Tuesday 24th April

Definitely cooler and dull today but we certainly can't complain after so much wonderful weather. The rugby team were being troublesome so the LLW had a lot to do to keep them in their boxes and Ray was sent off to cycle into Brugge.

There was a considerable SW wind and heading in that direction was difficult but by avoiding the canals and cycling through the countryside there was some shelter from the worst. Brugge is as lovely as ever but does get very busy now with visitors from all over the world. 23.5 miles were covered and after a light lunch with the LLW in Damme we both cycled 5.5 miles around the canals close to our hotel.

In the evening we drove into Brugge and after wandering around the city enjoyed an excellent Thai meal at a fairly new restaurant called Thai Zen

One of our readers has mentioned that the blog stopped rather abruptly and that is quite right! So I have returned to provide a fitting epilogue to what was one of our best holidays for a while. 

We have thoroughly enjoyed every day of the visit to the Netherlands and Belgium; the weather has been well nigh perfect, the cycling brilliant and the flowers magnificent. 

We left our hotel early on the Wednesday morning and had an easy drive to Calais where we were waived through to board an earlier shuttle than the one booked. 

I will leave you with a few more photos of a great holiday and the LLW is already talking about an annual pilgrimage to the bulb fields. Bye for now!

Monday 23rd April

Yet another beautiful sunny morning and we had a fairly early breakfast before heading south to Brugge via the very impressive Terneuzen tunnel (our only toll so far and the lady in the toll booth was so charming that we didn't mind paying it!). Our stay in Middleburg was delightful and we stayed at what appeared to be a newly refurbished hotel in one of the very large and impressive houses that surround Middleburg. 

The Rijksmonument Hotel de Sprenck is definitely to be recommended and at only €79 a bargain. The view from the front of the hotel this morning was delightful.

Once through the tunnel, we sped on our way to Damme, with hardly any discord between the two lady navigators. We are staying for two nights at a lovely small hotel, Ter Polders, which is about 1Km north of Damme and situated right by the canal. At this time of year the hotel is just opening up and the restaurant is closed, but the lady in charge was there to meet us replete with numerous cycling maps of the area. The LLW looked rather concerned when she was extolling the virtues of the castle loop which involves a mere 41Km plus the 10Km to get into Brugge!

However, Ray had already planned the ride into Sluis just over the border into the Netherlands and off we went along the canal. It was very bright and sunny but distinctly cooler and with an increasing strong wind. The LLW resorted to physics to explain that if she reduced her cycling speed to 5mph from 10mph into a 20mph wind then that reduced the relative wind by 5mph from 30mph to 25mph. I can't argue with that logic.

We stayed at Ter Polders last year when we were on our way to Tiki & Nolli's 50th Wedding anniversary celebration; we cycled to Sluis then and were very impressed by the small town. It has not changed, except it was much busier this time, and we enjoyed a pleasant light lunch in the centre of the town.

Coming back, the LLW agreed to a slightly longer route through some very pretty farmland even though she was aware that the final section along a canal was very definitely straight into the wind! All was negotiated successfully and we retuned to Ter Polder (see photos below) for a well earned rest.

Now you may well ask why is your esteemed blogger showing the readers photos of a signpost? Well I have decided that now is the time to explain the excellent system used for cycle tracks in the Netherlands and also in this part of Belgium.  The basis of the system is using numbers to identify where one is on the track so the sign below tells us we are at point 47. If I cycle straight on I will reach point 74 and if I turn left I will reach point 44. Initially the LLW was not impressed since the numbers are never sequential. However, once used to the system it is great. You look at the map and decide upon the route and then jot down the numbers of the junction points and follow the sequence - simple.

The junctions are well marked and many have sign posts showing the distance to the next main point of interest. The Dutch and the Belgians are obsessed with cycling and there are excellent tracks everywhere. Apparently the Dutch all own at least two bicycles.

Time for a short rest and then a trip into Damme for dinner. Being Monday evening we did not expect many restaurants to be open but there were enough and we enjoyed asparagus followed by a very large Cote de Boeuf!

Tomorrow the weather is forecast to change and apparently it will be dull, cool and breezy.

Sunday 22nd April

Another lovely day although we were warned of the possibility of some rain later in the day. We set off fairly early and were sad to leave Noordwijk where we had thoroughly enjoyed three days.

The busy section round Den Haag and Rotterdam was successfully negotiated and we were soon off the motorways and entering Zeeland for the first time. What a revelation! Wildfowl were everywhere as we drove along between dikes, meres and inlets of the north sea.  After the promised (very heavy) rain cloud had passed out came the sun again and temperatures soared. We stopped in a delightful town of Zieriksee for a coffee and it was just lovely

We drove on over the most incredible bridges/dams to arrive at our overnight destination of Middleburg.  As anticipated, our room was not ready so again the bikes were unleashed and we cycled along the canal to Vlissingen which was great.

