Utrecht

Today we rode our bikes to Utrecht, which is a 10 km ride away, all on flat land of course. A grey day, but not cold.

We locked our bikes together, due to there being no available bike racks.
A view up the street towards the Dom.
Hot chips with lashings of mayonnaise! Delicious!
The shop window opposite had mannequins wearing size 8 clothes. This reminded us that hot chips were very fattening!
Colourful bikes everywhere!
I love them.
The last time we were in Utrecht, it was March. The trees were beginning to come into leaf and people were sitting in the sunshine. Now they were still eating outside, but the leaves were beginning to yellow and fall off and there was no sun.
The rondvaart weaving its way through the canals.
The Heaven07 'the most vibrating shop in town'. The vibrator which plugs into the IPhone looks interesting. Music and vibration together!
And so ends an interesting trip to Utrecht.

Fort Vechten

On our bike ride today, we called into Fort Vechton. This was part of the New Dutch Waterline, a defence line, almost 85 km long and 3 to 5 km wide, which runs from near Amsterdam in the north to Zeeland in the south. It was built between 1815 and 1885, and consisted of forts, bunkers and group shelters, together with a system of sluices, dikes and flood canals which could be used to flood the surrounding land quickly. The flooding was a shallow layer of water, about 40 to 50 cm deep, and it was designed to make the land treacherous and difficult to negotiate on foot, but was also not deep enough to navigate by boat. The aim of the New Dutch Waterline was to provide a protective ring around the cities in Holland and Utrecht.

An ingenious system, but had no chance to prove itself as a line of defence. However the forts and bunkers were used during the France-Prussian War in 1870, the First World War and the Second World War.

The New Dutch Waterline is now used for recreation activities, including opportunities to visit 60 defensive works, all of them different, plus cycling, walking, boating, dining, museums, guided tours and even for overnight accommodation.

We visited Fort Vechten, which is about a 20 minute bike ride from the centre of Houten. When the fort was built the main brick buildings were covered in soil, so they look like small hills, and the whole establishment was designed to represent a star shape.

The two former military sheds in the photo below are now used as an information centre and a cafe.
The building below would have once housed military personnel but the rooms can now be hired out for functions.
The narrow passage way, which runs along the back of the rooms looked very spooky. Not for me!
The rooms, which still contain the old stoves, look neglected but are very popular for parties and functions.
The moat, with the gun emplacement at the end.
On the way back we rode along a very picturesque path with wild flowers growing between the path and the corn. I presume the wild flowers were designed as companion plants for the corn.Off for a bike ride to Utrecht tomorrow.

Houten in Autumn

We are back in Holland, the weather is glorious and the trees are starting to show their Autumn colours.

Due to technical difficulties, which are too confusing to outline in this blog, the photos are on the following blog. I am great with technology as long as it works the way I want it too. And it is currently not doing so!

Last evening Aaron and Kylie celebrated a joint birthday and held a party for their neighbours and friends in Holland. A great time was had by all who attended and we got to bed at the very late, or early hour of 3 a.m. There was much conversation, singing and listening to some Dutch CDs (presents for Aaron and Kylie).

In typical Dutch manner, the evening started off at 8 p.m. with delicious cakes (lemon and raspberry tart, chocolate and lime cake, medieval apple tart plus tea or coffee). This was followed by wine and beer with savoury dishes, also delicious, - a cheese board, curly kale bruschetta, pea and chorizo bruschetta, olive and thyme tapinade and cheddar cheese biscuits. All made by Kylie, except for the cheddar cheese biscuits which were made by a neighbour. I still cannot get used to the Dutch custom of eating cake first, but I must admit that you tend to drink less alcohol this way, which can only be a good thing.

My apologies, as there are no photos of the party due to forgetting to use the flash on my camera. Technical problems again!

Yesterday I took Mia, Abi and Raphy to the adventure park on the other side of the ring road which surrounds Houten. We rode our bikes of course. The park is a wonderful place for children, and no health and safety restrictions stopping children from getting wet and muddy and generally having a good time.

Mia and Abi tried out the obstacle course and managed very well without falling into the water.

Then we went for a walk on the path, where there were little waterfalls and pools. Raphy enjoyed lifting up the weed with a small stick, but unfortunately he slipped and sat down in the muddy water. He was not happy about his shorts getting wet and muddy. The photo shows him happily poking the pond weed before he slipped on the mud. The girls paddled through the small waterways and poked around in the mud and weed to see if they could see anything interesting.

It was into the bath when we returned, happy and muddy.

Houten in Autumn

Back to Poole

On the way back from Wareham, it was too windy to sit at the front once we left Frome River. So we went downstairs to sit in the warmth and diesel fumes. However it must have been sunny when this picture was taken as my glasses have changed colour!

By the time we arrived back in Poole the sea mist had come down, with an accompanying chill in the air. So we decided that we needed to be inside, and the most interesting place, other than a pub, was the Poole Museum which also happened to be free.

Poole Museum has three floors, as well as the ground floor, full of interesting pictures and historical objects. As well as an extensive pottery display (Poole is famous for its pottery works), there are displays showing the different industries that were once in Poole, including boat building of course. BOAC's passenger terminal for flying boats was situated in Poole from 1945 until 1949. Flying boats travelled to Hong Kong, Singapore and Australia but were phased out, due to conventional airports opening up throughout the British Empire.

