Quite a bit of rain in the night but it's quiet and dry this morning and doesn't have the raw cold feel of the last few days. We crawl along the canal-side and through narrow suburban streets, all brick paved, where drivers give way to one another and no one is hurried. A few miles of rural roads and then it's busy motorway for the next hour. We are still close to Germany for a third of the way and there are a lot more trees than we have seen so far. At 13:00...

Having stayed up late listening to England winning the Grand Slam last night we are in no hurry to stir this morning. It's cold and rain varies from showers to squalls. We treat ourselves to a cooked breakfast and take things easy, and by the time everything is cleared and squared away it's 13:00 as we leave. It's been a happy little stop despite the weather and we are still coming to terms with how quiet it is in the Netherlands. No background hum of traffic...

The north west wind brings another cold day dawning. Sandra's tour party arrives in twos and threes around 10:30 just as the articulated lorry departs with the flowers we saw in the cold rooms yesterday. Because it's another cold day and we're still shaking off our own colds we decide to have a scenic tour rather than aim for somewhere to visit. We leave the tulip farm and drive past the bare sandy fields out to the motorway, over the bridge where we were held u...

As forecast it is grey and cold today. We service the van and check out of what has been a very peaceful and restful stop. There is a bit of a surprise, we've had the electric heating on so much we incur a moderate surcharge but it's been worth it to stay warm when we haven't been feeling our best. The road from Noordwijkerhout north is quite narrow and goes through a few small towns. We take a slight detour west to Zandvoort, once the home of the Dutch Grand...

Feeling the benefit of another early night to bed and a good lie in, we decide not to check out today but instead to go into town as we didn't quite get there yesterday. Along the way the thatchers are making good progress on the rooves of a new housing estate, strange to see the old ways on a new development. Further on we pass a field of tiny jonquils, all brilliant yellow in the midday sun. There are also a few lavish properties with perfect lawns and shrub...