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

Vale of Lorton, Cumbria

This summer we decided to do ‘the ‘Vale of Lorton’, a beautiful circular walk organized by Mickledore Travel. We chose for luggage transfer, so we could walk with a small backpack containing the usual waterproofs, lunches and camera.

We arrived our first day at Keswick, where we stayed at the B & B Cranford House. Friendly hosts and fresh and tidy en-suite room. We explored Keswick and after a good night sleep and a good breakfast we were briefed by Sonja from Mickledore. She made sure we had no further questions and we left for our first walk. A taxi dropped us at the top of Whinlatter Pass, so we had a less challenging, but nice walk to Lorton.

The first part of the day through the plantation was not so interesting, but the second part was a nice walk with good views. We walked through Low Lorton towards High Lorton. We had an unexpected lovely tea at the Winder Hall, a 5 star hotel. The friendly staff was not at all put off by our appearance and served us still warm homemade scones and lemon drizzle. Both mouth watering. Winder Hall has a lot of old country charm with no frills. We walked along the church to B&B Meadowbanks, to stay with Christine and Keith. Lovely people!

The second day the weather happened to be ghastly. It rained a lot. Nevertheless we had a good day, if you ignore a seriously twisted ankle. But although I was in agony, we continued. You don't have to tell me I'm a real hero...I know I am. 
We walked halfway along the fells along the river Cocker. We got into another fiddly situation when we came to cross Liza Beck. The bridge had been left on a pile of rocks and rumble next to the river bed since the flooding in November 2009. We had to go downstream, trespass onto a farmer’s property to wade through the water. I went in first and had water gushing into my boots from the top. They were not high enough. Butch made it through dry, because he is much taller and his boots much higher. Lucky him!
Funny Mickledore didn’t know about it, because our host for that night told us that other walkers had complained about this before. Personally I do think that most people just did not bother to inform Mickledore about the situation. It is okay, but it would be better to be prepared and bring a towel and spare socks.The other thing is, I do not like to break the Counrty Code.

But what a gift of nature this area is. We had lovely views over Crummock Water, followed by views of Loweswater. The whole day followed a beautiful route. Although I was in pain (...what I can't stress enough, lol) I really enjoyed it.
Askhill Farm at the top end of Loweswater near Waterend, where we slept that night, is a great place to spend your holidays. This farm is a warm and welcoming family home, Vicky and her husband are soooo friendly. Vicky helped me with drying my boots and treating my ankle. Her food is really tasty and my dear hubby ate sooo much, he had a sleepless night. He only can blame himself. Thank you Marion…we had a great time and will be back!

We took an alternative route along Crummock Water (instead of Mosedale) towards Buttermere. Beautiful scenery and a lot of sun!

At Buttermere we stayed at the Bridge Hotel. I indulged myself with a nice hot foamy bath and we had a nice meal in the Hotel’s pub. The breakfast was superb! So were the lunch packages.

The fourth day was beautiful. Okay…the weather was disappointing in the morning, but later it became dry. We ascended Newlands Pass and had the lovely view of Keskadale Beck on our way to Swinside Framhouse where we stayed for the night. The lunches we got from Bridge Hotel were excellent: layers of salmon, gammon steak followed by brownies. There is a decadent feel to it, when you have your lunch under a tree in the pouring rain, covered in mud. The only thing I missed was a butler serving some bubbly…

The last day was a short stroll into Keswick where we visited the ‘James Bond Museum’. Although I am no Bond- Fan, I thoroughly enjoyed myself by looking at and touching all the cars, which had been driven by Connery, Brosnan etc. We finished where we started...at the Cranford House.

All in all the ‘Vale of Lorton’ is a great circular walk with wonderful views of a fantastic landscape and lovely people along the way. Mickledore did a really good job and we hope to contact them again soon for another walk.

Graafschapspad part 8

Olburgen - Zutphen

 We did this last part during a heat wave. The humidity was killing us, especially between Brummen and Zutphen. Nevertheless, the Graafschapspad offers a lot of different views till the end. The farms are not that interesting anymore, but this river valley walk has its' own charm. Bronkhorst is a beautiful tiny town (yes, it is a real town with a little bit more than 200 inhabitants.) Medieval charm and nice cafés.  However, we can't recommend the 'Gouden Leeuw'. Bad service and we did not get what we ordered. They tried a simplified cheaper version on us: no dressing, in spite the promised variety of shellfisch only the cheap iceland shrimps and half the portion of bread and butter. We complained twice till we get something reasonable for the price they charge. To be honest, it was not the first bad experience we had there, but we thought everyone deserves a second chance. Better visit the neighbouring restaurant or enjoy the ice-cream made by local farmers at the Boerderij-winkel (farmshop).

Zutphen is worth a visit  or even a weekend. Great town, cramped with old buildings, nice market town and a great atmosphere. The walk from Olburgen till Zutphen is mainly following B-roads and the top of the dam along the river IJssel. Nice views.

All in all we found the Graafschapspad to be a really beautiful walk. The path is a bit dull between Ruurlo and the Slangenburg, but more than 80% are really lovely. it is difficult to tell what part is my favorite, because the parts are so different. The Graafschapspad is really recommendable!

Graafschapspad part 7

Doesburg-Olburgen

What a wonderful day. The sun was shining a lot (24°C) and there was a light breeze. I forgot to take my camera, so the following images are from the internet, but they give a pretty good idea about my day. The path today was so different from the former sections. The medieval town of Doesburg is very picturesque, interesting and has beautiful buildings. Try to spend a bit more time to explore the compact town center. It is worth the effort. The outer boundary of old town has the shape of a star. I followed the star shape on a dyke which surrounds the old center which is really interesting.

I had lunch at ‘De Bonte Hond’, a charming little restaurant which serves really nice dishes. I enjoyed a nice green leaf salad with goats cheese, crunchy bacon, melons and a nice rye bread. I continued my walk by following het ‘Graafschapspad’ out off town.

 I came to the IJssel-valley and for the rest of this section the path is on top of a dyke. To the left you see old parts of the IJssel. This is a nature reserve now and is home to a big variety of water birds and amphibians. There are two marina’s and tiny sandy beaches. On the right hand side of the dam are farms and three nice campsites: ‘De Zwarte Schaar’, ‘Dorado Beach’ and the ' IJsselstrand'. Finally there is a private mini camping ‘Het Hofke’.

The whole walk is really lovely and you hardly hear anything as soon as you leave the outskirts of Doesburg, only the wind and the birds.

Graafschapspad part 6

Sixth part of the Graafschapspad
Doetinchem - Drempt

 What a beautiful walk. We had great weather and we strolled along lovely villages, old manor houses, through dense woodland and over farmland. We got a nice tan and some moskito bites. Better don't take your break in the woods, because these beasts suck you empty. There are enjoyable pubs/restaurants along the way. Try the 'Gouden Karper' in Hummelo or the 'Keldertje' in Doetinchem. The latter is not regularly open, so better check in advance.

There are vast stretches where you only hear the wind. Something you do not experience in a lot of parts of the Netherlands. In Hoog Keppel there is a very old chuchyard with beautiful trees. I like to read the insciption on the headstones. I always try to figure out who is whoses family and what happened back in time  (Great War & WOII). It makes me sad to read  the text of the tiny headstones of infants. It makes me realise how lucky we are with our modern knowledge of medicine and its' preventive measures. We highly recommend this section.