8 km (300m elevation) Afternoon leg loosener & sea swim
Day 1: Asprokavos – Santa Barbara
24 km (350m) Coming to terms with the ‘peculiarities’ of the CT…and the heat!
Day 2: Santa Barbara – Paramonas
20 km (200m) Beach bars & bushwacking
Day 3: Paramonas – Benitses
18 km (700m) A tale of two Greeks – Spiros & Christos – but Niks’ last day of walking, limpinginto Benitses
Day 4: Coyevinas – Pelekas
17 km (650m) Short early morning transfer ‘up the hill’ to Coyevinas and then ‘up another hill’ to summit Agi Deka
Day 5: Pelekas – Liapades
22 km (800m) Lost in the Ropa Valley
Day 6: Liapades – Agios Georgios
13 km (600m) Steep start but amazing views over Paleokastritsa from the Lakones road and Angelokastro Castle
Day 7: Spartilas – Agios Spyridon
24 km (700m) Lost again on the Karst Plateau but Mt Pantokrator was breathtaking (literally!) with long descent to beach finish
Day 8: Kalami – Kassiopi
11 km (350m) ‘Optional’ headland walk as not officially part of the CT
TOTAL
157 km (4,650m elevation)
Official CT figures – my stats, taking into account wrong turns, deviations, and accommodation ‘extras’, was closer to 170km!
Walking kit – what worked…and what didn’t!
Walking boots, shoes, or trainers?
Hmmm, well the “combination of rural roads, ancient pathways, tracks, and footpaths.” were a lot more rugged than they sounded. A lot.
There weren’t many pathways that we would consider walking pathways in the UK (e.g. the Ridgeway, near where we live), with the surface generally pretty poor – very uneven with lots of embedded rocks and roots…not to mention the ubiquitous olive groves!
Hence it was very easy to turn an ankle or to sprain a leg…as Nickey did on Day 4 into Benitses and was unable to walk for the rest of the holiday. (I did tell her she needed walking shoes…)
Walking poles?
No – we weren’t really bothered by dogs (they tended to go ballistic from the behind the safety of their locked gates) and we only saw one (dead) snake.
However, walking poles would have been useful, particularly on the very uneven, very steep downward sections…of which there were many.
Bug spray?
Didn’t bother me whilst walking, despite dire warnings.
The usual assortment of bugs in the evening, but they preferred Nickey anyway, so I got off almost scot-free!
Water?
We took a LifeStraw bottle each (which filtered the water), but didn’t see anywhere to fill up (tap-wise, drinking fountain) along the way.
However, bottled water was cheap and ubiquitous, so we bought some whenever we stopped. It was only the last day (Mt Pantokrator) when I started to run short, but even then, I could have detoured to replenish…I was just fixated on finishing.
Meeting up with Tony & Lou at dinner – two fellow Corfu Trail ‘CT’ walkers.
Lowlights
Arriving hot & tired at our accommodation and finding a deserted Perfect Ten
“Somewhere between Calabria and Corfu, the blue really begins.“
Lawrence Durrell – Prospero’s Cell
And so, the blue begins…
Cape Asprokavos is at the southernmost tip of Corfu – from here, you look due south across the Ionian Sea to the small island of Paxi and its even smaller sister island, Antipaxi. Apparently both are favourites of the yachting fraternity, making them amongst the most expensive places of the Ionian islands to visit. Maybe give that one a miss then?!
Our route today was billed as one of the longest but flattest days…and as it turned out, one of the hottest.
Niks modelling the wet head towel option
Chef strop in Lefkimmi
“I’m sorry, we’re not open for lunch yet.” “Oh, it’s 12.30 now – what time does lunch start? “ “When the chef gets here.” “What time is that? “ “Whenever he feels like it – we’re off-season now.”
Quick! Don’t let the chef see!
As it was, the waitress kindly prepared us some pitta & tzaziki (since this apparently wouldn’t upset the chef too much!) and we ended up having a very pleasant stop by the Potami River.
