Participants Jim, Jackie, Chris, Sue, Marg, Steve, David and Margaret.
Eight of us set off from Hull docks to board the ferry at 5pm ready for the 9pm sailing. The weather was warm with little wind fortunately (not a good sailor!). We arrived in Rotterdam at 7am after a very early breakfast.
Day One
The weather was calm and very still. We set off alongside the Hartkanaal. Crossing over the bridge we marvelled at the cycle track and separate cycle lane to cross the canal. We made our way through the quiet Sunday misty morning to the small town of Hellevetsluis hoping to find a coffee shop open. Everywhere was very quiet with little traffic and only the occasional dog walker or jogger around. Even though we rode through the town centre nothing was open and all was very calm and peaceful. So we had a snack and then made our way East along wonderful cycle ways, the routes are well signposted using a numbered system to guide you along, though we missed some of the turnings all worked out well and it was easy to pick up the route again. We skirted Niew-Bejierland and Oud-Berjierland riding through fields full of dikes and cattle. We crossed over the Spui on a ferry called “The Queen Jacqueline” which caused much amusement. As lunch time approached, we were getting concerned over the lack of cafes and all starting to feel hungry when near the town of Westmaas, we saw a sign for restaurant we thought it might be expensive, but it turned out to be a lovely family restaurant in beautiful gardens, we were made very welcome, their homemade soup and roll was delicious. Feeling refreshed we set off, now Holland seemed to have woken up and there was more traffic and people around, though the cycle lanes felt safe, at one point we were about to turn off the main road when we heard a motor bike behind us we waited while it passed, it was followed by at least 100 bikes I have never seen so may bikers on the move together. Once peace was restored, we carried on our way to our hotel in the outskirts of Dordrecht. The hotel was very new and modern with very comfortable rooms. The plan was to get changed and catch the bus into the old town however by the time we reached the hotel there was not enough time so we settled for eating in the hotel where we had a great meal. Distance cycled 43.5 miles.
Day Two
We retraced our route but this time we called in at Puttershoek, where we had a morning snack at the windmill. On way we came across a memorial for a young Australian RAF Spitfire pilot that was shot down, this was witnessed by a young Dutch boy who now aged 77 had got the road named after him. Then on to Oud-Berjierland what a delight, it has a charming outer harbour which we explored, looking for a café, what a surprise we had when we cycled up to the old part of town we found a lovely restaurant with outside seating overlooking the canal and main old town shopping area. We had a leisurely lunch. Then carried along the bank of the Spui. We had hoped to cross by ferry but this was not running so had to carry on along the south side, back to the “Queen Jacqueline”. This time though we cycled north through the pleasant town of Spijkenisse. Then to a long thin spit of land in the Hartelkanaal into a fierce head wind, this took us to the bridge over the Hartelkanaal back to the docks. Distance cycled 39.7 miles
Thanks to Jim for organising the trip and to Jim and Chris for safely navigating our way.. We all had a great time. Holland is great for cyclists lots of cycle routes polite car drivers, while the scenery is not quite the Dales, but interestingly different. The main problem was a sore backside from sitting in one position due to the lack of hill!!! A very enjoyable few days.
Photos taken by Margaret, Steve and Chris.