Tuesday 2nd August 2011 UK – Lokeren by car

Set off as it was getting light around 6.30 a.m. no traffic hold ups and we were soon on the motorway heading south. Mike’s Mum (who came with us for a month's holiday on the boat) just about had enough room on the back seat. We asked at Dover check-in in if we could use the lift for Mum and they added a disabled sticker to the tag that hangs in the window and told us to put the car's hazard lights on then their staff would know we needed the lift. There were just two other vehicles parked by the lift. We shared it with east European lorry drivers who’d come up from the bilges! Sat at the front and watched ships in the channel. Soon we were in Dunkerque and back down in the lift with more lorry drivers. First stop was at the Auchan hypermarket for some diesel then on to the motorway heading north to Gent then Lokeren. When we arrived we found the road to the boat closed off due to a week-long music festival being held in the centre of town. We had to turn around and go back as there was no through access and had to ignore the road-closed signs. Hendrik was there to loan us his gangplank as they'd moved our boat next to another a bit further back down the canal. We got Mum on board with a little difficulty, as there was a steep slope down to the gangplank. Once she was settled on board we took the solar panel outside and all the other outside stuff that had been stored in the cabin, then started moving bags out of the car on to back deck of the boat we were tied to. Mike had to keep an eye on the time because of the parking restrictions, moving the hands of the clock on his blue parking permit card every two hours until we’d finished unloading the car and then he could move it into the next street. I started unpacking while making a cuppa. Glad to get to bed. We were all very tired.