Once you climbed to the top floor, there was a really comfortable lounge area and outdoor seating area. Coffee, tea and hot chocolate was available from a dispensing machine at a very reasonable cost. It was lovely to sit on a comfortable couch and relax. Quite a treat and a very thoughtful part of the museum design.

After we left the museum we hopped on our bicycles and headed home, with two short stops to look at buildings. The first one was a very remarkable Georgian house. I was not meant to be in the picture so look a bit dodgy!
This is a very modern apartment block overlooking one of the inlets. The sea mist was very thick by now.
A stop on the bicycle path through Upton park.
Today the weather was brilliant, and sadly we had to leave. I would have loved to spend more time in the area but there is always another time.

The deep filled meat pie was delicious, huge chunks of beef in a crunchy short crust pastry shell. Delicious!

Wareham

Today we travelled by ferry to Wareham. The ferry left Poole, travelled out of Poole Harbour, along the Wareham Channel and then along the River Frome until we came to Wareham. Poole harbour is the largest natural harbour in Europe, and is certainly impressive. I can imagine that in summer time it is full of motor boats and yachts of every description. There were certainly plenty moored in the harbour today.

The ferry also took us past the Sunseeker building yards, where there must have been 4 or 5 yachts under construction as well as about 8 finished ones in the water. Sunseeker yachts are famous, and apparently used in James Bond movies. They cost between £5 and £10 million to buy. Very impressive! So next time we are in St Tropez I will keep an eye out for Sunseeker yachts.

Walter looking relaxed while he waits for ferry to start moving away from the quay. Unfortunately it was not a brilliantly sunny day, which was promised but did not eventuate.
We travelled past some very flash units, which no doubt cost a mint to own or rent. Very south of France, without the weather!
Next door to the apartments was a Royal Marine base and special boat service. A little bit of reality and not so glamorous!
The River Frome twisted and turned between the reed beds. Small motor boats and sailing boats were moored along the river. All you could see were tall masts amongst the reed beds. It looked very unreal. I think it took about half an hour to travel along the river. A fascinating journey!
A sailing club alongside the river.

The Parish Church of Lady St. Mary with the old priory buildings in front. There is no longer a monastery here of course and it is now the Priory Hotel. A very expensive hotel according to our guide on the ferry. Beautiful gardens though.

The Quay was once the hub of Wareham. Ships arrived from the continent and unloaded their cargoes for distribution throughout the area. The trade was mainly in salt and potters' clay. Now it is a tourist attraction, although very quiet today as it is the end of the summer season. The sun came out which added to its charm.
Wareham used to be an important cross Channel port in Saxon times but during the Middle Ages the river silted up and trade transferred to the new port of Poole. However Wareham had its share of excitement, two fires which destroyed most of the town, and the men of the town were involved in the Monmouth Rebellion of 1685. Wareham has been designated an outstanding Conversation Area and over two hundred buildings are listed as being of architectural interest. A fascinating town, sadly we only had an hour to look around so could see just a few of the streets and buildings.

One of the lovely streets in Wareham.

Lots of delicious looking pies for sale. Of course we could not resist and bought one to take home with us.
Looking forward to our deep filled meat pie for dinner tomorrow evening.

Poole

This morning we set off on our bikes to ride the five miles into Poole. An easy ride, mostly on a dedicated cycling/walking track through a park and around an inlet.

I do not know what I expected when I got there, having only ever seen the lights of Poole from a hotel room in Bournemouth. And I remember thinking that I must visit the town one day.

However, I was a little surprised to find our introduction to Poole today was an ugly 1960's railway station and then an even uglier shopping area. The shops looked dowdy, with a great number of charity shops and pound shops, a sure sign that this was not an affluent town. The people around consisted of mainly pensioners and those who obviously had plenty of time to spare, many of whom sat on the available benches. A significant number of people were starting early, drinking high alcohol beer. My heart sank, Poole was certainly not like its genteel neighbour, Bournemouth, just up the road.

Luckily the day improved due to the kindness of people, the sunshine, general relaxed atmosphere plus the bike friendly streets. I then started to see the town, and the people, in a positive light.

We first went down to the very busy port. Not quite the ritzy Cote D'Azur but still full of atmosphere that is very English. And plenty to see. And lots of fish and chip shops, pubs and coffee bars.

However, there were still some extremely large yachts, the type and size that no doubt appear in St Tropez every year.
We rode our bikes around the town and part of the coastal path. Not only is it bicycle friendly but also wheelchair, disabled scooter and walking stick friendly. The town is flat, with good paths and roads and very little traffic. We were very impressed.
In order to rest our legs we took a trip on the Poole Land Train. Very enjoyable!
There were lots of pubs in the town, and some very upmarket restaurants.
This pub was covered in green tiles!
Another pub on the quay front.
And only one amusement arcade! Full marks here.
When we arrived back, I just had to take a photo of the entrance to the caravan park. It is the original entrance to the manor house, the owners would have owned all the land around here no doubt. The gate house stands beside the gate. How often do you see a caravan and camping ground with such a grand entrance!
I found the other wine glass. It had not been broken. Harmony in the motor home!