Sunday 23rd ride to the Maas river

The weather forecast for today is definitely mixed with rain and even some thunder and lightening predicted. However, it takes more than that to deter the determined cyclists and we set off shortly after 09:00 determined to reach a well known village called Megen on the river Maas. The weather was lovely as we set off northwards towards Megen and the cycling was easy through pleasant farming country. The Dutch have an excellent system of cycling routes and there are so many that they frequently cross one another.  One route may follow consecutive markets say from 20 to 21 etc. However, a chosen route may involve going from 21 to 47 to 18. This may sound confusing but in reality the routes are incredibly well marked and when you arrive at 21 the way to 47 or indeed 22 is made quite clear. I do hope you kept up with that explanation!

After about 7 miles we arrived at Megen and very lovely it was too. In contrast to Ravenstein there were no modern housing estates on the outskirts and we were straight into the old village. We cycled around past churches, cloisters and along the Maasdijk before the LLW decreed it was time for coffee and apple tart!

The Maas river is quite extraordinary here, wide but also with lots of offshoots and lakes. A lone sailor was doing a very good job of navigating this tricky river.

We decided to take a fairly direct route back to our hotel (Brasserie Den Handwijzer) as the weather looked to be changing. With about 3 miles to go it started raining heavily and by the time we reached the hotel, we were very wet but satisfied with a 17 mile ride which was very interesting and easy.

The Maashorst area is another paradise for LLW cycling!

After a short rest and the LLW doing some legal work we drove a short distance up the road to the venue for the final event of the weekend, a family and friends BBQ. Fascinating to experience the meeting of Greek Cypriot and Dutch cultures with a few Brits included. A great time was had by all and in spite of the inclement weather the BBQ was a big success and in true greek style the food kept coming and coming.

Saturday 22nd on to Herpen

Another lovely  morning in Damme and we were down for breakfast at 08:30 prompt! Car packed and bikes loaded on the back we were under way by 09:30 for the 3 hour journey to Herpen.

We took an A road to Antwerp and then joined motorways to Oss. Traffic was fairly light except around Antwerp and we arrived at our hotel in good time.

The party to celebrate Tiki & Nolly's 50th wedding anniversary starts at 17:00 so plenty of time for a cycle ride through the park and a visit to Ravenstein one of the older villages in the area. The centre of  Ravenstein was tricky to find as the old town is now surrounded by housing estates but was lovely once we did get there.

Back then towards our hotel but not before the LLW had insisted upon a very large ice cream at Pan & Zo which and is where the party is later. Lovely sunny weather and 25C!

Friday Cycling to Sluis and Brugge

It dawned a beautiful morning at Ter Polders and the view from our bedroom window was of pastoral calm in brilliant sunshine.

Breakfast was excellent and we were soon on our way north cycling via Oostkerke towards the town of Sluis which is just over the border in the Netherlands. Really lovely countryside and serene canals all the way to Sluis.

We have never been here before and it was simply a target town a reasonable distance away. What a revelation. Sluis is delightful and very busy and buzzy on market day.

We spent about a hour there before heading back via a slightly different route to Ter Polders. The LLW was very pleased with her 17 mile ride.

Now there was legal work to be undertaken so Ray was summarily despached to cycle to Brugge whilst said legal documents were completed. The planned meet up arrangement was that the LLW would meet Ray near the boat terminal for the Brugge to Damme paddle steamer. However, inspired by the Tour de France riders Ray completed the ride in record time and a quick text to the LLW informed her that he would be back at Ter Polders in 20 minutes.

A quick shower and then we were on our way into Brugge for a walk around. We have visited Brugge many times and it is as lovely  as ever but at this time of year it is heaving with tourists.

About an hour and a half was enough and then back to our hotel for dinner which featured very large entrecôte steaks.

A busy and energetic day but very enjoyable.

Thursday 20th July. Eurotunnel and Brugge

The alarm woke us at 05:45 and we were quickly up and on our way to Folkestone to catch Le Shuttle. We are visiting Herpen in the Netherlands via Brugge. Herpen is between S'Hertegenbosch and Nijmegen and we are attending the 50th Wedding Anniversary of our friends Tiki and Nolly who we met whilst living in Greece in 1980. Tiki is Greek Cypriot and Nolly is Dutch; they met whilst Tiki was doing some training in the Netherlands.

The first part of the journey was wet but relatively quiet and we arrived in Folkestone in time to have a quick coffee and pain chocolat before boarding the shuttle before the one we were booked on.

On the other side on the channel we had sporadic rain on the journey to Damme just north of Brugge where we are staying for two nights before heading off to Herpen

The area around Damme is cycling heaven particularly for the LLW who has a serious aversion to hills. Once checked in and unloaded we were quickly on our bikes and enjoying riding around the local canals and countryside. It really is very lovely here and I have never seen so many people of all ages on bikes before!

It rained quite the heavily for a short time and we became very wet. However the LLW was quickly pacified with warm apple tart with cream and ice cream at a local hostelerie.

Back to our hotel Ter Polders for a short rest before dinner which featured a huge warm Fruits de Mers with linguine. Excellent!

After our early start we were ready for an early night.