“Perfect 10? I’d barely give it 1!“
When we’d originally booked the Corfu Trail ‘CT’, back in a cold and wet English February, we’d envisaged stopping in pretty little Greek villages, surrounded by locals, enjoying authentic Greek food, wine, and culture.
OK, so last night’s hotel (just outside Kavos) was a bit of a ‘package’ job, but that was just the starting point, right?
“Judging by the washing hanging up on the line, we’re sleeping next to a prostitute’s knocking shop…this is NOT what I signed up for!”
The route directions told us to “leave the beach through Sirens’ Beach Bar to reach your accommodation”, so having passed through a cool cocktail beach bar, we’d convinced ourselves that there would be some dreamy secluded villas attached to the rear of it. Nope.
Turns out that we had to walk about 300m further up the road, almost out of town, to a nondescript abandoned restaurant, where there was a note on the door: “I’m not in. Call me. Dimitri”.
Sure enough, around the back, down some stairs and across a scrubby courtyard with random bits of washing, was a set of prison-like outbuildings…and there were our rucksacks, standing in plain sight outside one of the cell block doors. Yup, this was most definitely and most unfortunately the place.
“Today makes me feel like I want my own bed…I’m so not happy!”
Nope – not staying here……nor drinking here!
What we learned today
The Corfu Trail is not a trail in the conventional A-B sense; i.e. it d*cks around rather a lot (pardon the French!)
Iced tea is bloody lovely! I’d forgotten how refreshing it was and tried some in Lefkimmi on a whim – I’m now a convert!
Nudist beaches seem to be a ‘thing’ in Greece…although some of the ‘things’ on show are best left to the imagination.
The day in stats
"On this walk, you cross the southern part of the island to the east and back to the western coast. From Asprokavos you follow a track around a pretty lake where you might see birds and turtles. Afterwards, you descent through olive groves and fields to Lefkimmi. Your path takes you through the various neighbourhoods and historic city centre of the town. Leaving Lefkimmi, the Trail descends into the green valley of the Gardeno River. The last part of the day's walk, leads you up again, with wonderful views before descending to the beach and Santa Barbara."
- Walking the Corfu Trail Guide
The day in pictures
…and they’re off!First Corfu Trail ‘CT’ signFirst lake (!)Olive trees (lots of these!)Gotta take any chance!Locals in LefkimmiHot & hilly……but coping!Descending to the nudistsSunset at Santa Barbara
“You’re very lucky – yesterday all the airport staff were going to go on strike and today is one of our busiest days…they would have had to cancel all the flights into Corfu!”
Alex – Walks Worldwide guide
The good, the bad, and the ugly
Combined with torrential rain the night before in the UK which had caused widespread flooding, disruption, and more flight cancellations (!), we started our walking holiday feeling rather blessed. For a change.
It was a 1h15m journey to our hotel, passing through the good (Ionian sea coves) the bad (crumbling, abandoned construction projects) and the ugly (Kavos – full of places with names like Wembley Bar…you get the picture!)
Oh, but hang on – weren’t we were staying in Kavos for our first night…perhaps our run of good luck had changed already?!
Phew – nope, it still held. Mediterranean Blue was run by a couple of lovely English/Greek Cypriot sisters (Penny and Andi), with a nice central pool area and, what’s more, Thursday nights happened to be Cocktail Night! Bit of a shame we were missing out on Greek Night (every Friday) with “plate smashing and authentic Greek dancing”, but hey ho.
1st beers!
Margo’s Monastery walk
Cape Asprokavos – the southernmost tip of Corfu
At the mention of ‘monastery’, we had half-expected to see pale English girls sunbathing on the rocks beseiged by hopping mad Greek priests (if you haven’t watched The Durrells, this will mean nothing to you!), but since the crumbling monastery in question (Arkoudila) was: i) abandoned, and; ii) perched on the edge of a 100-metre cliff, this seemed rather unlikely.
However, the next beach along – Arkoudilas – offered plenty of scope for sunbathing, but alas, no Greek priests. Good job – can’t imagine those black robes being very ‘floaty’.
Clear as a bellAn English nymphRobinson Crusoe vibes
What we learned today
• May is the busiest month for walking the Corfu Trail ‘when the spring colours are the brightest’; September on the other hand offers ‘the most mosquitos and bugs’…ah, I see!
