Day 1. The First day

Saturday 31st July

30.7 miles 

Leaving Zocherstraat

after leaving our heavy stuff at Bx and Kim's

James:

Cycled from Amsterdam to Noordwijk 30.7 miles. 

Susie:

Set off exhausted, but it got easier once we got going and the rain that was forecast never arrived. Stopped for tea in Cruquius, ending cycling through summer bulb fields.

lots of flowers

Was Very Wet towards the end. Had steak and chips in a bowling alley.

PS. next door they have a lawn mower!

 The campsite we had planned was very neat and polite. The people next door had a lawnmower.

Camping Dutch style

There was a chinese restaurant/bowling alley/casino 500m away where we got steak.

Our first dinner. Not bad.

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Day 2. Monster!

Sunday 1st August

28.3 Miles

Katwijk an Zee

Seagull Attack!

James:

Cycled from Noordwijk to MONSTER.

Went up and down through the dunes by the sea. Eat Kibbeling in Scheveningen YUM!

Mmmmm Kibbeling

through the dunes

Ice Cream

Susie:
Through the dunes, up and down lots, pretty tiring. Got a bit detoured round Den Haag, as I missed a number sign. Late lunch of kibbling in Scheveningen, then more dunes to Monster. Dinner, in a not very nice town, was amazing.

End of Day 2

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Day 3. Machineland

Monday 2nd August

33 Miles

Monster Campsite

Hook Of Holland

James:
Ouddorp Goeree
Found fast ferry across to 'Machine Land' then across a huge Dam bridge to next island.
Bike fell on top of me and knocked me to the ground!
Had DIY prawn mayo sandwich which was Yum! for lunch and tuna sandwich for dinner yum!

Queue for Ferry

On the Ferry

Fast Cycling

Susie:
Up and short cycle to Hook of Holland. As we turned back inland James spotted a queue of bikes waiting for a ferry, and luckily it turned out to be the ferry for the first island- saving us about 20 miles. It dropped us in an industrial complex with huge pipes, and strangely lots of cyclists.

Pipes on Machineland

Dutch Industry

Cycling Through Machineland

After that more dunes and bridges to the next island. It took a while to find a campsite, which was huge. Stayed in the 'trekkers field'. Everyone is German. Noisy dog in the next tent. Restaurants shut so tuna sandwiches for dinner.

A huge Dam

View from a tower near the Campsite

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Day 4. Zeeland Dams

Tuesday 3rd August

42 Miles

the Trekker's Field

millions of Germans on the beaches

some strange art near Haamstede

Susie:

Ouddorp to Middelburg crossing lots of islands. Pretty windy start- always either in front or to our left, crossing huge causeways and barriers. Had a shock when we stopped for lunch and phoned the bank- someone has taken £2700 from my account!

Pretty towns, Zeeland is lovely. Halfway across a huge causeway went to the loo (in a cafe) and lost my sunglasses. 

the last photo of my Sunglasses

Stopped in Veere to look for a campsite that didn't exist, but James got watermelon from a market before it closed, so it was worth it. 

Town hall in veere

Sheep at the market in Veere

Then to Middleburg to another non existent campsite, this time shut down (but got veg from a farm on the way)

Dinner from the roadside

Finally found a place to camp on a 'mini campsite' on a farm. Very nice site. Cooked the veg with vaacum packed chicken. Weather nice but windy all day- millions of Germans on the beaches.

James:

42 miles from Ouddorp to outside Middleburg on Zeeland island.

Long hot sunny day. Crossed over 4 islands on large dam bridges. Got to sign-posted campsite only to find it CLOSED and infested with Rats!!

the Campsite!

After that we found a 'Mini Camp Site' and ate kip and tomatoes, YUM!

Kip and tomatoes

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Day 5. Sea and Wind

Wednesday 4th August

21 Miles

crossing to the mainland

ferry trip

Susie:

a really windy day. A short cycle to the ferry across to the mainland then a pretty exciting crossing on high seas on a seacat. Huge waves but sunny. 

seacat

seacat

boats for bikes

The last part of the journey was pretty grim, zigzagging against the wind. Lots of effort for not much progress. 

lots of windmills

James:

21 miles in the wind from Middleburg to Sluis. Went into a windmill which was working coz it was so WINDY! 

WINDMILL ACTION!

this was a place that sold giant cartoon animals

our tent's first rain test

Got tent up just before it poured very heavy! Had yummy ribs & chicken for dinner it was Yum!

Made it to the border and camped on the Netherlands side at Sluis. A very pretty walled town. At 9 everywhere was shut for dinner, but they told us about an out- of- the-center place that served late. 

Peacocks and deer in a field by the campsite 

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