Deep in the forest a monster sleeps...

Hello again everyone - well, I left the last post with a bit of a cliffhanger: what were we seeking, deep in the forest of the Ardennes?

Can you make out what it is?

 



Yes, we had returned to this amazing place....

For the fabulous Belgian Formula 1 Grand Prix!!!!!

We had been planning the trip since before last Christmas, with race tickets and accommodation booked the day before my birthday on 12th January.

The track was locked to the general public as this was the weekend before the race, but the real reason for our country walk was to follow a woodland trail that runs parallel to the track giving tempting, fleeting, evocative views of what many F1 fans count to be the best race track in the world...

Looking across to the legendary Eau Rouge section of the track...the
G force exerted onto the drivers at this point is greater than that experienced by astronauts at take-off - the cars are travelling at around 200 mph...

The pit straight...

Lorries with equipment and the cars themselves had already arrived...

FIA vital equipment, this lorry, we discovered later, was carrying the safety cars...

Team Lotus and Team Torro Rosso...

Love the Torro Rosso logo of the charging bull...

A HUGE cheer erupted from us all when we spotted the Ferrari lorries as the driver we support, Kimi Raikkonen, drives for this team...

We then walked into the village of Francorchamps which offers one of the entrances to the track...

Big hotel, this houses a lot of fans come race weekend...

Impressive new house...wonder who lives there...

Hotel de la Source, named after the first bend on the track...this is a place for VIP visitors...

Number 1 son had planned this walk for us, and all were in agreement that it was the ideal start to our European Motorsport Road Trip!

Walking back to the car, we excitedly discussed who we thought would be the winners and losers, who could cause an upset, the latest Formula 1 gossip - yes, our support of this sport is a real family affair. 

The hillside was just starting to show pink/purple hues from the emerging heather....

Beautiful view over to Stavelot and beyond...

Tired, but excited for what awaited us the following weekend we returned back to our chalet for a lovely dinner, cooked by DH.

Back soon hopefully with our visit to the castle of La Roche en Ardenne! Complete with condor!!

Helenxx