From river swimming, bear-watching and space simulators
JUMP into river swimming, bear-watching and space simulators on a family road trip to Belgium, says Acting Senior Designer Sasha Cunningham.
Sunlight bursts through the tree canopy as enormous furry paws pad silently across the forest floor.
Elevated safely on a viewing platform, my family and I quietly watch as two Eurasian brown bears climb trees, paddle in the stream and stalk through the lush landscape.
We’re at Forestia in Theux, Belgium, which has 44 hectares dedicated to the conservation of animals originally found wild in the area.
Later the kids get to hand-feed deer, too.
Tickets cost from £22 for adults, and £16 for children (Forestia.be).
Lush Lodgings
This is just one of the highlights we find in our week spent in the wilds of Belgium’s Ardennes region.
We’re staying about four hours from Calais – a drive that takes us along winding roads and through luscious pine forests – kipping in a stylish six-person self-catering lodge at Landal Hillview Resort Grandvoir, near the town of Neufchâteau.
Nestled among wildflower meadows teaming with butterflies, our lodge feels super-private, with just the sound of the birds and the occasional cricket for company.
It’s decked out with hygge decor in earthy shades, plus has its own cosy infrared sauna.
My sons Oscar, eight, and Ben, five, splash around in the ankle-deep stream running alongside our pad, and there’s plenty of wildlife to spot.
Wild boar, deer, raccoons and beavers all frequent the site, and I’m excited to spy a badger scampering across the field as husband Grant and I settle down on our large deck for a sundowner.
Later, we try a game of boules by the resort’s Bois Des Bois restaurant, which serves up regional dishes for dinner and a buffet of delicious pastries, yoghurts, eggs, meats and cheeses if you’re feeling lazy one morning.
Breakfast costs £19 for adults, £16.50 for children.
There’s also a playground, on-site shop and bike hire, plus a boutique hotel if you want to splash out.
Water Find
Just 25 minutes’ drive away is L’Antrogne, a wild swimming spot popular with locals.
The river La Semois glistens in the sun, and after a pebble-skimming contest we paddle in the crystal-clear shallows, baby trout weaving around our legs.
The boys also delight in floating down the gentle rapids as dragonflies hover around them.
Another day, we hire top-of-the-range Bosch ebikes, £32 each per day, plus £13 for a kids’ trailer, to tackle the hilly terrain to Lake Neufchâteau.
Whizzing through the quaint village of Grandvoir and beautiful tree-lined tunnels is great fun, and we make it to the man-made reservoir in 40 minutes to find both a lido and sandy beach.
We jump into the water to cool off, as the boys eye up kayaks and pedal boats, from £7 for 30 minutes’ hire, before we picnic on cheese-filled croissants by the water’s edge.
Meanwhile, a worthy detour on our way back from bear-watching at Forestia proves to be Cascades de Coo, the highest natural waterfall in Belgium.
With a 15-metre drop down to the Amblève River, the thundering rapids are a must-see – but without doubt the kids’ favourite bit is Brasserie Au Vieux Moulin’s chocolate crêpes served with Nutella and fresh cream, £8.25, which we devour with a glorious view of the falls from the terrace (@Brasserieauvieuxmoulin).
Blast off
On our last day, a 25-minute drive transports us from our tranquil forest camp to the surface of Mars and the fascinating astronaut training camp at Euro Space Center.
We don orange spacesuits and test our minds and agility to see if we have what it takes to be astronauts.
As we are taken through computer logic tests, physical balance trials and even try on space pants to check whether we’d be able to correctly use a spaceship toilet, our family competitiveness is properly revealed.
Tickets cost from £30 for adults, £26 for children (Eurospacecenter.be).
We also get to wander through the Mars village to operate our very own rover, but the best bit is finding out what it feels like to walk on the moon and experiencing take-off in the space shuttle simulator.
The G force of the space rotor leaves our legs feeling pretty wobbly and, if I’m honest, I’m not sure any of us would cut it as real astronauts.
Still, the kids certainly think our trip across the channel was an out-of-this-world adventure.
FYI
Family stays in a forest lodge at Landal Hillview Resort Grandvoir cost from £399 for three nights (Landal.co.uk).
Tickets from Folkestone to Calais on LeShuttle cost from £98 each way for a vehicle with up to nine passengers (Leshuttle.com).
Veurne rules
The medieval town of Veurne makes for an excellent pit stop when driving back to the UK, with its Flemish language and Dutch-style architecture reminiscent of Amsterdam.
Nestled between St Walburga and St Nicholas churches is De Soetasse Brasserie, where you can tuck into rich croque monsieurs, £8, and croûte aux champignons with a curry twist, £10.50 (@Desoetasse).