Llangollen Canal Walk
(from Nantwich to Llangollen)

This is a lovely level walk of 53 miles we did end July 2012. We booked with Byways Breaks who organised the B&B's and our luggage transport. They did a good job and we can recommend them. It is a very easy walk and grants a lot of time to explore places along the way.

We enjoyed the charming market towns Nantwich, Whitchurch, Wrenbury, Ellesmere, Chirk and Llangollen. What made the walk so interesting were the people along and on the canal. The locks are a great place for a break because it is great to see the accomplished boat people and the ones who obviously never have managed a narrowboat.

 

It is easy to come into contact while helping with the locks or just chatting along while with boat people while we trotted on the tow path. We met the same people for days because the speed of a narrow boat and a walker is not so much different. The encountered dragonflys, butterflies and cows who are really curious about the passing boats.

 

Problem is that there are too many narrowboats for the canals, so the canals suffer a lot. Ellesmere is a great place to take a rest day.

 

 

In Llangollen we visited Plas Newydd, the residence of the famous Ladies of Llangollen. I think their story is inspiring and really interesting - not that we ever have heard of them before.

 

B & B's I especially would like to mention are Sedgeford House in Whitchurch, Mereside Farm in Ellesmere and Glasgwm in Llangollen. The owners are very kind and extremely helpful.

http://www.glasgwm-llangollen.co.uk/

 

http://www.meresidefarm.co.uk/

 

http://www.sedgefordhouse.com/

Hanzestedenpad 3 & 4

Hanzestedenpad part 3
Bakkers Hoeve - Zutphen (9,7 km)

This weekend the weather was so unexpectedly warm and sunny that we decided to ignore our chores and enjoy ourselves instead. We left our car along the way on Saturday morning. The first part of this days walk was a nice stroll along a beck next to the woods. The insects were really thirsty for blood and I was glad I brought my fleece. At this time of the year the gardens are especially beautiful. The dahlia’s are in full bloom. In the sunlight we could see cobwebs and leaves slowly responding to the wind. We passed ’Huize Voorstonden’ a former manor house and, as far as I know, in the hands of a foundation now.
We passed busy farms (it’s the time of the year) and were pleasantly surprised to see that some of the famers organized themselves and now offer self-service coffee/ tea, biscuits, local ice-cream and restrooms.

We took the opportunity and Butch had a coffee and I enjoyed a local hazelnut ice-cream. The farm dog loved our attention and while drinking and eating we watched the calves and the beautiful landscape. There is a website where you can see what farm offers a rest – ‘rust.nu’
http://www.rustpunt.nu/

We envy the people who live in this beautiful area. We passed horses, young German Shepherd’s pups, donkey’s and we saw a green woodpecker. A bird I have not encountered since I was a child.
We arrived in Zutphen and it is always a great sight to see the church towers towering above the town. It is a very beautiful town, but because I work there and spent a lot of time there shopping and dining, we decided to pass and continue straight away.

Hanzestedenpad part 4
Zutphen – Zandwei (9.8 km)

We continued the next day. The path mainly follows the top of the dyke along the IJssel. Breathtaking views when it comes down to birds (storks, water birds and herons) We took a break with a nice view of the remains of Slot Nijenbeck dating from the 13th century. It had quite some importance, but now there is only the tower to be admired.

For the first time we used stiles in the Netherlands and to be honest, the Dutch can learn from the Brits. Smashing day, too much calories because at the finishing point there was a van selling ice cream from local farms. Yummy!

Hanzestedenpad part 1 & 2

Hanzestedenpad – part 1
Doesburg-Dieren (16km)

Butch and I started with the Hanzestedenpad. A walk of 164 km along the River IJssel and through seven ancient towns (like Zutphen, Deventer, Zwolle en Kampen) which belonged to the Hanze. The Hanzeatic league also known as Hanze was an economic alliance of trading cities and their guilds. They established and maintained a trade monopoly. It started in 1159 in Lübeck at the Baltic Sea and later covered the North Sea and went inland.

The towns are often known for their beautiful buildings and interesting history.
The Hanzestedenpad starts at Doesburg, if you want to walk it from the South to the North. Of course one can walk it in the opposite direction as well. We started in Doesburg, a lovely little place, and we enjoyed some nice views. We walked on top of the old town walls. The sky was very dramatic, because there was a big storm front coming in! The rain came down in buckets whilst walking on the dyke towards Olburgen. There was a lot of lightning and thunder and we found shelter at the reception of a campsite along the path. Not a nice idea to walk on top of the dyke as a major point for lightning to strike. In the end we had to continue, because the rain did not stop at all. We took the little ferry at Olburgen to Dieren which offers regular service. We called it a day and will continue our walk soon.

Hanzestedenpad – part 2
Dieren to Bakkershoeve (15,4km)

Beautiful autumn weather! We had 22 degrees and a nice breeze as well. We were amazed by the beautiful houses along the road of the old part of Dieren. They have loads of character and often beautiful views over the Ijssel valley. In Spankeren we met Wim, a gentleman in his late 70’s. We admired his traditional, lovely garden and he had plenty of time on his hands. Leaning on his spade, wearing his wooden clocks he told us all about his life. He was born and brought up in the very house we were standing in front of. A whitewashed old farm with a lot of charm. A Labradoodle and a Jack Russell took part in the conversation. He told us about his wife and daughters; his father who used to be a farmer, the local undertaker and responsible for maintaining the old church building. In his face you could see a lot of love for life and the village. He is a witty person and made it very clear that he would never ever join a parish council meeting (have been asked to take chair a couple of times), because he would have a row after just two meetings although being very peace loving. He simply can’t stand people doing the talk, but not doing the walk. When it comes down to work in the end, it is always the same people who put in the hard work, the rest is just hot air.
What a character. In the end we left him to feed the birds and went on.

We came along lovely country lanes and farm buildings. We had a lot of downpours lately and now with the warm weather the fungi just popped up everywhere. I took some great pictures.
We had a lovely late lunch at the Engelenburg in Brummen. It is a late medieval castle which now serves as a hotel with golf course. http://www.engelenburg.com/en/home

From there we continued our walk up north. We met a lot of walkers and bikers. Everyone seemed to have left his domestic duties to enjoy the unexpected warm and sunny day.
This part of the Hanzestedenpad is worth to be walked again in the future, because it is really lovely