• Corfu tap water is technically drinkable but has a metallic taste owing to the high mineral content; i.e. per Alex, our driver, “Basically, it tastes like sh*t!”
The day in stats
The shortest route of the Corfu Trail leads to the southermost tip of Corfu, where you find the ruins of a monastery. You continue through forest to reach the calm, long, sandy beach of Arkoudilas. You continue your way up to the village of Spartera and return by road to the village of Asprokavos and your accomodation.
- Walking the Corfu Trail Guide
“A pastel de nata is a Portuguese custard tart made with puff pastry and filled with egg custard that is served with a dusting of powdered sugar and a pinch of cinnamon. The tarts are baked at a blazingly hot temperature until the tops are scorched.”
The pastel de nata was apparently invented over 300 years ago by monks who used to reserve the egg whites to launder clothes. Hence a surplus of yolks, which they combined with sugar to invent this ‘custardy’ treat.
These days, you can’t avoid them; they]re on display in almost every coffee shop window. Resistance is futile!
Manteigaria – Fabrica de Pasteis de Nata (right next to the Bolho)
Porto Tonico
In a bid to lure younger drinkers to port, the porto tonico is widely marketed and available everywhere.
It’s a simple cocktail – 2 parts tonic to 1 part white port, garnished with mint & orange. Oh, and served cold…like all good white port should be.
Vinho verde (Green wine)
Its literal translation doesn’t do it any favours – its really a young wine (released 3-6 months after harvesting) with a little bit of fizziness (artificially added these days) from the Minho region in the far north-west of Portugal.
That’s the teccy stuff – put simply, on a hot day, there really isn’t any better wine suited to a plate of freshly grilled fish. No, not even one of Chris’s wooded whites….
See, they even keep it nice and cold for you!
Francesinha
Whereas Lisboetas claim pastéis de nata as their own, Tripeiros (residents of Porto are known as ‘tripe eaters’!) are proud to claim ownership of the francesinha.
Fortunately, there is no tripe present, but the mixture of toasted bread, beef / pork, sausages, ham, and a bucketload of cheese when all squished together in a sandwich can look a bit offal (sorry!)
Still, it’s a great soaker up of alcohol, as Adam and I discovered in the early hours of Sunday morning after walking miles back from the Jazz Club!
White Port
Last but by no means least…port, the drink synonymous with Porto.
But if you’re put off by traditional, sweeter ports usually served at Christmas with cheese…instead try white port as an aperitif on its own, served ice cold, or with olives and dips.
We saw A Kind of Queen – not a drag act but a Queen Tribute Act. Freddie and Sir Brian would have been proud, although the elderly bass player in bright turquoise trousers didn’t quite hit the same high standards. Sartorial or playing.
As a ‘surprise’, Nik had booked great seats online the week beforehand…in fact, so great that we were in a special front row, practically on stage with the band! This made it even more embarrassing when we had to be escorted to our seats during a break in set, having arrived half an hour late – it turned out to be a much further walk from central Porto than Nik had anticipated!
Freddie, Sir Brian…and some geezer in gharish trousers
Bike Rental
Biclas & Ticlas are centrally located down by the Douro. We hired the basic bikes as we were only pootling up the coast to Matosinhos – had there been any hilly Porto stuff to contend with this, these would not be the bikes you’re looking for!
It’s about 11km to Matosinhos Sul – a lovely ride along the coast, a combination of cycleways, roads, and tram tracks…you just have to be vigilant for the little one carriage Porto tram which plys its trade here.
Oh, and plenty of places to stop and hydrate. The more restaurant-driven beach bars don’t tend to open until 12.30, but there were plenty of cafe-type ones for coffees…or beer, given that it was now after midday (as if that was ever an excuse?)
The one good thing about running is you get to locate good coffee shops AND you’re allowed to refuel afterwards.
Running Tours
OK, not strictly an ‘event’, but what better way to see Porto?
