Veurne to Ypres
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Next stop, Veurne, and we found a nice little mooring before heading off for a bit of a wander. We had previously driven through this little town, so knew some of the layout. Our initial plan had been to stay for a day or two but having met up with Chris and Diana on Esme, and a few drinks later, we decided to make a week of it. After a couple of days we had the opportunity of moving our mooring into Veurne’s small picturesque harbour – the bonus for me was that there was a major DIY store right on the Quay. Could life be any better?
We just could not get over how quiet Veurne was although market day got a bit busier but very interesting. 
We left Veurne (eventually) on the following Sunday, heading back to Fintele, this time with the intention of staying the night, and what a lovely location it turned out to be, so peaceful and quiet.
From Fintele we headed up the Izer and through the deepest two locks for us to date with a four meter drop.
Later in the day we arrived in the small town of Ypres at the top of the Izer, taking about the last slot for a barge of our size in the small harbour. Here we were greeted by our first ‘WOB’s (Women on Board), Jenny and Carol, plus their other halves. We were very quickly invited for a tour of a neighbouring barge by Carol on Silk Purse, followed by a quick meal before wandering off into town to the Menin Gate for th
e ‘Last Po
st’ ceremony.
Yet again, there is a DIY store on the quayside, marginally further away than in Veurne, but I’m not complaining. Anyway, we have decided to stay in Ypres for a couple of days to explore its delights – we had committed to leaving on Friday, but could have done with a bit longer. Still, we enjoyed it all the same.
One thing we noticed in the town was that there were effigies of cats all over the place, as the town prepared for the “Kattenfestival” over the weekend we were leaving! So, sadly we won’t be there to see what goes on.
Apparently, between the 12th and 19th century cats were considered to be evil, so once a year the townspeople used to throw cats from the belfry to try and kill off evil spirits. It is now a big parade with floats and giant effigies and luckily for the cats,the highlight of the festival is that cats used to be thrown from the top of a tower to kill the evil spirits; luckily these days they only throw ‘symbolic’ stuffed toy cats now.
