Holland by motorhome - Clogs, Canals, Cheese, Cycles, Castles and Camels!

It goes without saying that there are windmills.

Another favourite for us when we are short of time and/or money is Holland (or the Netherlands as we should call it really). Yes it is flat, but as we live near Lincoln we have got quite used to the flat landscapes and big skies that characterise Holland. We are also keen on cycling and as Holland has thousands of miles of traffic-free, clearly marked cycle paths, we often gravitate towards it for a short break.

We usually use the Dover Calais crossing and chug along the E4 motorway through Belgium to Holland. It only takes a few hours and although this stretch of road is a bit boring, it does take you very close to Bruges and it would be very easy to pop in on the way there or back if you wanted. For campsites, if it is low season we use our ACSI card www.eurocampings.co.uk/‎ (12 - 16 euros a night ) and for high season it's the mini-camping scheme www.vekabo.nl/‎ which vary from 10 to 20 euros a night.

The southern and central parts of Holland are where the lion's share of the population lives and where most of the main cities are located including the capital. Driving distances are relatively short around the country and the roads are brilliant and almost entirely toll-free.

We couldn't quite believe it either but they were in a
field in Southern Holland.

The most obvious tourist attraction is the capital, Amsterdam. Plenty to do (and eat) here as you might expect. The first thing to say is that we wouldn't recommend driving your van into Amsterdam. It's very easy to park up at one of the outlying train stations and use their hyper-efficient railway system instead. There's too much to Amsterdam to do justice to it here. The best way to see it is via the canals and there are lots of options to do this relatively cheaply. Allow plenty of queuing time if you want to visit Anne Frank's house.

So, apart from the capital, what's worth visiting in Holland. Here's a top ten:

1. Cities. Any number of interesting cities including Delft, The Hague, Arnhem, Amersfoort, Edam, Utrecht, Maastricht, Eindhoven, Alkmaar, Rotterdam, Dortrecht. The list goes on and all of these are within a few hours of each other.

2. Art. It's ridiculous how many famous artists have come from Holland over the years. There are art galleries in most major cities and beyond including the Hoge Veluwe near Arnhem (worth a visit in its own right) and there is a lively programme of visiting exhibitions throughout the country. 

3. Cycling. A bit obvious this one, but if you want to have a decent bike ride where you don't get buzzed by motorists and the cycle paths don't run out after a few miles, then this is the place to come. Visit the local tourist information office (the VVV) and get yourself a cycling map or follow the really easy numbering signpost system. You never have to go up a hill and you get to cycle along some beautiful stretches of waterway.

The Hunting Lodge in the Hoge Veluwe National Park

4. Castles. Yes, castles. Amazingly, Holland has a couple of hundred castles, many of which are in the southern and central belt. Some of them are private homes and some can be visited. We did a 'castle tour' on our bikes in 2010. It was fascinating!

5. Cheese and Clogs. We are not that bothered about either of these, which is why I've grouped them together but some people love them. I will confess to once buying a pair of clog shaped slippers, but that's as far as it went. The cheese is mainly of the Gouda/Edam variety and by our standards tends to be a bit mild. I'm probably being a bit of a snob on this one, but you can't beat a bit of Stinking Bishop.

6. Canals. These are an engineering marvel and basically stop Holland from being under water. They range from the massive trade routes with 200ft long barges to the web of urban waterways you will find in the cities, down to small networks of dykes. You can follow many of them via the towpath, which is almost always a dedicated cycle path.

You will see miles and miles of fields of bulbs in the springtime

7. Beer and Food. Holland are big on lagers and most regions and cities have their own local brews, many of which are familiar to us in the UK such as Heineken, Grolsch and Amstel. I think it's rude not to try the local beer every time you come across one. Food-wise, the Dutch don't tend to be internationally famous. We have found that they have embraced all food styles (a bit like the UK) and that the portion sizes tend to be quite generous.

