Katwijk to Heemskerk, Nature Kamp de Berenweide: Great ride and idyllic camping
The rain finally stopped at 1 in the morning and the wind howled for the rest of the night. The good thing is that the wind completely dried our tent. Yeah! The sound of the wind was deafening and our tent twisted and snapped as a result, but it held strong and we were dry inside.
It was a revelation to start riding and to appreciate what a beautiful place we are in. The beach and dunes stretched for miles, and Katwijk is indeed a lovely seaside town with the best waterfront real estate filled with local's homes instead of tourist shops.
As we rode through the Dunes National Park, we were impressed by its vast beauty and the paved cycle path which went through the middle of it. Walking and horse paths crisscross the dunes as well. Soon, we passed through Noordwijk and then Zandvoort (feels a bit special to ME as the name perhaps has roots for her maiden name of Sandford). It was too tempting to resist enjoying fresh fish from a vendor atop the dunes overlooking the surf below. Wind surfers were taking advantage of the wind. It was quite a sight. Thankfully for us, the wind continues to be a tailwind - a cyclist's best friend in Holland.
We rode through the Zuid Kennemerland National Park on the western perimeter of Haarlem. This was quite a surprise. The dunes were replaced with rolling terrain through forest and dunes. It was great fun to ride. The only bad part - and it was bad!...was the succession of impassable gates. We were able to unload our panniers and trailer and walk them through. But we felt badly for families with young children as their cargo bikes and trailers were too large. Very frustrating to have this kind of barrier on an LF route.
Another free ferry ride from IJmuiden to Velsen Noord positioned us nicely for a detour to Heemskerk and the Nature Kamp de Berenweide. This camp is a wonderful camp to seek out - it is only a few km off the trail. The amenities are top notch and the arrangement of sites is on several small fields surrounded by trees with each tent having its own designated (large) area with a picnic table. Set in farm country, we appreciated the natural beauty of its locale, but mostly we loved the quiet atmosphere.
Today was an exceptional day of riding - beautiful landscapes, good routing with exceptional infrastructure, interesting towns and ideal camping. We are so enjoying Holland.
Barry had rotisserie chicken with chips and salad.
Camping at Katwijk - a really good store, restaurant, office and kids play room - but no place for tenters to take shelter during the rain. We guess that this is because most campers are in trailers - only a few tent spaces.
This Dutch woman is camping in the trailer behind us. She had been waiting to talk with us as she saw that we were from Canada. Her sister had toured Canada after the war and she played with a musical group entertaining troops that had been in Holland.
Yesterday, there wasn't a kid in sight - but today, when the rains stopped, out they came. Great organized activities for children at this (and most) Dutch campgrounds. These Dutch kids are tough, they are doing the potato sack race, but all of the sacks are sewn together - if one falls, they all fall!
Before we know it, we are Noordwijk. We had planned to camp here, but we chose Katwijk instead. It was a good decision as it is a quieter, less touristic place and more family oriented.
Suddenly, as we were riding, we felt this presence and we looked up. There was a herd of these magnificent deer. We have been told that there has been a resurgence of these deer and villages and home owners are frustrated as the deer are eating their plants. We can relate to this as our home of Saltspring Island has a huge population of deer who roam freely and see our gardens as their personal buffet.
And then, for another bit of wildlife - a fellow recumbent rider - an endangered species. This man is from Germany and was very proud of his HP Sprint with a motor.
These gates through the National Forest were beyond frustrating. It looks not too bad in the picture, but the angles make it difficult. Barry tried to help a father lift their cargo bike (for their children) but it was too heavy.
