There is something brilliant about a father-son road trip. Me and Eddie did one down to Turkey a few years back, and it was so much fun that Harry made it very clear he wanted his turn. So here we are: a week, the van, and two Radfords heading for Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany.
We set off from Milton Keynes at 10:00 aiming for Folkestone, Eurotunnel, and Antwerp by early evening. Simple enough. Except when we pulled into the Eurotunnel terminal, the board told a different story. Our 12:54 had been bumped to 14:24. An hour and a half delay, give or take. Not the end of the world. We made KFC wraps in the back of the van, stuck the new Angles Morts blind-spot magnets on the front doors and matching stickers on the back (the rear isn’t magnetic), and settled in. Worse ways to spend an afternoon.
Belgium: a tunnel, a stranger, and a seriously good stew
We rolled into Antwerp at ten to seven. Harry had already found us a free park-up right in the city, a handful of other motorhomes nearby for peace of mind, and honestly, for one night that is all you need.
Ten-minute walk to the St. Anna Tunnel, which is this extraordinary pedestrian tunnel under the River Scheldt. Wooden escalators. Proper old-school. We walked across, came up the other side, found a bar, ordered a couple of beers, and immediately got rained on. Which is when we met Neils, an absolute legend of a man who spotted us, had a drink with us, and then booked us into a restaurant around the corner before we even knew what was happening.
The place was tucked down an alley. Small. Candlelit. Completely unpretentious. We had Belgian stoofvlees (basically your mum’s slow-cooker stew but better, with chips thrown in) and lamb, shared between us. Empty plates said it all. Big thanks to Neils for that one, link to the restaurant is in the video description.
The Netherlands: windmills, rain, and 19,000 steps
Morning in Antwerp, quick stop at the supermarket to grab a couple of cases of Tripel Karmeliet on Neils’ recommendation (8.4%, wheaty, absolutely fantastic), and we crossed the border into the Netherlands. First stop was meant to be Kinderdijk, 19 UNESCO windmills right on the water. Harry had been keen on it and to be fair, it is brilliant. But it was coming up to 50 euros entry and we were already running behind, so we made the call to push on to Rotterdam and save Kinderdijk for a proper visit another time.
Rotterdam city campsite: 37 euros for the two of us and the van, no electric, massive flat field, facilities that were a lot better than the reviews suggested. Winner for a city stop.
The city itself we did on foot, in horizontal rain. We found Delfshaven, a preserved bit of old Rotterdam that honestly feels more like Amsterdam than Amsterdam does sometimes, windmill, canals, Dutch gabled buildings, the lot. We asked ChatGPT to give us the history while we stood there dripping. Then we found a shawarma place, Harry had lamb in a wrap with chips and mayo, and we walked 19,000 steps back to the van. Knackered. Tripel Karmeliet in hand back at the van.
Rotterdam deserves a better trip than we gave it. The weather was against us, the timing was off, and we were trying to squeeze too much into seven days. We’ll be back, and we’ll bring Lyndsay next time and do it properly. Kinderdijk as well, that one is definitely on the list.
Next stop: Amsterdam. Watch the full video to see how we got on, and if you’re enjoying the series, give it a thumbs up and subscribe so you don’t miss the rest.
Watch the full video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9fCURFXH_IE