8. Flowers and Bulbs. Beautiful in the spring, even if you are not particularly into horticulture. Keukenhof is a must if you are a fan of such things. It's not far from Amsterdam (to the south) and is open all through spring.

9. Beaches. Perhaps not an obvious spot for a beach holiday, but all along the eastern coastline there is plenty to go out. The beaches are flat and sandy and busy in the season.

The art deco style radio station in The Hoge Veluwe

10. The North! Although many of the obvious attractions are in the southern and central belt, a drive up to the north is well worth it. The university town of Groningen is beautiful and you can see how the land simply disappears into the sea along the northern 'coast' a bit further up from here. Fields, roads and hedgerows simply vanish into the water! Come back down across the Afsluitdijk, the 20-mile long causeway.

The Cabo de Gata in Spain

Boats on the beach at San Jose

It's finally gone cold properly. Nice as it is throwing logs onto the fire and settling down in front of the TV, our thoughts have turned to the next bit of decent sunshine we might see. For us this usually means Spain, and it usually means getting as far south as possible. 

One of our favourite areas is the Cabo de Gata which is on the southern most coast on the Costa Almeria. I checked the temperature there today and it's still 18 degrees even though we are half way through November. According to the temperature charts, it is normal for it to stay in the high teens throughout the winter period.


We last went at the beginning of April. Our friends in the UK were texting us about the sleet and cold temperatures, so we text back a photo of us in an outdoor pool with the temperature gauge just topping 25 degrees.

The coastline on the Cabo de Gata

We tend to be quite flighty, never staying anywhere more than three nights. The Cabo de Gata is one of the areas where we manage to slow down a bit. This area is not for everyone and we have met a few fellow motorhomers who don't see the attraction. We've also met plenty who head down here for the whole of the winter, so I guess it depends what you like.

The area is fairly sparsely populated particularly when you compare it to the urbanisation that you will encounter just a couple hours drive up the road in the Costa Blanca. The area is characterised by a desert-like landscape inland and sharp craggy rocks by the sea. Along its length you will find a number of charming villages and a few larger towns.

Our personal favourite is San Jose, which has a small fishing port and good range of restaurants and cafes. The beach here is flat and sandy and of course you are on the med, so going into the sea is like getting into a bath.

Further along the coast you will find the windswept Las Salinas, which is a large area of nature reserve comprising miles of quiet open coastline. You can really get away from it all here, particularly if you are traveling out of season. We have seen flamingos and eagles here and we are not even that good at bird-spotting!

The rugged volcanic rock near Escullos

On this stretch is the Church of the Almadraba. You could imagine yourself being in Mexico with this amazing little church standing isolated among the sand, with the rocky mountains as a backdrop. It's easy to see why they filmed a lot of the 'spaghetti westerns' in this area and you actually can visit the Costa Brava film studios, which are about half an hour away inland from here.

There are plenty of other places of interest up and down the coast here. We tend to stay fairly local and either walk or bike up and down the coast, perhaps stopping off at one of the local cafes for a beer. 

It's true that there are no major attractions in this part of Spain, as the area, most of which is national park, is the attraction. It is quite rugged and barron and you can still expect to see shepherds walking their flocks of sheep and goats around trying to find a bit of green grass.

However, if you want to get away from it all, this is the place to come. There are three campsites in the area. We have never tried the Camping Albergue Tau near San Jose, though it seems to get reasonable reviews. We can however recommend both:

Camping Cabo de Gata (www.campingcabodegata.com) 
Los Escullos (www.losescullossanjose.com)

Your typical coastal town on the Costa Almeria

Both are on the ACSI scheme and offer discounts for long term stays. Both have excellent facilities and really friendly and helpful staff and they open all of their facilities  (including the pool) in the quieter part of the season, which some Spanish campsites do not.

It's a fair old drive down there, but if you have the time, it is definitely worth a visit. It is one of those places that makes you feel all warm and fuzzy, even when you are back home in the UK in the middle of November!

