Bruges-Domburg .gpx route available here
Domburg-The Hague .gpx route available here
The Hague-Hook of Holland .gpx route available here
Harwich-Wivenhoe .gpx route available here
From Bruges, out into the countryside. Was riding along and then caught the ferry and asked myself, “I wonder when I’ll hit the Dutch border?” It turned out that I went through it several hours earlier, just a little gate on a canal path.
So it was over the ferry and the sea barriers (which defend the low countries from the sea) to a place called Domburg (it was just conveniently located). From Domburg, I headed north through more farmland and across a ferry into Maasluis, and stayed at a caravan park on a farm – it wasn’t very friendly.
The next day, left early and thought I’d be clever and deposit bags in bike lockers near the ferry at the Hook of Holland. Turns out there are no bag lockers anywhere there or in nearby train stations, so I carted all my stuff to The Hague. There’s nothing much in The Hague, and it was rather dirty and dull. Poorly sign-posted bike routes (typical of the Netherlands and England) and the International Court of Justice come to mind.
The ferry home was fantastic. ‘Twas nice to finally have my own bed and shower after camping.
Next day was from Harwich in Essex. Breakfast on the ferry. Then you can’t catch a train into London that arrives in London before a certain time, so that rules out the direct service from Harwich International. So to fill in time and wait for the magic hour, I rode 30km to Wivenhoe, a sodden fishing village near Colchester.
