8 June 2019 - Sandwich to Haarlem. 323 miles

Oil change. Check battery. Tweak steering. Test fuel pump. Top up tyre sealant. Fresh undies. The loved ones have been locked up (kennels). And we are as good to go as any M3W driver who knows damn all about fixing vehicles can be. I just need to remember to build in stops for Ibuprofen and psychiatric tests.

People asked me why I did not take a passenger. This is why.

Make no mistake, this will be a big journey. Oslo to the North Cape alone is as far as Oslo to Rome. And we need to get through five countries before we land in Norway. The plan is to start gently, avoiding motorways, turning east of Bruges, visiting Leiden and taking the scenic Bollenstreek Route through the Dutch bulb fields (too late for the spectacular Tulip and Hyacinth colours but timing has never been a strong suit).

The night before, the reception waiting for us when we emerged from the Tunnel was not looking too friendly.

But off we went at 6am, travelling hopefully. 

Unfortunately, the map was accurate. Steady rain till lunchtime was followed by buffeting sidewinds (gusting somewhere around 50) that made changing lanes hazardous and twice almost lifted me from my seat - it was a feeling of being gripped by the collar and pulled up by some invisible hand. And we were nearly taken out twice, by a low-flying Pheasant (!) and then a skidding car.

The Toad behaved itself pretty well, but there were a few minutes when unusual noises from the area of the fuel pump made us fear that it might croak. I hope we are not going to get another scare tomorrow. 

The first two or three days were not planned to be exciting: there is not much to raise a pulse on Belgian back roads. But I did have high hopes for Leiden, picturing it as a pretty town straight out of a 17th century painting. There are attractive areas around the rivers and canals in the centre, 

but Leiden is now a significant-sized city and much of it is modern, including (and one finds this everywhere) the windows in otherwise admirable historic buildings. 

The bulb fields - eight or nine miles of them either side of the Bollenstreek - must be spectacular in April and May. This is what I might have seen.

Instead...

Well, at least there were a few purple ones left, but almost all of the fields were just a mass of fading leaves.

We skirted Rotterdam, and that did confirm my preconception of endless petrochemical plants, oil silos and container parks.

Haarlem was our stop for the night. It reminded me a lot of Krakow - or, come to that, any of a dozen or more small European 'heritage' cities. The pedestrian shopping grid with all the usual outlets, the large market square with a fine church and a jumbled collection of mediaeval to 18th century buildings, pleasant canal and riverside views. But nothing really stood out. See what I mean?  

I took a fancy to this house by the river. I wonder what its insurers think about those windows?

Tomorrow we keep close to the northern shores of Holland and Germany and make camp near the Danish border. Sadly I will have to miss the Dutch Run, which is only a few miles south of my route, for lack of time.