I was in Groot Bijgaarden on business. I travelled from the UK from London to Dover and then took the ferry to Calais where I picked up a train to Bruxelles Midi and took a taxi to Groot Bijgaarden. The taxi cost around EUR 30 but beware, a lot of cab drivers reach for their map book and even the woman at the information counter on Bruxelles Midi station was unsure where Groot Bijgaarden was located. Actually, it's not far from the centre of Bruxelles. It's on the outskirts in the same way that, in the UK, Reigate is on the outside of London near the M25. Infact, Groot Bijgaarden is probably nearer to central Bruxelles than Reigate is to London.

Like on all business trips, I didn't spend long in Groot Bijgaarden, just one night in the Waerboom Hotel which wasn't strictly in Groot Bijgaarden. A nice hotel, though, with pleasant staff and excellent accommodation. Before taking dinner in the cosy, intimate restaurant (sadly, alone) I took a stroll. There was nothing in the immediate vicinity of the hotel and even if I'd been bang in the centre of Groot Bijgaarden I'd have been lucky to find anywhere lively. It's a sleepy little town near a motorway...a bit like Reigate (although I'd bet on Reigate being more lively if not more appealing). Anyway, I took a stroll along quite country lanes hemmed in on either side by fields. Weirdly, there were no paths but fortunately only a few cars. Fed up with not finding even a bar I headed back to the hotel for dinner and bed.

The next morning it was time to do what I'd come here to do: business. I checked out. The Waerboom was reasonable. EUR 160 for the room, dinner (two courses plus half a litre of house red which was easily the best house red I'd ever had) and breakfast, which I skipped. I walked to my appointment which took roughly half an hour and then, from Groot Bijgaarden took a cab to Bruxelles Midi and embarked upon what turned out to be a long journey home.

Take my advice. If you make a similar journey to mine, forget being a foot passenger. Take the car and drive to Groot Bijgaarden. With the train, while pleasant (I've always loved train journeys) there's a lot of waiting around. The first mistake I made, when I arrived at Calais, was to listen to the taxi driver who insisted he took me to Calais Frethun where, he said, I might be able to pick up a direct train to Bruxelles. But no, as I knew already, I'd have to change at Lille. The problem with Calais Frethun is that it's in the middle of nowhere and there's little to do except sit in a little bar drinking 1664 and eating pastries (if you're that way inclined). I should have gone to Calais Ville which is a much more lively station where there's much more to do if you have a long wait ahead of you.

To be honest, that was my only mistake, going to Frethun and not Ville. On the return trip, I travelled from Bruxelles to Lille and then took a train to Calais Ville. Once at Ville the taxi ride to the port for the return ferry to Dover was only EUR 10 and not nearly EUR 30 as it was from the port to Frethun.

You will, whatever you do, I'd imagine, have a long wait at Lille. Long enough, I hasten to add, to take a walk into the town. There's a few good shops if you're in to shopping but I preferred sitting on the Grand Place enjoying a cold beer and people watching. From Lille station it takes about ten to fifteen minutes to walk to the Grand Place.

Lille was a bit like Croydon. Or it was immediately outside of the station. But walk down towards the other major railway station at Lille (the name of which escapes me but you can't miss it) and then bear right and you'll come first to the Opera House and then if you bear left you'll find the Grand Place. Very pleasant. There's also plenty of hotels in the area if you're stuck for somewhere to stay for the night.

Food is relatively cheap in the bars. I enjoyed a beer and spaghetti bolognaise (with grated cheese, not parmesan) for EUR 10.35. Not bad if you're hungry.

One last thing. If you live in London, don't get a late ferry home. Why? Unbelievably, the trains from Dover into London take an age to get there as they stop at virtually every station on the way. You won't get home until almost midnight. By 'late ferry' I mean anything after around 5pm.

Okay, that's it. Groot Bijgaarden. A pleasant, quiet place and, while I've been criticised for what I'm about to say (because I say it about virtually every place I visit) I wouldn't mind living there in a peaceful house, surrounded by fields and twittering birds, knowing that Brussels, the home of the European Commission and, I suppose, the European capital, dare I say, is only a short cab ride away. Matthew Moggridge.