Within 2 hours of Calais

Amiens Cathderal - the largest
Gothic cathedral in France

With ferries being relatively cheap at the moment, we try to get away as often as we can. When we don't have much time or if we don't want to spend too much money, we often stick quite close to the port. We've done this a few times in France and Holland and have had some fantastic short holidays. As well as keeping cost and drive-time low, you also get to see parts of the continent that you might normally just whizz through en route to somewhere else.

We can usually get a Dover-Calais return for the two of us and our van for around £80. Factor in a couple of tanks of diesel and stay on the aires and you can get a week away for around £300 all in. You could easily spend that on a B&B in the UK for a short stay!

During the half term in October we did had one of our short ones staying in northern France. At no point were we more than two hours from Calais and we were only away for five days but in that time we were able to visit some beautiful coastal towns and villages, two major cities, several WW1 sites and museums, the Agincourt battlefields and we even had time to stock up on cheap booze on the way back. 

What was more surprising was how much else there was to do in this area that we simply didn't get time for.

Tour highlights:

The highlights of our mini tour in the order we did them were:

Grand Fort Phillipe

Coastal towns and villages: We went up towards Dunkirk but didn't stop as we weren't in the mood for shopping. Instead we drove along the coast road stopping at one of two of the small coastal towns. Our favourite was Grand Fort Phillipe which has an overnight aire if you need it. It's only a small place but you can walk out along the coastal defences and the towns itself is quite pretty.

Cassel: Basting about the only hill in the Flanders region this very attractive medieval town has the hill that the Grand Old Duke of York marched up. There is a nice 2-mile walk that takes in all the sites including some great views from the top. 

Lille: This is an under-rated city. We spent a great day here with all the major sights being within walking distance from the main train station. We don't think there is an aire or any campsites in the city itself but there are plenty in neighbouring towns (such as Armentieres or Bailluel) from where you can catch the train.

Amiens: The most notable thing about Amiens is the massive gothic cathedral - the biggest in France. There is plenty of other sites to keep you busy for a half or full day here.

The walled town of Montrueil

The Bay of the Somme: There are some beautiful coastal towns and villages either side of the bay, most of which have aires. We really like Cayeux-sur-Mer and Le Hourdel but there are at least a dozen others you could choose from. For a bit of glamour you could try Le Touquet, favoured by the Parisians. For nature lovers there is one of France's largest bird sanctuaries (Marquenterre) and organised seal watching trips, or you can walk across the entire bay at low tide.

WW1 sites: There is much of interest here including the war graves and several museums, the best of which is at Peronne.

WW2 sites: Although most of the fighting took place further west in Normandy, this area boasts a couple of sites of interest mainly related to the V2 rockets. A massive bunker and musuem at La Coupole are well worth a visit.

Azincourt: There is not much to see relating to the Battle of Agincourt except an interesting visitor centre in the village itself. This was OK for a rainy day, but you would probably need to a be a fan of this period of history to really get value for money out of your 7 euros 50.

The main square in Lille

Montrueil, Saint Omer, Douai, Abbeville, Arras: There are many decent size towns of interest in this region. Montrueil is perhaps the best of these as it is surrounded by ramparts allowing you to walk round the entire town.

The bits we didn't get to see this time

Within this same regions we could have visited:

• The Matisse Museum at Le Cateau Cambresis 
• The Mining Musuem at Lewarde 
• Nausicaa Marine Centre in Boulogne
• Chateaux de Hardelot near Boulogne
• The Louvre at Lens

All in all, we were amazed by this area as all we have ever done before is driven straight through it. We are planning to go back again soon for another week to take in all the bits we found out about, but didn't have time to visit.

Choccy treat at Le Touquet

On top of all of this there's the food (sea-food mainly) and the beer (St Omer) and the bread and pastries (had the best Suisse ever in Grand For Phillipe).