England

Hull-Dover

Monday, 02.07.2012

8:04, that’s our date with Anita in the train, Dippach station….Anita calls, the train is quite full, a Conductor is very friendly and helpful….Luxbg-Brussels-Midi 9:55, not so easy to stow away the bikes, no real place reserved….at the end, we manage and find our seats.

–We arrive in Brussels and change for Brugges. 

In Brugges we get a little map and decide to cycle towards Zeebrugges, where we meet Alain.

Get a beer and an ice-cream to comfort Gastong for the first puncture or “flat foot”….

Wait for the check-in, get on board of the “Pride of Brugges”.

We find a nice cabin waiting for us. Dinner is included in the ticket.

It is a bit chilly aboard, we snuggle quite soon under the bed covers.

We sail all night, arrive the other day, check our watches, have breakfast (included) and leave the ship….

Tuesday, 03.07.2012

Arrival in Kingston-upon-Hull around 8:00….RAIN!

We dress on and off, very unsure what to wear.

Off the ferry we have to remember to ride on the left side!!!!

We seem to turn a bit in circles to get out of Hull, we arrive at the Humber bridge after 20km! £uzzie loses an overshoe and rides back, happy to return with the secured shoe. It is rather cold….

Around Beeslby we find a “shortcut” and cycle over rough ground, Gaston has a fall, but apart from a little pain in the calf muscle he is fine….Rain showers again and again…get raingear on and off all the time, …Sometimes we get sweaty under the raincoat, and suffer then from the cold wind.

The landscape and the roads are quite hilly, combined with the wind, we feel rather tired after +- 75km and decide to change our plans: we don’t go on to Lincoln, but find a tiny town, called Market Rasen and stay there in an hotel “The Advocate Arms”…Dinner at a local Pub…

Wednesday 04.07.2012

Find out that “black Pudding” is indeed from Lincolnshire, a speciality, but certainly not our choice for breakfast (+-“Treipen”)…

Leave Market Rasen around 9:30, it looks like rain…We follow the river for a while and arrive in Lincoln. See the castle where one still finds a copy of the Magna Charta (William the Conqueror…), see the cathedral, Anita and me have a quick glimpse inside, and stroll through the streets to let a true English atmosphere sink in…

After Lincoln we continue along the river, see some riverboats “racing” us and arrive in Boston. Unfortunately there is no tourist information, but in the library we find two nice ladies who are very helpful: they indicate us some B+B’s, Inns…One of the B+B’s is full and sends us to “Lochiel”, where we can stay for the night.

Dinner at “King’s Arms, a little walk through the town, the setting sun dipping the whole town into a lovely pinkish light. The huge church spire called “the Stump” towers over the market place. They tell us the stump was used as a lighthouse in its earlier days….

During the night Gast is sick (diarrhoea), and feels too weak to face a 110km cycling …

Thursday 05.07.2012

We decide to split up : Anita, Alain and £uss cycle towards Peterborough, Gaston and myself we take the train and make sure to find some accommodation for the night.

The 3 fellows are very lucky and cycle through  a sunny day.

Gaston and I learn how to travel with a bike in the UK… We change at Grantham, cannot make any reservation for the bikes, but need to get a special ticket all the same. At the end the train arrives and to our astonishment the conductor is taking care of our bikes, all we have to do is to get on the train and watch the changing landscape slip by…

In Peterborough the tourist office is a disaster: no booking or any help is provided, only a badly done leaflet with some addresses and that’s it!!!

We search for more than 3 hours, call everywhere, ring many doorbells and find a very friendly landlady at the end that helps us out and finds “Da Rosaria” Guest House for us.

So far Gaston had no rest, he was rather poorly in the meanwhile, we check in at the Da Rosaria and cycle back into town waiting for our friends.They arrive, tired and sunburned, happy that we found a place to stay for the night. Mexican dinner at “Chimichanga’s” in town

Friday 06.07.2012

8:30 breakfast, weather forecast: HEAVY RAIN. We’re off towards Cambridge.

