Going Dutch June 2018
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| Our LF 1 route |
This was our second tour within the Netherlands and followed the LF1 part of the North sea route from Dunkirk to Den Helder. On this occasion we decided to leave cars at home and rely on trains and ferries to transport us to and from our start and finish points.
Day 1 was made exciting by a major reorganisation of train timetables and last minute cancellations , which meant 4 out of the 6 of us making unscheduled cycle dashes to St Pancras station before 8.00 am in order to catch our Train to Dover for the ferry. After a farcical frisking at UK boarder control we boarded the ferry in good time ,and the sun shone as we had lunch during the crossing . We and several other cyclists left the ferry at Dunkirk in high spirits but 5 mins later ,the mood changed somewhat as we found our route barred by high fences and locked gates - presumably migrant barriers. Eventually a port official came along with keys to let us out into France.
That's when the fun and games really started. The plan was to cycle 30 miles to our hotel via a pleasant coastal route which bypassed much of industrial/ urban Dunkirk. We knew however this required the passage over a lock gate - this being about 5 miles into the journey. All indications were that many others had used this route but , possibly because it was a Sunday, the bridge was secured by yet more fences and gates , and we could not get through. We therefore had to retrace our steps and take a torturous route through the back streets of Dunkirk. After 43 miles we arrived tired and hungry at our Hotel in Belgium, Somehow we found the energy to take a taxi into Oostduinkerke to seek late night restaurants .
Day 2 . In view of the kerfuffle yesterday , an executive decision was made to take a short route to our next stop in Bruges. We set off in bright and breezy weather and within a few hunderd yards of leaving our Hotel we came across the first sign for the LF1 route and the "
Fietsroute" numbering system used to waymark cycle routes in the Netherlands. Our coffee stop was after 16 miles in Oudenburg , then we had a relaxed ride along a canal to reach Bruges by mid afternoon. Dan and Derek were able to Garmin lead us directly to our Hotel where we clocked 31 miles. We spent the late afternoon taking tea and strolling around Bruges , then after some of us had had a kip, we took our hotelier's advice to dine in an excellent restaurant within walking distance
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| Blue Whale rubbish sculpture - Bruges |
Day 3. We knew this would be the longest and most exposed leg of our journey - 59 miles. Again the weather was a mixture of sunshine and cloud but , most significantly the breeze was against us - a constant 9 - 12 mph. We set off early and pushed hard to reach Breskins by mid morning . It was here we were to catch a Ferry from Belgium to Vlissingen in Zealand.
We just had time to enjoy a coffee before the ferry arrived to take us on the 20 minute crossing. On arrival in Vlissingen we made our way to Middleburg for lunch in the "Imagine" cafe. It took some effort to extract ourselves , knowing that ahead of us we had a long breezy ride across exposed Dykes. However we made good progress and reached the De Bajaard Dam and delta project in good time. Once across the three dams and sluices of this delta we took afternoon tea and completed the next 10 miles or so to our hotel at Renesse ( Ellemeet ) . In fact it
took us a minute or so to convince ourselves that the Garmin had brought us to the right building , there being no obvious indication of it's name. It was a popular hotel however ,as demonstrated by the bike shed which was over full. We were glad therefor that we had booked the hotel restaurant before our arrival. Surprisingly when we arrived at the restaurant was not overfull and we found the menu arrangement rather odd - there was a self service buffet arrangement for the starter , but the main had to be ordered from a limited list. Those who'd ordered the starter were well pleased with it -- but then came the main ; or rather it didn't. After a long wait ,Chris decided to "remind " the waiter that we had not been served. After another 15 mins or so , she did so again and the food was then quickly served . It didn't take a gourmet to realise however that the food had been under warming lamps for a very long time. Those who had sweets were equally disappointed in what was offered. At this point Chris expressed very clearly and forcibly her conclusion that some recompense was due, and managed to negotiate drinks and other goodies on the house.
