Holland

Time has ticked by and apart from cycling to school and work the bikes have stayed in the shed so it was definitely time to dust off the pannier bags, oil the chains and set off for a summer adventure on two wheels. So bags loaded we headed to Harwich to catch a night ferry over to the Hook of Holland. Luckily this time we made it without any drama involving bikes and overhead barriers! We parked at the Harwich Premier Inn, where you can leave a donation for Great Ormond Street Hospital and park your car for as long as you need, perfect for cyclists catching the ferry to Holland.

Team Davies!

A smooth crossing and we were on the impressive cycle network leaving the port and headed for Rotterdam with a lovely tail wind.

Storm clouds over Rotterdam but luckily it didn’t come to much! A great city to wander around with an amazing array of architecture and a huge market for lunch supplies.

Out of the city and we were soon on paths of how we imagined the Dutch landscape would be! The Unesco World Heritage of Kinderdijk where 19 historical windmills line the edges of the waterways although busy it is a pleasure to cycle along.

Holland has an incredible system of cycle paths and armed with a Fietser guide we went easily from one number to the next like a giant treasure map it goes across the country. We started off on the EuroVelo 15 Rhine Route but found ourselves branching off onto the Maas Route towards Nijmegen.

The first of many ferries back and forth across the river. This one took us a across to Dordrecht where we headed on to the Biesbosch National Park

Biesbosch National Park, 7100 hectares, Europe’s largest freshwater tidal zone, a mass of wild flowers on either side of the path, home to scores of birds, beavers, deer and voles. (although unfortunately we didn’t spot any of the beavers.)

Perfect camp site by fields of wild ammi…

and evening bird watching.

Biesbosch National Park.

Up early and back on the the trails, the only complaint was sore hands so we promised to look for gloves in the next town. Luckily a Decathlon solved the problem.

Woudrichem. Here there were so many options of routes to take and different points to cross the river. We had just decided which way to go and then were told that might not be the best way as the dykes might be flooded!

So with some local advice we headed across the river and on towards Tiel.

A slightly longer day than we had planned, in the end we covered just over 45 miles.

Plenty of roadside friends to keep everyone happy!

We were amazed by how many homes had animals in their gardens, beautiful kept gardens with a section reserved for a couple of goats or sheep and the occasional cow! Even if the centres of towns, parks had a space for goats, deer, horses and cows.

Cycling along the river was easy going and we even managed to find a few spots to cool off.

Although it can be tricky to cycle when you have been turned into a mermaid!!

Nijmegen. We had reached the border with Germany. Originally we had a vague plan of heading down the Rhine, seeing how far we would get then catching the train back. However we were all enjoying the cycling and decided against the train option so..

..after a lunch stop in the German town of Kleve (the birth place of Anne of Cleves) a cuddle with a friendly cat we headed back into Holland.

Happy to be back on the now familiar Fietsers route and with signs like this at the next campsite we were happy with our new plan.

Hiker biker site just outside of Pannerden.

A misty, dewy start to the day and …

an unexpected sight on the trail!!

Having left the river we decided to head towards the centre of Holland and cycle through the beautiful Hoge Veluwe National Park.

A huge 5500 hectares of unspoilt marshland, heathlands, ancient pine, oak and beech woods with open drift sand dunes.

Hoge Veluwe National Park.

Snack time.

The national park is also the home of the Kröller -Müller Museum which houses Helene Kröller-Müller’s impressive collection of art, including works by Picasso, Renoir, Sisley, Monet and the world’s second largest collection of Van Gogh. Mia was amazed that she was standing in front of the real paintings!

In the grounds of the Museum is an incredible sculpture garden with over 160 pieces including work by Jean Dubuffet, Moore and Rodin.

Jardin d’émail by Jean Dubuffet

Kröller-Müller Scuplture garden.

In places, the garden is beautifully untamed and sculptures hidden amongst the fauna.

Leaving the National park we were back along side the river. This time the IJssel a large distributary of the Rhine which took us through the pretty towns of Deventer, Zwolle and Kampen.

With plenty of chances for Ice creams….

and a few beers.

Deventer.

and plenty of choccomilk we headed towards Amsterdam.

We camped every night trying to find the small campsites for walkers and cyclists. This was a perfect one in the pretty village of Zalk.

After cycling entertainment..

An extra bonus if the camping came with a park….

or even a trampoline. So much energy this was taken after a 50 mile day!

Just over 300 miles we arrived in Amsterdam!

We had a lovely couple of days here, wandering the streets of the Western Canals and Jordaan…

…getting trapped in a water fountain…

..finding the best chips in Holland …

..visting the powerful and moving Anne Frank Museum and the wonderful Rijksmuseum. Surely the only museum to have a cycle lane running through the middle of it!

The Battle of Waterloo Jan Willem Pieneman.

The Rijksmuseum library.

Amsterdam. A super bike friendly city with around 400km of cycle lanes the bike is king, although we were pleased to be able to connect Pippi to the Follow Me Tandem especially during rush hour!

Out of the city and we were soon on the coastal route towards Den Haag. Lovely riding through the sand dunes and we even managed to spot some beautiful wild stags, which was surprising considering how much noise was being made, with singing, laughing and the new horn!

Freedom!

And a chance for a couple of evenings on the beach before heading back to the ferry.

Happy to be by the sea.

The Dutch beaches were far more beautiful than I had expected. Although developed in some places there are huge stretches of coastline and sand, so it’s easy to find a peaceful place especially as you come along the cycle paths.

A quick stop in the pretty town of Delft before cycling back to the Hook of Holland.

These two had cycled just over 450miles. We had no idea how they would far be able to go so had no expectations for the trip, it turned out to be a brilliant adventure!