North Sea Cycle Route: Hook of Holland to Esbjerg

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I spent some time there yesterday trying unsuccessfully to persuade it to show me the route from Hook of Holland to Esbjerg. It seems to not be able to cope with a starting-point in one country and a finishing point in another, which is rather a bizarre failing for that particular site!
And more importantly, getting rapidly unused to it on your return to the UK ...

Agreed on both points.
What we found in reality was provided you know what it was marked as in each country (for instance, The Netherlands it is LF1 (a or b for following it north or south)) then you don't really need the maps/books. We picked up an older copy of the German section (in German) which gave you the maps for each and every turn, but it was that well signed that they were not necessary. For Denmark we used the Danish cycling map which covered the entire country (a green cover) and relied on just heading the right way - it was mostly very well signposted but I would suggest that unless you like cycling along beaches (nudist or otherwise) you divert around the 15km section of beach in Denmark. Sweden we found we needed no maps other than the free 'petrol station' map, but we did not follow it to the letter having done that previously and gotten very bored with it. Are you camping? and if you are, are you aware of the free (or exceptionally cheap) tent sites in Denmark? you need the "overnatning" book.
 
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CopperBrompton

CopperBrompton

Bicycle: a means of transport between cake-stops
Location
London
I found even in the Netherlands, the Falk maps were really useful. Could have done it without them, but it was good to get more of an overview.

No, B&B rather than camping - I like to travel light. I just have two 12.5-litre panniers, one of which is mostly filled with bike stuff leaving the other for a few days' clothes, shoes and essential gadgets. :-) I hope for friendly B&Bs who'll let me use their washer and dryer, otherwise find a laundrette every few days and get a service wash done while we eat lunch.
 

Amanda P

Legendary Member
Take a look at this, and (if you've the patience to read it all) you'll see that Mrs Uncle Phil and I attempted something rather like this.

We took the North Sea route all the way up the west coast of the Netherlands, and it's a lovely route - especially just north of Rotterdam, where small seaside towns alternate with stretches of heathland, dunes and forest. After that, you emerge onto the seadyke and it can be a bit samey. Dutch cyclists' approach seems to be to cycle from bar to bar or cafe to cafe, and you can see why - in places there's not much else to act as a destination.

We also realised we weren't going to get to the northern tip of Jutland in our allotted two weeks, so we took some shortcuts to get into Germany, and, once there, took another shortcut along the Ems-Jade Canal, rather than follow the rather wiggly north German coast. We'd hoped to get a ferry across the Jade Bight, but it was late in the season and only running at commuter times, so we had to make our own way across to the Weser ferry at Sandstedt. We then made a beeline to the Elbe at Gluckstadt. Then we turned north along the North Sea Coast route once again, but once in Denmark, just followed our noses north to Hirtshals. We'd have reached Esbjerg a couple of days sooner, if we'd been heading for that port.

If we went again, we'd probably do the same; the coast route itself becomes rather samey, and there's absolutely no problem with navigation or road-riding away from the cycle route - most roads in that part of the world have excellent cycle routes along side them.

We started off with the Bikeline guides to the coast route. Although they're in German (except for the one describing the Danish part of the route, which is in English), the maps and the indications of where to camp, stay and eat are clear enough. We have almost no German at all, and we managed OK. Once off the coast route, we bought maps locally as we went along.

Our routes plotted on the CrazyGuy pages are accurate, so you could use those if you transferred them. We don't (as yet) do GPSs and gpx files and the like I'm afraid. We have the Bikeline guides sitting idle on our bookshelf, and would be happy to lend them to you if you like; they're not cheap but they're doing no-one any good gathering dust in Yorkshire. PM me if you're interested.

We'd like to do something like this again one day - I'd like to have seem much more of Denmark, including Copenhagen - and we passed through the home of Legoland without the time to spare to stop and visit it! If we went again, we'd probably adopt the same strategy of making a beeline through NL and D to get to DK.

Short answer to your question: if you stick to the North Sea route, I think it'll be a dash to do Hook of Holland to Esbjerg in ten days. But if you're prepared to take some short cuts, it's eminently doable.

Oh yes, and it may be flat, but when it's windy, you wish there were hills. Then at least there'd be some shelter, and some of the time, you'd be going downhill. There's a good reason that Friesland, Saxony and Denmark are full of wind turbines!
 