Admittedly, Porto isn’t exactly the easiest city to run around, at least not in the old, hilly part, but there is plenty of flat running down by the Douro, or if you stick to the higher ground….or just suck it up and go for some hill training!
This is billed as ‘the biggest academic party in the country’ and runs from the first Sunday in May (in this case 7-13th May 2023).
It’s quite bizarre – all the Porto university students, dressed in their black capes (said to have been one of the inspirations for Harry Potter when J K Rowling taught English here, many years ago) and clutching their leather folders, out drinking and partying all night…nay all week!
Each day has a different tradition / dressing-up…etc, and it’s very noisy and colourful. Great fun to wander around and absorb the energy.
Queima das Fitas translates as ‘Ribbon burning’ and celebrates the end of the academic year and the start of the study period before exams…so basically a huge blow-out before revision starts!
Each faculty has its own coloured ribbon (Medical, Engineering, Sciences…etc) and students get to burn that ribbon to signify the end of that year of study.
Chosen more for its convenience (across the road from the Fado venue) and the nice little terrace outside, than for what was inside….but inside proved to be very nice indeed as it turned out.
Pluses were that had traditional Portuguese cuisine and local craft beer (although we didn’t get round to tasting the latter). Still, my meat was very good as was Nik’s risotto – a recommended place for dinner.
Wow, what a view! Bit of a hike up the hill if you’re on foot and not a walker, but well worth it.
We managed to snag a table for lunch on the covered terrace (with a view) rather than inside in the (still very cool) restaurant.
They were initially reluctant to serve us outside on the other (uncovered) sun terrace, but we had lunch inside and then drinks outside afterwards….quite a few drinks as it turned out. Perfick!
You have to book! At least you do on a Saturday night, as we saw loads of walk-ins turned away in this atmospheric little place down by the river.
As the name would suggest, you are surrounded by wine boxes, so if you’re a wine lover, this is a great place to visit, with knowledgeable staff on hand to guide you through pairings. Oh, and the food was pretty good as well!
Chris (as usual) confused the issue by insisting on a wooded white wine which isn’t really the local forte, hence the only other word (apart from obrigado) that he now knows in Portuguese is madeira (wood). An interesting combination.
Adam testing out the ‘Order’ button for more beer!
Praia da Luz (just outside Porto, on the coast)
There are plenty of beach bars between Porto and Matosinhos, some cool-looking (but closed), some functional (but open)…but this was the best one we found which combined the two.
It was packed mid-afternoon on Saturday…but then again, it was pretty full before lunchtime on Sunday when we went back again, so you may have to take your chances.
Still, it’s worth it for the laid back vibes, cold beer and sea views (note: they do food and cocktails here as well if you’re a bit posher!)
There are loads of fish restaurants on the Rua Heróis de França, which is the main ‘fish’ street adjacent to the port. In fact, you’d struggle to find a non-fish restaurant here.
More by luck than judgement, we found Dom Peixe towards the far northern end, only because it had a terrace table free.
Adam’s turbot – the most expensive fish out there!We settled for sea bass – far better valueSardines for starters
Most fish on the menu appears with a €/kg…and a blank next to it. So, be careful here as the turbot which Adam casually picked out (from the bed of ice inside) was €50/kg and probably weighed 3.0-3.5kg…so in excess of €150!
All freshly grilled….…and washed down with fresh vinho verde
Re wines, don’t be snobbish like Chris! The vinho verde goes perfectly with fish and is cheap at €9 a bottle. It is usually a blend of several white grapes (typically Alvarinho, Loureiro, Arinto and/or Trajadura) and is low in alcohol (9%) which means you can drink even more of it in the sunshine. Result!
As we didn’t have to leave quite so early for once (9am roll call), I managed to get up and have a good walk along the beach, taking in the slightly moody panorama. Back in the 1960s & 70s, Ostend became a centre for low-budget horror movies…you can kind of see why…
Thermae Palace from the sea (I did get a little bit wet!)Ab Fab eh?
What better to lift the mood though, than a traditional Belgian waffle breakfast…in a rather cool waffle venue in the middle of Ostend.
You don’t waffle when you’re eating your waffleToilet sign
WC’s sculpture tour
Any resemblance is purely coincidental….
