A weekend in a rooftop tent with Horizon Tents in the Ardennes

Our workday finished, we load the car with all our belongings and head to Verlaine (Liège) to pick up the roof tent. That's where the hangar of Horizon Tents is located. A young company run by Delphine and Greg who rent/sell roof tents for a weekend, a week, or more.
 

After an hour's drive, we arrive at Horizon Tents. Delphine and her colleague welcome us and offer us a drink to wait for the tent to be mounted on the car. The atmosphere is friendly and there are many departures.

Setting up the tent is quick, only about twenty minutes! Once the roof bars are installed (if you don't have any, Horizon Tents also offers them for rent), you put the folded tent on the bars and secure everything! Then comes the (very easy) handling to unfold it, and then, the adventure can begin. 🤩

For this first night, we're heading to Rochefort, where we've spotted a small nature spot in advance on park4night.

Upon arriving at the location, we were all alone in the middle of a small clearing. And a small bonus, there's an incredible view of Rochefort and the entire valley. Day or night, the atmosphere is magical.

We set up the tent for the first time all by ourselves, in 5 minutes it's unfolded if we don't forget to remove the Velcro on the side! We install our sleeping bags, pillows and turn on the small string lights already present in the tent for a cozy atmosphere!

Next stop, preparing dinner! Fortunately, Horizon Tents thinks of everything; they offer, at no extra cost for a weekend, a camping kit with everything included: chairs, table, small gas stove, plates, cutlery, pots, etc... So, no need to invest in equipment for a weekend 😉. For dinner, we're going to Italy with Romain's famous Amatriciana pasta (bacon, onions, tomato basil sauce and half a burrata per person for a creamy result!).

After a good meal, the subsequent tidying up, fatigue sets in, and we climb into the tent for our first night.

Early morning wake-up after a night under the songs of the night animals. When you open the tent windows, you see the gentleness of the sun's rays that pass through the green of the leaves of the trees. First step of waking up, heat some water to refresh yourself with a washcloth and a nature-respecting hemp soap bought from Lyna's Soaps in Brussels. Once clean, we set the breakfast table and eat our chocolate toast, enjoying the morning calm and the warm rays of the sun.

We then head to the Nisramont Lake, a reservoir lake in the heart of the Deux Ourthes Nature Park, near Roche-en-Ardenne. After parking our car (with the rooftop tent folded down) in the large car park, we begin our walk by the dam. From there, we contemplate the beauty of the place: calm and almost black water, surrounded by an ocean of greenery. On the edge, a small wooden hut, with a boat where more than a dozen paddlers get into the water.

We continue our journey on the small path built along the lake. Be careful, despite the path improvements, the walk has quite a few elevation changes. We find a small bench by the lake and take advantage of it to eat our picnic.

Let's continue the walk, crossing small bridges, climbing to viewpoints. The environment changes every 100 meters, and we're taking it all in. Unfortunately, we won't have time to complete the entire loop, so it's time for us to get back on the road to find a place to sleep tonight. This will be an excuse to return to this timeless place.

After 2 failures, we set up camp on the small parking lot of the Plaine Sapin in Bonsin, in the heart of the Famenne. We are in the middle of fields, it is calm and we have a magnificent view of the surroundings. We can even see the Baraque Fraiture, which is only 27 km away as the crow flies. In the late afternoon, we will have the chance to discover several hot air balloons navigating the horizon and offer ourselves a timeless moment. The beginning of the night will be under a storm, which allows us to test the tent in all circumstances, and we can confirm that it is indeed waterproof!

The morning is cooler and grayer than yesterday, at least the weather is dry after the rainy night. We take advantage of the calm to refresh ourselves and have breakfast before getting back on the road.

Today's program includes a visit to the city of Durbuy, also known as the "smallest city in the world". We've also written a detailed article for visiting Durbuy in a day. You can find all the practical information for getting there and the city's points of interest.

As the rain decided to settle in the afternoon, we return to Verlaine to reluctantly return the rooftop tent. We spent an unforgettable weekend as close to nature as possible and with much less comfort than in our Brussels apartment. We discovered new corners in Belgium and are already thinking about our next adventure with Horizon Tent.