Postcard from Noord Holland

Leaving Lowestoft at 3am had various benefits – we enjoyed a fabulous sunrise, we had a good breeze across the North Sea and we arrived at Ijmuiden before dark.

Sunrise at sea

We managed to stay awake long enough to have some food and a shower then slept extremely well, thanks to having had a long day but also having the most comfortable mattress that we have ever had on a boat – this year's present to ourselves!

After a walk into the not-so-pretty town of Ijmuiden (and a bus journey back), we set off along the Noordzee Kanaal. This huge canal is busy with industrial traffic of all shapes and sizes – the Dutch will put anything on a barge! 

Our favourite barge so far!

 We turned off after 10 miles into a small shortcut to the Noordhollandsch Kanaal and spent the night at Nauerna in a small marina. As with all the marinas that we have visited to date, it seemed to still be hibernating - given the cold northerly wind, perhaps sensibly so! An evening walk showed us the contrasting faces of the area – in one direction cranes, docks and low-flying aircraft, in the other direction green fields, grazing cows and windmills.

Next morning we went through a small lock and enjoyed an unexpectedly beautiful trip along the canal. No-one else seemed to be on the move so the lock and several bridges happily opened just for us, bringing all other transport to a complete standstill. There were numerous houseboats along the canal, many of which were elaborately furnished and decorated, and the scenery was so typically Dutch. A beautiful detour.

Typical Dutch landscape

Nauerna lock

We continued up to the Alkmaardermeer – a large lake similar to the Broads – and, after a couple of attempts to moor where it was too shallow, we went into the marina. We took our bikes out and went to explore the village of Akersloot (ice creams, of course!) and then along one of the excellent cycle paths past windmills, baby Black-tailed Godwits (with parents who tried to shoo us away!) and commuting cyclists.

That evening was race night on the Meer – Oulton Broad eat your heart out! We considered offering ourselves as crew to one of the 40 or so boats – small cruisers, Dragons, local half-deckers and dinghies – that turned out for racing … and their crews enjoyed typical post-race refreshment.

Sailing on Alkmaardermeer

Ice cream time

 Next morning we continued the few miles to the stunning city of Alkmaar, passing an enormous but seemingly very organised recycling centre – it must have spread a mile along the canal. In the city centre, everywhere you turn there are old houses that are beautifully cared for and of huge variety, in large open squares and down narrow alleyways. We bought a 'city walk' guide book from the VVV (tourist information) which was in the weigh house – itself an incredible building – and read our way around the city learning of the town's victory over the siege by the Spanish, the weekly cheese market, the 9000 pressed men who hand-dug the canal, the man who was so annoyed with the city council that he decorated the front of his house with two lions showing their bottoms to the city emblem, etc, etc.

Alkmaar from the canal

Alkmaar alleyway

Alkmaar Weigh House

With a little reluctance, we moved on the next morning – several bridges meant that it took us an hour or so to leave Alkmaar and then we found a barge to follow on up the canal – bridges open miraculously for barges! The countryside became more open as we neared the coastal dunes, and the wind became colder! We were quite glad to reach Den Helder and find somewhere to stay – ending up in a quiet, slightly run-down marina where the Harbour-master had gone home so a fisherman kindly rang him for us. All settled, we had a key for the gate and hid away from the cold. A brisk evening walk through the 'Marinapark' (a grand idea which seems to be suffering from the recession) and surrounding retail/industrial estate – little feeling of affluent Holland here.