The Netherlands; 2001
Gallery
Chunnel First
My cousin David and his family (who live in Cologne) were taking a break at his their holiday home on Holland's North Sea coast and asked if I would like to meet up with them. The actual location was the Dutch North Sea island of Schouwen-Duiveland near a town called Nieuw Haamstede. Seemed like a good idea so off I went on my trusty Honda CB1000FS, aka "The Big One". I loaded up The Big One with a fully expanded Oxford tank bag and a tail bag. I could just about see the dials over the top of the tank bag and I could just about get my leg over the tail bag to get on the bike!
It was my first time on the Chunnel and I thought it worked well. I rode up to Folkestone from Dorset and rode straight into the terminal and carriage. The bike's front wheel was clamped and about 30 minutes later I was riding out of the carriage having arrived at Calais. From Calais I took the coast road up through Belgium which was a mistake as it was slow and none too scenic. When I got to Holland I took a ferry to get to the island of Zuid-Beveland which was a bit tricky as the road alongside the toll booth was covered in very slippery green seaweed. After the ferry I followed the N57 which involved riding on the the scenic dyke that connects the islands of Noord-Beveland and Schouwen-Duiveland.
The islands have some nice sandy beaches although it was the weather for walking rather than sun bathing. The little harbours with their fishing boats and eateries are also nice to visit. After a pleasant few days with my cousin and his faimly it was time to return home. The homeward trip was fairly uneventful apart from the storm that hit whislt I was on the M3. There was so much water and spray that at one point I seriously considered stopping over for the night at Winchester services. But I was close to home and thankfully the storm abated when I got to the other side of Winchester. A nice little trip and a chance to try out the Chunnel.