On our way back we cycled through the centre of Middleburg and wow what a lovely town! In many way it is a mini Bruges with some glorious squares and regal buildings

Back to our hotel and we checked in to a very nice room with all mod cons. After catching up with some emails etc we walked into town for dinner which was partaken at de Huifkar in the beautiful Markt square with a warm sun slowly setting over the magnificent buildings - perfect!

Saturday 21st April

Today was the day to visit Keukenhof garden and had required elaborate planning. Even the garden's web site had warned people off visiting today because many of the roads around the garden would be closed to accommodate the annual flower parade from lunchtime.

Not to be deterred we set off at 07:30 to be there for the garden opening at 08:00 and this was an inspired move. Not only did we arrive before 08:00 but we were in the garden by then and for the first 90 minutes or so it was relatively quiet.

As you can see from the photos the garden was stunning and the LLW was in her element. We spent just over three hours there and walked the whole garden but by the time we were ready to leave it was absolutely heaving with visitors.

We were concerned about exiting the car park, which by now was overflowing, but Dutch organisation meant that a very efficient one way system allowed us out in no time.

Our plan was to head east through Lisse and thereby avoid all of the roads closed for the parade. This proved successful and whilst the traffic in the other direction was horrendous, we made steady progress to our destination of Buitenkaag where we planned a cycle ride along canals and meres. This was lovely and whilst we were slightly disappointed that the greatly anticipated Fietspont (bicycle ferry) was not in operation until May, we had a great ride although the LLW did complain that the 15 miles we had covered was longer than she had expected.

Friday 20th April

Sunny and hot again today but the LLW had to pay her other men some attention (not sure how many there are of them but it seems to be at least as many as in a Rugby Union team!) so Ray was unceremoniously sent off to cycle to Leiden with orders not to return until lunchtime!

This was a lovely ride and shortly after I left Noordwijk, I saw a stork in the field to my right but unfortunately it saw me at the same time so by the time I had found the camera, it had flown off and sadly my photo only shows the storks nest plus another stork flying into the middle distance!

Leiden was soon reached and I pottered around the old town stopping briefly for a coffee in the main square. Very lovely and relatively quiet.

Coming back I had decided  to cycle due west to Katwijk aan Zee and then cycle north along the dunes route to Noordwijk. the section through the dunes was fantastic and as you can see was very busy!

After around 19.5 miles I arrived back at our hotel and persuaded the LLW that she must forget her other men for a while and come with me to see the dunes. We cycled via an inland route to Katwijk which was lovely and there were plenty of bulb fields for the LLW to enjoy.

However there were a few complaints that some of the dunes were too high resulting in rather too many ups and downs for the LLW's liking. After just over 9 miles we were back at our hotel and after a short rest we walked across the road to lets Anders, our venue for dinner. It was excellent and the LLW that the slowed cooked belly of pork in her duo of pork was the best ever. Ray also declared his steak the best for some time so all in all a very enjoyable meal.

Thursday 19th April

The ship docked at 08:00 and we were soon on our way to Noordwijk aan Zee which is only around 33 miles but the route passes through Den Haag and a number of other heavily populated areas. The traffic was not light but we made slow but steady progress and soon had arrived at our hotel in Noordwijk. We quickly realised that the flower season is now a huge tourist attraction and Noordwijk was packed. Being a very popular summer seaside resort it has lots of hotels whilst the smaller towns closer to the bulb fields have very few.  This must have become a major money earner for Noordwijk.

We parked the car in the hotel garage and set off on our first cycle ride. The LLW had a very early complaint as we cycled along a beautiful track through the Dunes. Apparently she had been promised tulip fields and none were visible for the first 30 minutes or so. An International incident was avoided shortly after we turned inland and encountered numerous of said bulb fields and luckily they were everywhere during the net few days.

The ride took us to The Keukenhof garden, the outskirts of Lisse and through some lovely typically dutch countryside back to Noordwijk. 18 miles in total and the LLW was very pleased with herself.

Now I know that many of our readers have expressed concern about the LLW getting her quota of Dutch Apple Pies (with cream) but I can assure you that she is made of stern stuff and has a built in SatNav which can locate said apple pies within a 10 mile radius. A disused railway station a mile from Keukenhof has been converted into a cafe and had a plentiful supply of this Dutch delicacy. The LLW was very happy; phew!

From the flower perspective, we have come at just the right time. Lots of daffodils still out, tulips opening up almost as we watched and the added bonus of fabulous hyacinths. The perfume was quite amazing and along with the views never to be forgotten. Cycling is a brilliant way to see the bulb fields and we were not alone in recognising that.

It had been a very hot day, around 26C and our only concern was sunburn and the lack of shade. However all was fine and we avoided too much exposure and after a rest at the hotel we had an excellent Indian meal at Sunand Anglo-Indian Restaurant, one of the very local restaurants. The best Indian meal for some time!

At the restaurant we had a table by the window and were entertained by the comings and goings at a shop opposite. Whilst at the restaurant dozens of ladies arrived at the shop, all on bicycles, and seemed to be having a whale of a time inside. As we left we discovered that there was a fashion show taking place which was clearly very popular with the locals.