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Author Topic: Spa 24 Hours - useful stuff and w.w.w.w.  (Read 87039 times)
rcutler
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« Reply #15 on: May 31, 2007, 11:08:24 pm »


2CV 24 hour at Snetterton last weekend - it's usually a good event  Grin

That should have read it is usually a WET event! I was there last weekend and now have a stinking cold! The rain was soo bad I decided against the tent and slept in the car on Sunday night! The rain at times was some of the heaviest I have ever seen and it did not stop for  a second during the entire 24 hours

Photo's are online at the very rushed update to www.totalsportscar.com
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« Reply #16 on: May 31, 2007, 11:15:20 pm »

Rick, it's always cold and wet  Grin   I missed it for the first time in 4 years as we were at Brands (where it was also wet!)
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Gordonwr
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« Reply #17 on: June 01, 2007, 09:35:20 pm »

Eau Rouge is a very nice camp site, I shall be using it again this year along with Belgian guys I will be marshaling with at the GP. The week before that I will be at the Zolder 24hr race, a round of the Belcar championship. 
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« Reply #18 on: June 02, 2007, 10:35:45 am »

Hi All thanks Anita for the posting, also Pieter for the info... I would like a bt more please.

How far, in walking (wobbling) distance is the campsite from the circuit

Is it ok for bbq or do most people eat out

What is the circuit camping like and amenities

Supermarkets - how close are they, any names for my navigator

How well is the circuit sign posted, does it have a system like LM, vert, bleu etc

Is petrol cheaper in Belgium than France

Any other info would be good

Thanks

>Martini...


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Pieter
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« Reply #19 on: June 02, 2007, 12:01:44 pm »

Quote
How far, in walking (wobbling) distance is the campsite from the circuit
It's about half a mile to the circuit, but that's at the far end at the Stavelot corner. Walking to the paddock is a nice walk if you're up for it, but knowing you a bit, you wouldn't want to walk.

Quote
Is it ok for bbq or do most people eat out
It's ok for bbq but there's lots of good places to eat out as well.

Quote
What is the circuit camping like and amenities
Not sure, never tried it.

Quote
Supermarkets - how close are they, any names for my navigator
There's a big Carrefour in Malmédy, which is about a 10 minute drive from the camping. Not sure if they have fridges to talk to though.  Grin

Quote
How well is the circuit sign posted, does it have a system like LM, vert, bleu etc
Pretty good sign posted, but nothing like the LM system. Check the site www.spa-francorchamps.be for details.

Quote
Is petrol cheaper in Belgium than France
I wouldn't know, but I don't think there's a lot of difference, if any.

Quote
Any other info would be good
In Stavelot, there's a race car museum that's supposed to be very good. For some reason I've never tried it, but I'll have a go this year.
My favourite spot is Bruxelles, the highest point of the circuit. Bring a comfy chair, a cooler with beer and a camera if you like. That's where I spend the day usually. At night, the best place to be is the paddock. You can walk down there, but remember you have to walk back up there as well and there's quite some height difference.


« Last Edit: June 02, 2007, 12:04:07 pm by Pieter » Logged
Piglet
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« Reply #20 on: June 02, 2007, 12:47:22 pm »

I think Pieter's covered most of it and I can't be bothered to quote!

As Pieter says, it's a fair walk through the rear (Karting) access to the circuit - I think it might be more than half a mile.  It is pretty flat though which is a novelty for this area!   Some of the guys on the campsite takes bikes to go to and from the circuit.   

If this works and you find Stavelot on the map, look to the right for the Masta Kink and the campsite is just about where the "M" of "Masta" is (it's on the old circuit).  You would then walk up the green road towards the chequered flag, the red line shows the entrance to the circuit and the wiggly road is the track into the rear of the circuit - it looks like around 4km including the wiggles!

http://www.viamichelin.co.uk/viamichelin/gbr/dyn/controller/mapPerformPage?strCountry=311&strAddress=&strMerged=stavelot&x=0&y=0

You can easily drive up to the parking area at Les Combes though (2 minutes from the campsite) - I don't know what the cost of parking is (they let us park for free with our media pass), probably 5 dingbats or so.  This gives you a very short walk to Les Combes and Malmedy corners and you can then walk down towards Eau Rouge (corner not campsite) etc. or the other way towards Rivage and Pouhon. 

If there is an option to get parking in the circuit (it will be in the carparks opposite the endurance (not F1) pit lane) then I'd go for it, this would give you a good base to walk around the paddock areas, up Eau Rouge and up to La Source and the area previously known as the Bus Stop etc. and then if you want to have a drive up to Les Combes on the Sunday it gives you some alternative viewing areas.

Viewing spots - For me there is nothing that beats sitting in the trees above the Bus Stop and Blanchimont in the dark seeing GT cars whizzing underneath you.   

Eau Rouge has to be seen to be believed and the back of the circuit Les Combes, Malmedy etc. is beautiful and you can look across and just about see the action through Blanchimont as they are at the same height! 

Circuit Camping - I think there was a discussion about this last year, there is camping at Les Combes on the side of a fairly steep hill.  The info last year was that there are no facilities here at all, no toilets or anything.  I think it's quite cheap and I doubt you have to book.   It's a bit hardcore for me though!

The Eau Rouge campsite has a bar on it which is quite lively and has decent toilets and showers.  BBQ'ing is fine (although the bloke running the kids archery complained that KK smoked him out last year!), they have some half oil drums on the overflow campsite and it's OK to have fires in these. 

