original purpose. Leisure. In time society changes and now Bloso Hofstade is a quiet centre, especially in October. With cheap airfares and the rise in travel, people go further a field.
In 1978 it failed it’s H&S and was closed. Didn’t stop us having a swim in it though!
http://photos-h.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs275.snc1/10222_148823269233_510764233_2694727_6288716_n.jpg
http://photos-b.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs255.snc1/10222_148823279233_510764233_2694729_823405_n.jpg
On from Bloso, we headed for Leuven, the home of Stella Artois. We ate in a café staffed by gorgeous girls who spoke Flemish and smile politely at our bumbling attempts to purchase waffles and sausage rolls, before returning to the car and into the grounds of Stella. Everything that would have been possible in the summer was bricked up, and contractors were working away inside the main section, attaching planks of wood to anything that would take a nail. We walked around the site 3 times, and the only potential entrances were up walls with no footholds. Despite Stella being one of the sites I was looking forwards to most, alas we couldn’t access the buildings.
More to come…