Like his other DFD (Day 4: Amsterdam), WC was very excited and had plenty of Points of Interest planned along his route. Unfortunately, his seaside sculpture tour consisted of very Belgian-specific cartoon characters which we’d never heard of (apart from Tintin) and which were actually a bit creepy. Oh, and it had started to rain again, nobody really wanted to hang around much, so after the first couple, we just peddled on by….sorry WC!
That being said, there were quite a few other cool (non-cartoon) sculptures lining the promenade, a Vespa Club on tour, and an outdoor market / show for pets & pet’s accessories….all slightly random.
Rosie’s ‘Young Ones’ impressionIt’s an audiologist’s joke…just humour her!
Anyway, it went from being drizzly to absolutely pouring down after the Vespa cafe, so it was just a case of head-down and suck-it-up along long canal-side roads. Well, best not suck-it-up too much and keep your mouth closed when you keep running into a lot of shitty sheep (literally)….
Trying to pass a rolling sheep roadblockThey shall not pass
Soggy pancakes
Having started the day off with waffles, what better way to spend elevenses than with pancakes?
OK, so it wasn’t actually 11 o’clock and they weren’t exactly pancakes, rather little mini accompaniments to the coffees/hot chocolates that we were were forced to stop for to warm ourselves up – think Day 6 out of Rotterdam all over again. In a weird Belgian petting zoo cafe. Go figure.
Dunkirk. Not so soggy after all
Easy for Rosie…Less so for Cockers…
Dunkirk. It had stopped raining. We found a craft brewery place by the docks. We ordered burger & beers. Things were looking up….
Ah, and then we remembered how lovely the French were. Almost a polar opposite to the Dutch where nothing was a problem, but when in France…
We all ended up ordering the same beer and immediately wanted to change it to a larger/cheaper pitcher – not possible.
Rosie wanted to alter her order literally 2 seconds after ordering – not possible.
Could we sit on the terrace outside after our meal and have a beer in the sunshine – not possible.
So we left, had a ride around, and found somewhere ever-so-slightly more amendable (although you’d still struggle to call it friendly)
After a spot of basking there was nothing left but to head for Dunkirk ferry terminal, which we recalled from last year’s London-Paris was about 20km further south of Dunkirk. Passed lots of immigrant make-shift shelters on the way there, with shopping trollys discarded by the side of the road having being used as luggage carriers – all rather depressing.
Anyway, Cockers had promised us a well-equipped ferry terminal, complete with McDs, WH Smiths…etc. He must have been confused with somewhere else, as there was just a huge Duty Free with nowhere to sit. So WC proceeded to have a nap and we perched outside on a bench next to the lorries – not exactly the high-class end to trip but hey ho!
Checking in – usually quite fraught for Nickey!Following our own DFDS escort onto the ferryWaiting for permission to come a’bord
Retrieved our bikes as usual from the lock-up at the train station….no hang on, this one was a bit different…the previous evening, the owner of the bike repair shop at the station had warned us that there had been ‘some bike thefts’ from the station recently. Since this station wasn’t manned like the previous ones in (admittedly) larger towns, he ‘offered’ to let us lock our bikes up inside the shop. For a fee as it transpired the next morning – around €2 each – money well spent or a little hussle on the side?…who knows?
Lovely 9km ride from Middelberg to Vlissengen first thing in the morning
The Red Bar in Vlissingen
Vlissengen was closed for breakfast – not for the first time in The Netherlands, nothing seemed to open until at least 10am…what do the Dutch do for their morning coffee fix? We finally found a bar which was just opening up and which had obviously been very lively last night! The owner kindly served us coffee and directed us to a nearby bakery where we could buy food and eat it on his terrace, watched over by a couple of grizzled veterans from the previous evening.
It turned out, that the owner was an avid Liverpool fan, as evidenced by all the memorabilia inside and the fact that his daughter’s name was Liev (as close to Liverpool as you’re going to get in Dutch!) And, as any good Liverpool fan, he was particularly happy that Man Utd had been thumped by Sevilla the previous evening.