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| Securing the bikes on the Vlissingen Ferry |
Day 4.
The LF1 lead us over 3 more impressive dams and sluice systems of Zealand and south Holland. The going was tough as the headwind had picked up to around 12 mph ,but at least it was bright and sunny.
We had to cycled 17 miles before we were able to find a coffee stop at the Zeemeeuw fish restaurant at Havenhoofd. Although tempted by the fish dishes on offer we made do with the chocolate brownie given with the coffee, then cycled onto Rockanje (24 miles ) for lunch. This was in a cafe in a sheltered ,sunny square and we succumbed to the temptation to linger ,despite knowing we had an infrequent ferry to catch some 12 windy miles further on. This was at Maasvlakte, and plied between the north end of Rotterdam Europort and the Hoek of Holland. Towards the end of that 12 miles the countryside changed from nature reserves to petrochemical industrial , with a long, busy and tiring climb over a flyover. By this time the wind had really picked up and we were glad to reach
the ferry landing - an isolated pontoon with a "bus shelter" to protect customers from the wind - but disappointed to find we'd just missed a ferry and had an hour and a quarter to wait.
The "Fast Ferry" lived up to it's name , whisking us to the Hook in about 20 mins,; plenty of time for Dan to catch up on his beauty sleep after his lunchtime beer. ( Didn't work though ).
From the Hoek , we had another 6 miles to our Hotel at Naarldewijk , giving us a total of 42 miles for the day
Day 5 We started the day shopping around Naaldewijk for a cycling jacket for Rip van Winkle who'd left his on the ferry the day before. As it happened , the rain held off for the whole holiday , but the jacket was seen as a windbreak over the remaining days. Our route now took us directly north along the Dunes of the Dutch coastline , passing major holiday locations. The LF1 takes a slight detour inland at Scheveningen , and it was here we came across a weekly street market. We decided to take our coffee stop here as we'd completed 11 miles . After a further 14 miles or so ,and a slight Garmin hiccup , we came across -and succumbed to -an inviting Cafe in the woods near Noordwijk. We then passed over more undulating dunes and wooded areas and made good progress until 12 miles before our destination, Ray got a puncture . It was however very slow , so the decision was made to pump up the tyre periodically until we reached our hotel in Ijmuilden. That worked OK , but did mean we missed our afternoon tea stop.
It was here in Ijmuilden that we had our best meal. A restaurant attached to the hotel provided an excellent menu and friendly atmosphere .
Day 6 Bob had planned to spend the next two days with his own itinerary , so while the remaining five of us completed our breakfast ,
we waved goodbye to him as he cycled off towards Amsterdam. The very slow puncture in my tyre was then repaired ( a thorn) and we set off for Den Helder.
Today's journey was almost totally over undulating dunes , and again he headwind added to the challenge.
We made a welcome coffee stop at Egmond aan der Hoef , where we saw a peculiar bike/scooter device ,propelled by a running action on a platform.
More dunes and woods lead us to Camperduin ,our lunch stop ( more cheese'n ham toasties) then onto Den Helder (48 miles) and the Weinerhof Hotel where we were to spend two nights.
Day 7 Our last full day of cycling was spent on the isle of Texel.
Along with many weekend trippers to the island we caught an early morning ferry , then set about circumnavigating the island. Being a holiday destination, many of the roads and tracks off from our route lead to beaches and reserves . On route we passed a number of bird reserves and those in the know ( Derek and Dan ) were able to identify many species that are rare in the UK. I identified a starling.
Lunch stop was at De Cocksdorp overlooking another street market.
Our journey from De Cocksdorp was notable , not only by more bird reserves but by the fact we'd turned south and for once the wind was behind us. We practically flew back to the ferry and our Hotel in Den Helder.
