6th HAPPY WAY
14 - 15 - 16 - 17 April 2006


Ledorga proudly presents the 6th HAPPY WAY, the gay event for vintage and exceptional car enthusiasts in France, on the Easter Weekend 2006: 14, 15, 16 and 17 April 2006. DOMINIQUE LEHERRE and his team, organisers of the now traditional and renowned HAPPY WAY, RAINBOW TOUR and ELEGANCE CRUISE, will host the rally.

PRESENTATION


This year the Happy Way will take place in the French-Belgian borderland near Valenciennes, a city halfway between Paris and Brussels. The region you will be exploring is called Hainaut. The Hainaut is situated both in France and in Belgium and has developed under the sphere of influence of three towns, Douai, Cambrai and Valenciennes. Early in the history of Europe, these cities established themselves as influential trading towns due to their commercially favourable geographical position. Over time, they evolved into manufacturing towns with flourishing mining, textile and steel industry. Nowadays, the major part of these activities has disappeared, except for Valenciennes, which core activity was and still is the car-industry. As a matter of fact, more than one car manufacturer has plants in this region, such as Renault, PSA (Peugeot, Citroën) and recently Toyota.

Similar to the essence of previous HAPPY WAYS, this rally will not be without challenges that will put your wit to the test and your general knowledge and mind will be exercised, assuring a pleasant degree of competition among participants. Don’t be alarmed though; the primary goal of this rally is to assure you of a relaxing weekend, a nice drive trough the countryside, some sightseeing and lots of fun.

In contrast to previous rally’s, your observations induced us to alter the schedule of the weekend. Thus, we now meet directly at the hotel on Friday late afternoon and we’ll spend three nights at the same hotel instead of two. That way, we have two entire days at our disposal and you also have more time to get there and get away again. No more afternoon-drive on Saturday or morning-drive on Monday; the rally now starts Friday evening and ends after breakfast on Monday so you’ll be able to leave when it suits you best. Furthermore, we’ll have two entire days to enjoy your long weekend to the max…

For your comfort and comprehension, all texts concerning this rally will be translated into Dutch, English, French and German. For obvious reasons participation is reserved for classic and/or exceptional cars. We count on your presence! The more the merrier; so we really hope to see you on the 14th of April 2004

ACCOMMODATION


All three nights will be spent at the «Novotel» *** in Valenciennes. The Novotel is no-nonsense and thus no surprises, but offers more than adequate facilities and good value for money.

It is situated at 10 kms from the town centre and can be accessed very easily by the motorway interchange A2 (Paris-Brussels) and A23 (Lille-Valenciennes). It has rather spacious rooms with TV, telephone, and bathroom with either bath or shower. The hotel is surrounded by its own grounds with a pond and a terrace, where we might be able to have a drink, weather permitting. There is a hotel bar exclusively for hotel guests and its opening hours will be extended during our stay. And, last but -in our case- certainly not least: the hotel has a private car park.

PROGRAM


This gathering will start on Friday afternoon, 14 April 2006, at the Novotel in Valenciennes. You’ll only have to check into your hotel room and dinner will be served afterwards. The hotel bar will be open for the rest of the evening so you’ll be able to have a drink and a chat together.
On Saturday morning, we’ll start out in the direction of Belgium, towards the town of Beloeil to be exact, where we’ll visit the ancestral castle of the Princes of Ligne. The castle is quite classic in design and surrounded by a moat and superb French gardens, designed in 1664.

Since the 14th century, this castle has remained the family seat of the Ligne family and every detail -e.g. furniture, tapestries, wall hangings, sculptures and paintings give evidence of this fact. The masterpiece is undoubtedly the impressive library consisting of over 20,000 books! Luncheon will be served in one of the annexes of Beloeil Castle. The afternoon drive will bring you to the town of Leuze-en-Hainaut and its motoring experience «Mahymobile».

Ghislain Mahy has acquired and reunited in over 50 years of research and various travels around the world a collection of more than a thousand vehicles of all era’s and sorts. Logically, not all vehicles are visible, but a nice cross section is exposed to the public in several halls. There’s the «Gihslain Mahy» Hall with some 100 vehicles, a didactic hall dedicated for the car engineering enthusiast with engine, chassis, gearbox etc., a space dedicated to miniatures, a shop and some newly added halls where some 100 other cars are visible. Hereafter we return to the hotel for supper and the hotel bar will remain at your disposal for those who wish to chat and have an after-dinner drink


On Sunday 16, we start for our morning pleasure drive around the region’s car production sites towards Lewarde. We arrive around noon in the mining town of Lewarde where lunch will be served in a restaurant appropriately called «Le Briquet».

After lunch, a visit to the mine centre of Lewarde, installed on the Delloye opencast mine. This site has been operational from 1931 to 1971 and about a 1,000 miners laboured here, producing about a 1,000 tonnes of coal daily. You will get acquainted with the life of miners, its evolution over the years, the different methods of coal mining and production and rail transportation system. In a nutshell: a comprehensive description of the mining industry in the north of France, which nowadays has completely vanished. Its disappearance has profoundly marked this region and imposed an unemployment rate, from which today the after-effects are still tangible in this region

Please note that here in this region over the last 30 years, the collapse of the mining industry coincided with the end of its steel industry and followed the foundering of the French textile industry, after being priced out of the market by cheaper Chinese and north-African imports. Hereafter we return to the hotel for supper and the prize-giving ceremony. The hotel bar will remain at your disposal for those who wish to chat and have a dinner drink.

On Monday 17, no alarm clocks are needed! Breakfast will be available until 10:30 AM. Everyone is free to leave whenever they wish to. Those who wish to travel home as soon as possible are free to do so; but everybody has the possibility to postpone their checkout until noon or even prolong their stay if they wish to.

PRICE


The price of 250 Euros per person in a double room (e.g. 500 Euros for 2) and 310 Euros in a single room.

Includes:

  • 3 dinners at Novotel Valenciennes
  • 3 nights at Novotel *** Valenciennes.
  • 3 Continental breakfasts .
  • 1 meal at Beloeil Castle on Saturday.
  • 1 meal at the restaurant «Le Briquet » at the Lewarde mining facility on Sunday.
  • a guided tour of Beloeil Castle .
  • a visit of the motoring museum Mahymobile at Leuze-en-Hainaut.
  • a guided tour thru the Lewarde mining facilities.
  • all necessary documents and relevant documentation ( e.g. road-book...).

Please note: every meal is intended to be « all in » during the 3 days, meaning that drinks such as wine, water and coffee are also included.
Not included however are your individual consummations ordered bars, restaurants and at the hotel.


Attention: this document has no contractual value and can be subject to changes without prior notice.
For further information, please contact us !
Download the registration form (Pounds)
Download the registration form (Euros)
(click on the link above)

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