Very random – football, record, instruments…….and miniature busts of world leaders?!
Westerschelde Ferry
Thanks to Paul’s advice the previous evening (the bar owner, not our own little (part) Northern Terrier!), I’d booked the ferry tickets online to take us the 25-minutes to Breskens.
Good job! It was by now a beautiful morning and we ambled to & fro on the coastline, posing for pictures…etc, until we realised we only had a few minutes to make the ferry – cue a few Strava segment records!
As usual, it was beautifully engineered and specifically designed for bikes – you got to a special wide lane, scan a QR code, and hey presto, it opens! I don’t know why we’re so surprised that something actually works…oh hang on, I do…it’s because we’re so used to the UK!
….and there shall be some corner of a foreign field that shall be forever EnglandAll aboard….…and off again
The Belgian Coastal Path
From Breskens (Netherlands) to the Belgian border is only 15km or so…and we spent a fair while searching for the exact border point so we could post another short GCN video – figured if we made loads, they’d take pity on us eventually! As it was, we only managed to find a strange looking post and a number of very quizzical sheep.
Looking back to VlissingenDyke climbingCheese eatingStork watching….when it all gets a little bit too much!
Lunch
Thermae Palace Hotel
Built by King Leopold II in 1929, back when Ostend was cool and he was rich, the Thermae Palace is an Art Deco masterpiece, backing straight onto the expansive sands. Pretty cool for our last night’s stop eh?
Uncle Ian says, ‘It’s drinking time – where are you lot?!’
Thanks to Paul’s thunderstorm app (probably even better than his shipping container app!) we managed to watch the huge storm from the safety of our Thai restaurant in town…that was, until Nickey and I remembered we’d left our trainers to dry on the window ledge outside our (open) hotel window. Might need some more of those sanitary socks tomorrow…!
Help! I need somebody….
OstendA brief historyOstend's strategic position on the North Sea had major advantages for the town as a harbour, but also meant that it was frequently taken, ravaged, ransacked and destroyed by conquering armies.
The Siege of Ostend, 1601-1604, of which it was said that "the Spanish assailed the unassailable and the Dutch defended the indefensible", cost a combined total of more than 80,000 dead or wounded, making it the single bloodiest battle of the Eighty Years' War.
In 1722, the Dutch again closed off the entrance to the world's biggest harbour of Antwerp, the Westerschelde. Therefore, Ostend rose in importance because the town provided an alternative exit to the sea.
In fact, The Oostendse Compagnie (Ostend trade company) was allowed to found colonies overseas. However, in 1727 the Oostendse Compagnie was forced to stop its activities because of Dutch and British pressure.
Important for the image of the town was the attention it started to receive from the Belgian kings Leopold I and Leopold II. Both monarchs liked to spend their holidays in Ostend. Important monuments and villas were built to please the Royal Family, including the Hippodrome Wellington horse racing track and the Royal Galleries. The rest of aristocratic Belgium followed and soon Ostend became known as "the queen of the Belgian sea-side resorts".
Water-wise, Ostend is connected to both Bruges and Ghent by Canals and first became a transit harbour to England in 1846 when the first ferry sailed to Dover.
OK, so we had been very lucky to date, Northern Europe in April and all that…but for the first time on the trip, we awoke to decidedly grey skies on the boat and a 90% chance of rain.
Hi ho, hi ho…it’s cycling off we go…
10km on, we were still navigating the industrial outskirts of Rotterdam, when it began to rain, although luckily there was a McDonald’s in sight so we took refuge there. It was still before 9am, but they’d already sold out of all the breakfast meals, hence we had to make do with cheeseburgers, McCoffees, and (the now compulsory) appleflaps…which were decidedly excellent – well done The Netherlands! However, when we poked our noses out again, it was by now properly raining – dogs and medium-sized mammals type-rain – so nothing more for it than to man-up (*) and get cycling.
(*) she-up or it-up just don’t have the same ring to them!