Rain, heavy, almost without interruption, it is coming down in buckets…Very slow progress, it takes ages to put some distance between us and Peterborough.

Calling the tourist information in Cambridge, get “Andy” as our help, he finds accommodation for us and confirms all by phone…not so easy, rain dripping down my spine, everything is soaked wet, but we’re happy to have a place for the night.

Weather changes from bad to worse until we decide to take the train at Huntingdon towards Cambridge. The moment we buy the tickets, the rain stops !!!!Change at Hitchin and arrive in bright sunshine in Cambridge. Find “Railway Lodge” and start visiting Cambridge…

-watch punting at the riverside; Queen’s College; King’s College………to name but a few. Very nice and British!!!

We split up for dinner, veggie for Gaston and me, Italian the other 3.

Saturday 07.07.2012

Rain again, raincoat on/off….We decide to ride towards London and skip Ipswich. Book an hotel via internet in Harlow Town, +-40 km from London. (“Premier Inn”). On the way see beautiful old cottages, old country church yards, see an old army biplane, arrive after +-60km. Rooms nice, dry and comfortable, lousy Wi-Fi conditions...
Take the bikes and cycle to the train station to find out about trains to London. No dinner at the Harlow Mill, cycle out of town again to get rewarded with nice Mexican food, cycle back and enjoy first whisky…

Sunday 08.07.2012

Early breakfast, first porridge for Anita, cycle to station and get off train at London Liverpool station. Raining cats and dogs, NO LAURA ASHLEY, shops closed, but many things to see.

Start with the Tower , Tower bridge (ugly, disfigured by Olympic rings…), see St Kathrine Docks and stop at Dickens Inn for some food and hot drinks. From here continue towards Greenwich, take pedestrian tunnel, walk under river Thames, find again something dreadful on the other side, Cutty Sark on a kind of base, her hull completely hidden, horrid taste!!

Try to get to the Royal Observatory to find the “0” degree of longitude, but no chance, Olympic pavilions and buildings spoil it all, no way to get to the Observatory.

Cycle back into centre of City, passed the “London Eye”, its leisure park, see Westminster Abbey and Big Ben in their full glory lying on the opposite riverside; cycle to that side of the river, pass Green park and St James park (again full of Olympic buildings) end up at Buckingham Palace, see Horse Guards, cycle to Trafalgar Square and have a drink and bite at “Prêt à manger”.
Continue over Leicester Square, Piccadilly Circus (streets crammed with tourists), see St Paul’s and finally back to Liverpool station Here we just make it, squeezing one wheel into the door to prevent the train from driving off without us.

Monday 09.07.2012

Take the decision to interrupt the holidays, finally defeated by the rain. Take train Harlow Town-London Liverpool.(after a long interlude at Harlow’s ticket office…) Cycle all across London towards Victoria station. At Victoria’s take the train to Dover Priory. Here cycle to the port, find ferry offices, get tickets (seaways) and check in immediately 16:00. Perfect timing

Boat for Dunkerque.

Arrive on the continent and cycle to Bray-Dunes to stay with Anita and Alain in their mobilhome….Get Pizza and….relax

Arrive on the continent and cycle to Bray-Dunes to stay with Anita and Alain in their mobilhome….Get Pizza and….relax

Tuesday 10.07.2012

Get up leisurely and have a pleasant cycle tour for 70km.

Check for trains the day after.

Anita and me get a beautiful ring in Veurnes, Alain having 2 wives for a couple of hours, proud as a peacockJ

Have a short walk on the beach, Gaston full of childhood memories….

Dinner at De Panne

Wednesday 11.07.201

Catch train from De Panne to Brussels-Midi.

Continue Brussels-Luxembourg.

£uss, Gaston and me cycle home from Luxbg. station, a few drops of rain, but just make home before rain starts pouring again…

Alain and Anita arrive after a short stay in Bray-Dunes….