Don't know about fuel prices - we run diesel and I'm not sure that there is much difference to France

Other things  Spa town is worth a bit of a wander round, treat yourself to lunch or dinner in L'Auberge, it's lovely!  In the old days of running races for the BRDC we used to stay there.   There is also a funicular railway in Spa that goes up to a Therme (thermal baths - can't do the accent!). 

Around the rest of the area, there are loads of little restaurants that serve good, reasonably priced food.  Stavelot is worth a wander round, the whole area has a lot of WWI and WWII history, there are lots of memorials around the whole Spa area - too many of them for civilians.  At the river at the bottom of Stavelot there is an American armoured car that commemorates a battle at the crossing of the river.  If that kind of thing floats your boat it's worth doing some research before you leave as there are lots of significant sites around the area. 

At Coo there is a cable chair lift thingie that takes you up to the top of a big hill (and brings you back down again!). 

We think we're leaving home on the Saturday ahead of the race, stopping off in Reims/Eppernay for Saturday night/Sunday night and then arriving at Spa on the Monday. 

Sign posting Niether the area or the crowds are big enough for there to be a problem. 

Supermarkets  There is a Lidl close to the campsite in Stavelot and another small supermarket that might be a Super U.  Neither are big but have the basics.  We also go to the Carrefour at Malmedy and they have a good supply of Jupiler beer!   There is a bread van that comes to the campsite in the morning, you just order bread/croissants the night before and then turn up and pay when the man turns up around 8ish. 

Can't think of much else!


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Martini...LB
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« Reply #21 on: June 02, 2007, 05:02:45 pm »

Excellent, thanks very much.

I have noticed that on the Eau Rouge campsite you can book a pitch, is this advisable?

>Martini...
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« Reply #22 on: June 02, 2007, 05:05:27 pm »

We've always booked, in fact we sent our booking via their web page today as their phone number was engaged. 

I don't think they ever get ful and they tend to put race campers on the overflow field anyway (I prefer the overflow field actually!) so I doubt it's a problem but I prefer to book.  The lady speaks OK English - enough to make a booking so either use the form on their website or give them a ring.

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Gordonwr
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« Reply #23 on: June 02, 2007, 07:40:50 pm »

The nearest decent camp sites close to the circuit are at Francorchamps, also a good restaurant there " Le Relais de Pommard ". As has been said avoid camping at Les Combes, as there is NOTHING there, just a big field !!
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« Reply #24 on: June 02, 2007, 11:35:03 pm »

Whatever you do, avoid the campsite behind the hotel in Francorchamps. The biggest rip-off on the planet.  The 8 euros a day which they quote is for the car space, plus 8 euros a day for your tent (16 if it's more than a tiny one) and a day isn't 24 hours so if you stay from Friday to Sunday - that's 3 days according to them.  It cost the 2 of us 144 euros for 5 nights last year. Angry
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« Reply #25 on: June 02, 2007, 11:53:42 pm »

Blimey Termie that's steep - it's 14.50 dingbats at Eau Rouge by the look of their website.  We've certainly always thought it was good value there. 

One thing I've remembered - the campsite only takes Cash and not Cards. 
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« Reply #26 on: June 04, 2007, 01:02:17 am »

Hi
Is it worth bothering with a gazebo or just a garden/pub brolly... I am hoping for sun not rain...

Campsite booked... I think

>Martini...
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« Reply #27 on: June 04, 2007, 01:06:21 am »

Booked my spot today as well. A gazebo is always welcome, rain or shine. Always be prepared for rain in the Ardennes, although we were lucky last year with great weather.
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« Reply #28 on: June 04, 2007, 09:22:20 am »

Hi
I am hoping for sun not rain...

[we really don't have a decent ROFLMA smilie]  Grin  We'll get both, usually in the same ten minutes Grin.  Spa is notorious for it being beautiful and sunny one minute and then chucking it down the next and then the sun shining again! 

On the campsite it's worth getting in the habit of putting chairs etc. away whenever you leave the site - last year we got half a mile up the road (having left the tent doors canopied open) and drove into really big raindrops, we turned round and raced back to the campsite where, it was still beautiful and sunny and it didn't rain for the next 2 hours - it's very strange!

We usually take the dayroom (posh gazebo) to Spa for cooking and getting shade/shelter - it's well worth having something along those lines, although you'd want to watch cheap gazebos there when the wind blows! 

Last year we had some really manky weather, wet, cold and horrible but also some days where (having not taken the dayroom!) I struggled to get shade. 
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« Reply #29 on: June 04, 2007, 10:03:21 am »

Whatever you do, avoid the campsite behind the hotel in Francorchamps. The biggest rip-off on the planet.  The 8 euros a day which they quote is for the car space, plus 8 euros a day for your tent (16 if it's more than a tiny one) and a day isn't 24 hours so if you stay from Friday to Sunday - that's 3 days according to them.  It cost the 2 of us 144 euros for 5 nights last year. Angry
Oh, and I forgot to mention, the great bit of this con is that when you arrive they wave you through with a cheery smile and say "pitch your tent first, we'll come and sort out the money later" so you think "how nice" but discover the rip off too late. The year before, we camped on the little bluff above the circuit entrance - were five minutes from the track and the 8 euros a night really was just that.  We're going back there this year.
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