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CopperBrompton

CopperBrompton

Bicycle: a means of transport between cake-stops
Location
London
Just read (and enjoyed!) it all, thanks. That's a huge help. And yes, that does look like ten days would be a bit relentless, so might look at making it a full fortnight, and if we get there early we can see if we can swap ferry dates on arrival. If not, then head a bit further north and back again, or just laze around the town.
 

steveindenmark

Legendary Member
Ribe is a good stop off point before your final days ride to Esjberg. It is Denmarks oldest town and is very pretty with a little harbour type thing, even though it ia few miles from the sea. There is a camp site in Ribe as well as a Danhostel. There is also a large cycle shop just on the outskirts on the way to Esjberg.

You may be tempted to visit the island of Rømø before you get to Ribe. Just a word of warning. You have to cross a very long causeway and the wind really blows along it so you will have a long headwind run, one way or the other. Rømø has huge beaches, a shopping outlet village, a totally packed campsite that I would not be seen dead on, and that is about it. The beaches are quite stunning and there are usually dozens if kite flyers on it.

P1040094-001.jpg


Rømø beach...now you have seen it ^_^

You do not say where you are from in the UK but DFDS also do a freight ferry from Esjberg to Immingham. Places are restricted but you can get on it. I have used this service and I love it. It is almost like being a member of the crew. No frills, no kids. Just ship and sea.

When I had my Ice trike I set my TomTom Gps up so I could navigate and listen to my books. It was pwered by a very small scooter battery in a crossbar bag.


View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=itqoKZUZtXE


If I can be of any help or assistance on the Denmark leg please get in touch.

Steve
 
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CopperBrompton

CopperBrompton

Bicycle: a means of transport between cake-stops
Location
London
Thanks, Steve. I'm 50 miles from Harwich, so that couldn't be more convenient for me, so Immingham isn't really a viable alternative in my case.

GPS-wise, I have a Garmin eTrex Vista HCx powered by AA Eneloops. I carry a small plug charger which gets pressed into service recharging those and the two sets for my Dinotte lights each night.
 

jennywren

Member
Location
Norfolk
I enjoyed going south from Hook van Holland on the LF1. I remember flying along the sea defense with the wind behind me, hardly needing to peddle. Pretty villages and towns and water on both sides of the track a lot of the time. You know you've entered Belgium when all the signs disappear! (okay on the LF1, but you need a map if you leave the track) Loved Bruges...caught the boat back to UK at Zeebrugge.

I've cycled in Holland a lot using the Landelijke Fietroutes system of signs and maps. It is good and well designed. It is managed and looked after by an army of volunteers. People think tha the Netherlands is boring, but there is a wealth of variety in the landscape...and it is not all flat! I liked Friesland best of all.....
 
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CopperBrompton

CopperBrompton

Bicycle: a means of transport between cake-stops
Location
London
I love cycling in the Netherlands. My initial thought was simply to spend 10 days there, but I'm a sucker for a destination and a straight(ish) line ...
 

jennywren

Member
Location
Norfolk
I love cycling in the Netherlands. My initial thought was simply to spend 10 days there, but I'm a sucker for a destination and a straight(ish) line ...

Is the desire for destination (and speed) a man thing I wonder? For me it is all about the scenery, the interesting places and the 'coffee and appel geback' opportunities.
 
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CopperBrompton

CopperBrompton

Bicycle: a means of transport between cake-stops
Location
London
Not speed, in my case, and no-one has ever beaten me to the front of a cake queue, but there is something about going from A to B that works for me in a way that a more aimless meander doesn't.
 
Not speed, in my case, and no-one has ever beaten me to the front of a cake queue, but there is something about going from A to B that works for me in a way that a more aimless meander doesn't.
then you don't want to try following the NSCR! It only wanders aimlessly taking you 3 sides of a rectangle and often avoiding anywhere useful than may contain shops for food...
 
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CopperBrompton

CopperBrompton

Bicycle: a means of transport between cake-stops
Location
London
Well, I'm only doing part of one side of the square, so more or less a straight line. Kind of. Almost.

The bit I've done didn't seem to do too badly on the food front, though we did have to go a ways to find breakfast.
 
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CopperBrompton

CopperBrompton

Bicycle: a means of transport between cake-stops
Location
London
I'm still struggling to see how this ends up at 700-800 miles. This is just a very, very rough plot on googlemaps, but comes out at 500 miles:
http://goo.gl/maps/wSzVO

I appreciate small wiggles add up, but 2-300 miles' worth?
 
You have three ferries that are not on the route, but do cut corners.
Your probably saving around 80 miles with the ferry across the Elbe vs going right into Hamburg and back.
The Dollart and Jade Bight ferries add another 70 odd miles saved vs going around them both.
So that coming close to 150 miles saved without adding any wiggle distance.
 
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