14 August
Yes, still in Haarlem

They promised us a sunny day, but for the most part it was cloudy all day with odd patches of sunshine - and windy.

I had noticed that there was a national park between Haarlem and the sea, so we decided on an expedition today. We put the extra bike batteries in the panniers and off we went towards the coast on a route chosen from my beloved cycle routes atlas.

The seaside town of Zandfoort is 8km from where we are moored so that's where we headed first. The route took us through a VERY posh part of town. You know the homes are expensive when they don't have street numbers, only names, and are on huge plots. For the most part we could'nt see much of them as they screened themselves from the road with high hedges, offering only tantalizing glimpses of their roofs and gables over the trees. But the few we could see, were upmarket, to say the least.

All we could see were the roofs....

... but every now and then, we got a better view....

... and then even better.

And then unexpectedly, right after mansions, there was a trailer park, then some dunes and Zandfoort.



Trailer park, just outside Zandfoort.

 "It feels like, Torquay.", Skip and I agreed.

It even sounded and smelt like Torquay, with gulls scavenging for leftovers from the punters eating fish and chips on seaside benches. Pity it was still so blustery, with a chilly wind coming right off the sea. The kite surfers were the only ones really enjoying the weather although there were hundreds of people about, mostly bundled up in coats and scarves.

Tourist trap shops ...

... and fish 'n chips on a chilly seaside.
Yes, it feels like Torquay.

By now the bottoms needed a rest so we strolled around town window shopping and people watching. The holidaymakers all appeared to be local, i.e. Dutch, and no Asian/Far Eastern tourists as we had experience back in spring in towns like Volendam.

Zandfoort Beach Pavillion.

From Zandfoort we followed the coast north up to Bloemendal op die Zee (with a quick stop for Kibbeling) and into the  Zuid Kennedaal national park.

This stretch of coast has hundreds of beach huts,
three deep. Looked like some people moved in for the summer.

 

By the time we reached Parnassia Beach, my bottom needed another break, so we stopped for coffee. Parnassia is one of the few "Dog Beach's" along this stretch of coast so, naturally, there were a lot of dogs out enjoying themselves. They are also permitted in the beachside pavillion so there were plenty of cuties to admire.

Skip went to the gents and came back with a big grin.
"What's up?", I asked.
"The urinals all overlook a long window with a view to the dunes and also a good view of the ladies loos handwash basins on the other side!".

Sure enough, from the handbasin side, the long window is a one-way mirror/window. There was a woman fixing her makeup and hair in the mirror, and I could'nt help imagining there might be some bloke having a pee on the other side. Odd.

Today's cycle route.

After Parnassia the trail took us inland through the park. What a lovely ride. Up and down dunes, through woods and past lakes. Pedal, Pedal, Swooooooop! Loved it! I was sorry when we got to the gate out of the park after 12 km or so. There were quite a lot of people about - it was Saturday, after all - but at no time did it feel crowded.

Zuid Kennendaal National Park.

Our route took us through the gates...

 

 

... but I was dying to know what "de Stinkende Emmer"
(the smelly bucket?) was all about.

The cycle routes are all well marked. You pick your route and then watch out at the knoppunts for the turnoffs. Not hard to go wrong, you would think, and if one is paying attention, and not admiring the scenery, then that is the case.

Another couple of kms and we were back on the boat and ready for a beer on the aft deck. We did 41 km in all today.

You can guess what's for dinner ...



There was a sand sculpture competition in town, and I am happy to say that Baldrick Buckle (I kid you not), from Britain, won first prize.