Vollenhove, Netherlands 8th to 11th June

Vollenhove is not any tourist trail that I have seen. It is a small town on the edge of the Zuider Zee at its southern end. It is certainly old: some buildings date form the 17th century but many a newish although in the town centre that has not destroyed the winding streets. The roads are of cobbles, generally narrow but sufficiently wide enough to permit cars to move about.

As an old town either through design or accident it has not been 'ruined' by the inclusion of garish shop fronts and neon lights. Bar one shop, the 'supermarket', all shops, inns and restaurants reveal themselves in a very low key manner so that only by approaching them and looking in the doors or windows does it become clear what they sell.

But the town does have more to offer! The area is a bit like I imageine the Norfolk Broads to be. There are certainly lots of boats and wherever one wnet in the area boats were on the move. These, of course, were the pleasure boats and none that I saw were commercial. Perhaps like the people we find on the campsites, the 'owners' were of a certain age. As the sun was out and the temperature warmish, they sat idly on the boats drinking tea or late afternoon beer.

However, as at Wiesmoor the other main industry was farming. Men on tractors was rushing about turning grass, baling grass or carting it off to be stored for the winter. Just outside the campsite lay a main waterway but between it and a large protection bank (and us) was what I think in medieval times was referred to as a 'water meadow'; that is an area that might flood but would also produce good lush grass for the animals.

There were two things in particular that I noticed about the local Dutch houses. Firstly many were kept immensely tidily, with immaculate gardens usually laid out in a very formal manner. Grass was in evidence but given that many were quite small, what we mainly saw were shrubs and bushes. Secondly, the houses, and this applied particularly to the newer ones, had large front windows. I presume the idea was to let a lot of light into the rooms but it also enabled the owners to display large ornaments - pots, and other decorative items - very prominently. Indeed, it is fair to say that not one house front window was bare.

Our stay was tranquil and we managed to get around with the odd, short bicycle ride, into the town or just to its outer edge. The Dutch certainly make cycling far safer and easier than in the UK with its vast network of tracks and paths. These seem to be laid out as a road but only bikes can use them. At some points, mainly on the arterial roads, they also provide bike racks so that it is possible to ride to a bus stop, leave bike all day and go to work! Now there's an idea for the UK.

SO as the weather is forecast to turn damp and greyer we are heading south via Arnham. A Van Gogh museum in the woods will provide a first stop but after that we are heading for France and the Rhone Valley.