Wednesday, November 18, 2009 www.docklands24.co.uk
TRAVEL
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READERS'
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"I love Sardinia in Italy. It's a
beautiful place, very sunny, nice
drinks and hot ladies!"
P
EOPLE always think
Flanders is flat, our
tour guide Andr� tells
us, gesturing towards the
mostly flat landscape, "but it's
not; we have les Monts de
Flandre and we're very proud
of them."
Les Monts, or mountains in
English, are, in fact, a series of fairly
small hills in the otherwise pancake-
esque countryside dotted on either
side of the French-Belgian border.
They were, as legend would have it,
created by a weary giant and his wife
after they grew tired of hauling sacks
of earth across the landscape and
dumped their loads on the
flats (there is also a geo-
logical explanation for
the incongruous formations but the
Flemish prefer their folklore, which
seems to always feature giants).
French Flanders is not, I can't help
thinking to myself, exactly the
Himalayas, although it is quite pretty.
Everything is geared towards utilising
the even plane, and fields full of cele-
riac, potatoes, wheat, barley, maize or
grazing cows are scattered with a
handful of smallish towns and the
odd windmill.
The town of Bailleul, which was
almost totally destroyed in the First
World War but was rebuilt exactly
replicating the original Flemish archi-
tecture, has an impressive tower atop
the town hall where tourists can look
out over the surrounding `mountains'
and across the border into Belgium.
Typical stepped Flemish architec-
ture and towers, where expert bell
ringers use an organ-like contraption
to ring scores of chimes to create a
tune, are the mainstay of towns in
Flanders and a trip up one such tower
in the pretty medieval walled town
Bergues surprisingly reveals a talent-
ed carillonneur frantically playing the
Beatles' hit Yesterday.
Bergues is the biggest and most
lively of the French Flemish towns
with boutiques, cafes, restaurants and
delicatessens lining the market
square, as well as its own giant (every
town's got one) proudly sitting out-
side the hotel de ville, while his spare
head is kept in the bell tower.
Food is pretty rustic but
generally good,
with pork and
game terrines, cheeses and beery beef
stews featuring prominently on
menus, although dinner at our hotel
Hostellerie St Louis was a slightly
more sophisticated affair, or it would
have been 25 years ago.
Smoked duck breast was served
with "seasonal fruit" including water-
melon, and mango sorbet and
noisettes of emperor fish came with a
mould of jellified spinach puree.
Brasserie d'Esquelbecq uses local
grain and both Flemish and Kentish
hops to brew a selection of beers
from blonde through to dark, includ-
ing an organic version, and brewery
staff are happy to give a guided tour
followed by a sample in the kitsch bar
afterwards.
Beer is also on offer at the fascinat-
ing Steenmeulen Moulin where the
infectiously enthusiastic Monsieur
Markey gives tours of his still work-
ing windmill � which he refurbished
practically single handed, using hors-
es to replace the gigantic sails � and
his crazy museum of Heath Robinson
farming contraptions.
In Flanders fields
poppies still blow
Victoria
Huntley
enjoys a
visit to an
historic and
picturesque
corner of
Europe
Travel tips
Victoria stayed at the Hostellerie
Saint Louis, 47 rue de l'Eglise,
59470 Bollezeele after taking the
Eurostar from London St Pancras
to Lille Europe. Make sure you visit
the site of the massacre of 80
British soldiers by the Nazi SS in
1940, Wormhout: Le Steenmeulen
Moulin, 550 route d'Eecke, 59114
Terdeghem, www.steenmeulen.
com; Brasserie d'Thiriez, 22 rue de
Wormhout, 59470 Esquelbecq,
www.brasseriethiriez.com. You
should also visit Moulin de la
Roome, 885 route de la Roome,
Terdeghem.
Monsieur MarkeyMonsieur Markey
the miller prthe miller providesovides
a warm welcome,a warm welcome,
aboveabove, while the view, while the view
of Bergues takes theof Bergues takes the
brbreath awayeath away,, toptop..
TTributes of poppiesributes of poppies
laid inside the barlaid inside the barnn
wherwhere British soldierse British soldiers
werwere massacre massacred ated at
WWormhout,ormhout, top righttop right
19
What is it about?
When is it happening?
How can I see the plan?
I want to have my say.
Draft Noise Action Plan

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