Sanitary socks
About 40km in, soaking wet, we were desperately searching for another coffee stop, but hadn’t spotted anything worthwhile en route and were now crossing a massive bridge over the Haringvliet, one of the huge rivers that bisects The Netherlands west-east. Then, out of nowhere, on the other side, just after we’d found one place (closed), Zoet of Zout appeared – a posh-looking industrial-type place with darkened windows overlooking the grey and windy waters. Result. We were in!
A moody coffee……and sanitary bag socks to help with the mood!
To be fair, it was even posher inside than it looked from the outside, with mood lighting, open fires and black-aproned waitresses…as we squelched in over the wooden floors, leaving puddles behind us and discarded pieces of clothing over nearby radiators.
They were lovely though and the coffee was great – you even got served whipped cream in a shot glass next to your coffee – loved that! And, to cap it all off, Nickey found a load of sanitary bags in the ladies toilets, which combined with dry socks formed an effective waterproof layer for those of us with wet feet (not Fat Boy of course, because he had his post Swiss waterproof shoes on!)
Wing Co’s morning warm-up aerobics class wasn’t overly popular…
Polders & Wind turbines
Eventually, the rain eased and the landscape became less industrial, with marrom grass and sand dunes starting to prevail…and hints of blue sky.
Rollin’, rollin’, rollin’…Crossing a massive dam
Wing Co insisted upon having a picture with a wind turbine, to illustrate the scale…we won’t mention that he crashed into it on his bike in the process…oh no, your secret is safe with us!
Spot the WC [hint: he’s by the base]Another GCN shout-out!
Strandpaviljoen Brouw– they even brew their own beer here!
Great lunch stop. Burgers on TGE (The Green Egg BBq) and an enjoyable time watching the team building class fire arrows at each other outside in what looked like a Hunger Games version of British Bulldog?!
Arty shotDrinking shot
Middelberg& Simon’s Bar
Nickey & Lange Jan (see Middleberg below)
Found a lovely bar in the Market Square – officially Bar Gaudi, but we got chatting to the owner who happened to be an Englishman called Simon Appleyard from Brigate in Yorkshire! He’d been living in The Netherlands for many years, but only bought this bar with his partner just over a year ago. They were gearing up for Koningsdag (King’s Day), which is a national holiday celebrated on 27 April to mark the birth of King Willem-Alexander….and is a pretty lively affair (trust me – I participated in Queen’s Day some years back in Amsterdam…. a hangover in orange!)
Spot Simon Mk II…Arty flowersSimon and his happy crew
Middelberg
Situated on the central Walcheren peninsula of Zeeland, Middelberg is the provincial capital with around 50,000 inhabitants
A brief historyMiddelberg was originally one of threeborgs (fortified towns) to protect against Viking raids. It subsequently became an important trading centre in the Middle Ages, then, during the 17th century (the Dutch Golden Age), it became the most important center for the Dutch East India Company after Amsterdam. Consequently Middelburg played an important role in the 17th century slave trade....but the guide books tend not to dwell on that!
Notable sights in Middleberg include the 90m high abbey tower, Lange Jan, and the white drawbridge known as Spijkerbrug (in Kinderdijk). However, the town in general is very pleasant, with cobbled alleyways and pretty old buildings, many of them with names on the façades, such as Appelboom, because there were no house numbers for many years.
Or, you could just skip the sightseeing and stock up on boluses, a sweet regional delicacy from the bakeries of Middelburg.
Having given the group a taste for Dutch apple pie following a sneaky portion at lunchtime yesterday in an Amsterdam cafe – nope, nothing stronger than apples, honestly! – there was a clamour for the appleflaps at our 1st coffee stop about 20km out of Rotterdam. Shame it wasn’t a Friday as there was a 3 for 2 special on then…. Still, very nice stop in the sunshine, shading from the wind, with a couple of worstenbroodjes (Dutch sausage rolls) thrown in for good measure (shame again, that was Tuesday’s special of the day)
Plane spotting on a bike – who’d have thought it???You say tulips, they say tulpen…let’s call the whole thing off (1st field we’d see to date!)
