Day 44 - Vlieland

Thursday 16^th July 2015 – Vlieland – Day 44

This morning it is warm and sunny, quite a few boats are on the move out of the harbour with confirmation from the harbour master in his rib, we hurriedly find our way to a vacant box and all secured for 09.30.

Jack not wanting to exert himself declined the offer as me and Dave hire bicycles at 10.30 for the day.  The normal sit up and beg with seven gears to play with.  Armed with the local cycle map for the island, we set off along the north coast line, through a wooded area which contained holiday homes, camp sites and a hotel in amongst the sand-dunes.

Beach

   

Beach Hotel

The beach near to the camps was deserted, maybe a little too early or the campers or they were hiding in the dunes.

Cycling from this part of the beach, we managed to miss our turning on the track and ended up near to the lighthouse on the south side of the island.

Lighthouse

The lighthouse is situated on the highest point on the island, so an ideal spot to take some pictures.

I left Dave watching over the bics, while I began ascending the hillside towards the tower.

My ascent was blocked by a one metre high fence, it looked as though it was electrified but no notices.  I gingerly touched the top wire, nothing, so I straddled the fence touching the fence with both hands and wallop, I was flat on my back with one foot jammed in the bottom wire doing a St. Fettise dance, extracting my foot, the sensation stopped.

There is nothing like being electrocuted on holiday.

Lesson learnt, I circum-navigated the fence and found the correct route up to the lighthouse.  With a visitor’s platform and a friendly guide, I managed to get the panoramic view of the island, which is basically a huge sand mass with a covering of coarse grass and low trees.

Now following the main road on the south side on which there are very few motor vehicles (only locals allowed vehicles on the island).  We passed only two small cultivated fields which appeared to grow fodder for the horses.  The island literature tells of an abundance of wildlife, so far we had seen, one pigeon.

Hotel Posthuys

We arrive at our destination of the Hotel Posthuys with a lot of people here taking lunch.

A little further to the south, it is a no-go zone for tourists, as the military has taken over the rest of the island.  Therefore, this is the last place to take on food and drink.

I was happy with a small lunch, while Dave unknowingly, ordered a hamburger, which ended up the biggest one I have ever seen, though he did manage to munch his way through it.

Beach Truck

Outside the hotel were two large people carriers which take the tourists off down to the beaches for party time, we had our own transport.  We set off down the correct cycle path on the north side of the island.

Cycle Path

   

Circling Gulls

Along here there was more bird life to be seen, with nesting sea birds in the dunes, we stopped for a while and walked across to one of these sites and rested on the soft mossy dunes while watching the gulls circling above.

White Sands

Further along we came to another idyllic spot with fine views across the white sands, lying back on the top of the dunes in the warm sunshine, sleep came very quickly.

Alex's Bicycle

   

Dave's Bicycle

  

We managed to get ourselves along the rest of the cycle path and back into the village.

Parked up the bics and wandered in and out of the shops, before residing in one of the bars for some refreshing beers.

A short ride to the hire shop and we handed back the bicycles at 19.30, returned to the boat, where we had supper on board, tucked up in bed for 23.00.

It had been an adventure, a well recommended cycle tour of the allowed part of the island.  The beaches are in pristine condition and miles of it to enjoy, with an inviting village to relax.