Holland 29 Mar - 9 Apr 17

Why not? It's somewhere different and it has to be drier than the Lake District, surely?

A quick trundle down the M20 passing through that awful concrete section between Maidstone and Ashford (which didn't help the suspension squeak (Fiat advise it is the suspension hangar. It's safe but annoying and the replacement part is on backorder)), an empty Eurotunnel Terminal and then straight into Carrefour to collect some wine, especially as they had a special offer on Alsatian Cremant. It is worth noting, however, that to make the best of the offer the wine has to be removed from the boxes otherwise the till will not recognise the deal. Why are French Supermarkets so antiquated? Coming out of Citie Europe we noticed quite a few Camping Cars parked in the aire. This was a no-go area when the illegals were in full flow but appears to be quite safe now, so we stayed. We'd forgotten how noisy it is there.

Citie Europe Aire

Up early the next day and the long drive to Delft in Holland. It was a fairly quiet drive but the roads were full of those bloody lorries and going around Antwerp is a nightmare. We arrived at the campsite, Delftse Hout, just outside the town, pitched up and wandered into Delft, where a market was in full flow.

Stroopwafels!

Builders smoking dodgy stuff outside the pub

On Friday 31st, we had thought about getting a train into Amsterdam, but the train fares in Holland seem to have shot up. Accordingly, we changed our plans and took the tram into Scheveningen, where we strolled along the promenade and pier in bright warm sunshine before stopping at a beach bar for lunch and a beer. On the horizon, the clouds started building and the staff started putting up awnings and umbrellas. We drank up and moved towards the tram stop just as the heavens opened. We took the tram back into The Hague but it was miserable walking around in the rain so we went home. 

The Beach at Scheveningen

Saturday saw us back into The Hague to finish touring around the city, but first we stopped off in the fantastic flea market in Delft where we bought mega stroopwafels, cheese, and a tool for cutting cheese into thin slices. Wandering around the Royal Palace we found an alley that turned out to be blocked by a door, walking back out, the police guarding the palace shouted at us. "Oh, oh" we thought "That's us nicked", but it turns out they were saying we had to press the call bell and they would let us through. Simple!

On Sunday we decided to try going Dutch and taking to the bikes. In Holland, the bike is king, the car is second and pedestrians are just fair game for both. We explored the many cycle tracks around the polders behind Delft. Of course, we got lost and went for miles and miles, but it was brilliant.

Leaving Delft we headed the 70 or so miles cross country towards Arnhem and our campsite, Vakantiepark Arnhem. A huge place with massive pitches scattered across heath and woodland, a pretty dour reception and not a lot else around there. We sort of dumped the van in the middle of the woods, unhitched the bikes and followed the trails across the very pretty heath into Oosterbeek. Unlike Delft and its environs, Arnhem is hilly! We found the Airborne Museum at the old Hartenstein hotel and had a very interesting couple of hours wandering around this brilliant museum. I was quite choked to see 10th Battalion, The Parachute Regiment's colours laid up in the museum.  A very fitting resting place for the colours of my old Battalion. Leaving the museum we cycled up to the Oosterbeek cemetery, as beautiful and well kept as any Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemetery, and paid our respects to the many brave men resting there, including Captain Lionel Queripel VC, from the 10th Battalion. We also met a very interesting Dutch gentleman who told us many stories of his time as a youth in Arnhem during the battle and his subsequent care of "his boys" (who he visits daily) in the cemetery.

10 PARA(V) colours

On Tuesday we mounted up again and headed into Arnhem, visiting the John Frost Bridge and small museum by the bridge. Arnhem is a modern city - quite pleasant to wander around with some lovely gardens on the outskirts. On the way back we stopped for pancakes in the pancake house. They were bloody expensive!

We could have spent more time in Arnhem, despite the campsite being rather limiting. The scenery around the area is stunning and there is quite a lot to do. Another time perhaps, as we had to head back home as our Eurotunnel frequent traveller tickets had expired. We crossed the border into Belgium and - Bam - the notoriously bad Belgian roads hit us. We suffered severe vibration and turbulence for about 20 miles on these appalling roads before finding some smooth tarmac. We were glad to cross the border into France and a vibration free night in the aire at Gravelines.

Gravelines

On Thursday there was time for a bit of shopping, nip back across the channel, and then parking in a small certified site in Bexley, South East London , in preparation for two days of visiting family in London before finally heading home on Sun 9th.

Bexley