1st mechanical of the trip
Rosie managed to break a spoke riding at some point in the morning. Shock, horror, no wonder given these shabby and unkempt Dutch cyclepaths! Luckily, you’re never far from a Dutch bike shop, and after a minor wobble (the wheel that is, although Rosie wasn’t too happy either), we passed by a provincial train station, called in there, and hey presto, he could have it ready in 40 minutes for €15. Phew, the Dutch just managed to redeem themselves there….!
Delft – the GCN Capital of Europe
If you’re of a non-cycling disposition, this next bit is probably going to bore you…so look away now. GCN stands for Global Cycling Network – it’s a specialist bike channel for lycra-clad enthusiasts, catering for the very serious to the not-so-serious. At the beginning of every weekly round-up show, there is a short video segment of cyclists shouting out, ‘From [insert place], welcome to the Global Cycling Network’, whilst standing in front of a famous landmark from that place. We decided to recreate this, much to the bemusement / amusement of tourists and locals alike, in from of the impressive Nieuwe Kerk.
The view outside, looking out to the Old ChurchThe view inside, from the Gents looking out to the bar!
Lunch was at Brouwplein, a brewery (how do we keep finding them?!) directly opposite the Oude Kerk – keep up, there’s more than one! This one is nicknamed Tipsy John (Scheve Jan) because it leans heavily to one side, apparently on account of being built on an old canal, rather than next to a brewery!
This could be Rotterdam or anywhere, Liverpool or Rome…?
Well it definitely wasn’t Liverpool, and Rome would have been rather nice! As it was, we found ourselves waiting by some docks just to the south of Rotterdam, whilst DFD Cockers tried to locate Jan, the elusive owner of the boat we’d be staying on tonight.
It was a strange set-up, and not one geared to heavy bikepacking bikes. After a very narrow and wobbly gangplank (thoughtfully soaked in diesel beforehand), you then had to climb over another boat – full of people…Jan’s family & friends? – to get onto the next boat, then climb over that to access the small doorway from the other side. Not quite the luxurious Dutch barge that we’d stayed on a few years ago in Ghent, which I think was what Cockers had had in mind.
Inside was a rabbit warren of tiny bedrooms, some only accessible via a previous bedroom, with plenty of bare wires and dodgy electrics. Oh, and no tea, coffee, milk whatsoever – remember we’d become used to our personal gourmet coffee machines!
Walking the gangplank…literally!Our berth for the night
Oh well, nothing more for it than to walk into Rotterdam (or at least somewhere a bit more central) for a drink and some food.
The Swan BridgeNiks being very ‘prancy’…perhaps it was the influence of The Swan Bridge?Food Court – pretty cool, food to suit everybody so no arguing there!
Rotterdam
Rotterdam sits on the banks of the river Nieuwe Maas (Meuse), one of the streams in the huge delta formed by the Rhine and Meuse rivers...but it turns out, that there is a small bog river called the Rotte and where this was originally dammed (not damned!) is where Rotterdam gets its name from.
General
* The motto of Rotterdam was added after the bombardments it suffered in WWII: ‘sterker door strijd’ means ‘stronger through battle’ (incidentally, the motto of the city of Rotterdam in New York State, USA is very similar: ‘stronger through effort’).
* Rotterdam has three mayors: a General Mayor (probably the most important), a Night-Mayor, (who tries to keep the nightlife interesting and vibrant), and a Youth-Mayor, (advising the city on what young people want in the city).
* Nicknames of public monuments are very popular here. These can be nice - The Erasmusbridge is actually lovingly called ‘De Zwaan’ in Dutch (the swan), thanks to its elegant shape - or not-so-nice - a large statue in Eendrachtsplein depicting Santa Claus with a tree, is nicknamed 'The Buttplug Gnome'?!
* Kapsalon (invented in Rotterdam) is a dish consisting of a layer of fries topped with döner or shawarma meat and covered with gouda cheese, vegetables, garlic sauce and sambal.
* At night, you can see LED lights are placed all throughout the city. There a two kind of lights: red and green. The red lights refer to the edge of the burning city after the bombardments by the German airforce of the 14th of May 1940. The green lights can be found on the Noordereiland (Northern island) and refer to areas destroyed by friendly fire (Dutch fire to be exact) to defend the city.
