BACKING BLACK

In Alsace and the Black Forest, Victoria Riddiford discovers traditional keg-tapping and apfelstrudel, rubbing shoulders with colourful towns and towering mountains and waterfalls

- Photographs: Mark Riddiford

To enjoy a perfect blend of historic architecture and superb scenery Having spent many holidays exploring the delights of France, we decided to broaden our horizons this year and visit Germany. With more than three weeks to play with, we planned to tour the Black Forest, before crossing into France to explore Alsace.

In early June, we set off from Devon and spent a night at Black Horse Farm CAMC site near Folkestone before an early Eurotunnel crossing. We traversed the familiar flat arable lands of northern France, using the autoroute via Mons and Namur, to reach our first stop in the Belgian Ardennes, with its undulating wooded hills.

Camping Club Benelux in La Roche-en-Ardenne is a large site tucked in a delightful bend of the River Ourthe. We spent three nights there, and each evening we enjoyed watching beavers swimming upstream and stripping leaves from branches. Apparently, the Ardennes is becoming a stronghold for these beautiful animals. The site was a few minutes' walk from the pretty town, which has castle ruins, many restaurants, and a museum commemorating the 1944 Battle of the Bulge, which took place across this area.

Driving into Germany