Day 8 By joint decision , we caught the train from Den Helder to Rotterdam ( via Amsterdam ) in order to spend some time city seeing. Mary had found some locations to visit - most notable being a really huge and remarkable indoor market. Dan treated us all to Belgium chocolate , then we made a 20 mile cycle ride to the Hook of Holland to catch our night ferry for Harwich. We arrived at the Hook, hoping to board at 6.30 ish ; instead we waited 90 mins whilst they loaded seemily hundreds of lorries first.
Day 9 The Ferry docked in Harwich around 6.30 am. As we couldn't get our bikes on a train before 9.30 ish we decided to cycle to Manningtree and catch the train from there. On route we made a detour to Wrabness to see the house of a famous potter , whose name escapes me , and arrived in Manningtree in time for coffee before our train to Liverpool Street , where we separated for our various journeys home.
A really great holiday , great company and an inspiration to do something next year -- ideas??
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| Dan falls asleep on the Maasvlakte ferry |
The "Fast Ferry" lived up to it's name , whisking us to the Hook in about 20 mins,; plenty of time for Dan to catch up on his beauty sleep after his lunchtime beer. ( Didn't work though ).
From the Hoek , we had another 6 miles to our Hotel at Naarldewijk , giving us a total of 42 miles for the day
Day 5 We started the day shopping around Naaldewijk for a cycling jacket for Rip van Winkle who'd left his on the ferry the day before. As it happened , the rain held off for the whole holiday , but the jacket was seen as a windbreak over the remaining days. Our route now took us directly north along the Dunes of the Dutch coastline , passing major holiday locations. The LF1 takes a slight detour inland at Scheveningen , and it was here we came across a weekly street market. We decided to take our coffee stop here as we'd completed 11 miles . After a further 14 miles or so ,and a slight Garmin hiccup , we came across -and succumbed to -an inviting Cafe in the woods near Noordwijk. We then passed over more undulating dunes and wooded areas and made good progress until 12 miles before our destination, Ray got a puncture . It was however very slow , so the decision was made to pump up the tyre periodically until we reached our hotel in Ijmuilden. That worked OK , but did mean we missed our afternoon tea stop.
It was here in Ijmuilden that we had our best meal. A restaurant attached to the hotel provided an excellent menu and friendly atmosphere .
Day 6 Bob had planned to spend the next two days with his own itinerary , so while the remaining five of us completed our breakfast ,
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| Dan preparing my bike for puncture repair |
Today's journey was almost totally over undulating dunes , and again he headwind added to the challenge.
We made a welcome coffee stop at Egmond aan der Hoef , where we saw a peculiar bike/scooter device ,propelled by a running action on a platform.
More dunes and woods lead us to Camperduin ,our lunch stop ( more cheese'n ham toasties) then onto Den Helder (48 miles) and the Weinerhof Hotel where we were to spend two nights.
Day 7 Our last full day of cycling was spent on the isle of Texel.
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| Awaiting the ferry for Texel |
Lunch stop was at De Cocksdorp overlooking another street market.
Our journey from De Cocksdorp was notable , not only by more bird reserves but by the fact we'd turned south and for once the wind was behind us. We practically flew back to the ferry and our Hotel in Den Helder.
Day 8 By joint decision , we caught the train from Den Helder to Rotterdam ( via Amsterdam ) in order to spend some time city seeing. Mary had found some locations to visit - most notable being a really huge and remarkable indoor market. Dan treated us all to Belgium chocolate , then we made a 20 mile cycle ride to the Hook of Holland to catch our night ferry for Harwich. We arrived at the Hook, hoping to board at 6.30 ish ; instead we waited 90 mins whilst they loaded seemily hundreds of lorries first.
Day 9 The Ferry docked in Harwich around 6.30 am. As we couldn't get our bikes on a train before 9.30 ish we decided to cycle to Manningtree and catch the train from there. On route we made a detour to Wrabness to see the house of a famous potter , whose name escapes me , and arrived in Manningtree in time for coffee before our train to Liverpool Street , where we separated for our various journeys home.
A really great holiday , great company and an inspiration to do something next year -- ideas??
