Tag: GR5 (Page 3 of 3)

Up bright and early for the bus.  It arrived bang on time; asked if I could be dropped off at the nearest point to GR5, but had to go to bus stop on edge of Sint Philipsland and walk back.  Sunny but cool, so great walking.  Feet felt a bit; I stopped after two hours and added more to my toe.  Success, or my toe has fallen off, as I didn’t feel anything the rest of the way to Bergen op Zoom.  25kms in 7 hours, two of which were not walking, moving average of 4.8kms.  Ice cream and coffee and explored the centre of the old town.  Still a bit stiff after each stop, but it is getting better.

A rest day in Oude Tonge.  My legs feel much better and my toe is also improving.  (I sliced the toe area off the left side of my left foot trainer, so no pressure on my small toe)  I had also visited the pharmacy and stocked up on plasters and tape, so was fully equipped for the next day’s walk.  My plan for tomorrow is the early bus across the barrage, then back onto the GR5 and walk to Bergen op Zoom.  I booked accommodation for tomorrow night in Bergen op Zoom and hope that the accommodation problem disappears once I’m back onto the mainland.  Despite being a rest day, I walked out to the sea along the canal; thousands of geese, swans, ducks in the shallow water, then back into town to see the windmill.

I felt a lot better by the end of the day, and started to look forward to the rest of the trip.

My goal was Dirksland, where there is a B&B;  I planned to walk down the middle of the island, so as to pass through villages.  I would then aim for somewhere close to the mainland crossing for the next day.  The first hiccup was walking down a track, which I thought would be a nice short-cut, and finding a big ditch in between me and where I wanted to go…  I retraced my steps and carried on.  This was the first warm day and my left foot started suffering…phoned the B&B and found they were full…  A bit of searching on the internet found the only (?) accommodation in the area at Oude Tonge.  I planned to hitch and headed out of Dirksland to get to the main road.  On my way out I noticed a bus coming in signed Rotterdam via Oude Tonge, which was perfect.  I got to the main road and realised the traffic from the village was going in the opposite direction, and I needed to be at the next junction, so walked back into Dirksland.  I spotted a bus parked and it was the one I had seen earlier, just about to leave.  I jumped on and had a great ride to Oude Tonge where I stocked up on blister pads and plasters.  More route planning, and found that again there was not much (any?) accommodation before Bergen op Zoom.  I decided to have a rest day in Oude Tonge, and then plan for 7:15 bus to Sint Philipsland, where I could then walk on the GR5 to Bergen op Zoom.

The morning was grey and windy, so rather than following the GR5, I decided not to follow the coast route, but cut south along country roads.  I finally rejoined the GR5, with a walk through sand dunes.  The tide was out and I got down on to the firm sand.  Emptied my shoes; glad I hadn’t followed the GR5.  Across the bridge, and then a real slog into the wind before arriving in Havenhoofd where I stayed in a small B&B.  I had dinner in Goedereede, kindly driven there and back by the B&B owner, and then spent the evening trying to work out a route.  The challenge ahead was crossing the barrage to get back onto the mainland in a couple of days, and not having to walk a huge distance because of the state of my feet..  The GR5 follows the south side of the island, and I couldn’t find any accommodation, only campsites.  There was one B&B in the middle of the island, so I planned my route…

Finally off the ferry, on a rather grey day at Hook of Holland.  I decided to walk westwards from the ferry terminal to the beach so that I would start my walk at the North Sea.  I had to walk into a gale to get to the North Sea, then turned round and started the great trek.  The walk was signposted on the tarred track, heading east, alongside the Rhine.  There was a ferry crossing, and then it was back to heading west.  I thought I was reasonably fit, but this last section was very hard going.  The rucksack felt heavy and my feet were very sore.  I finally arrived in Brielle, which is a nice old town, full of day trippers and got to the hotel.  Having gone upstairs to my bedroom, my muscles stiffened up, and it was extremely difficult to get back down the stairs for my evening meal.

I left home on my big adventure and took the train to London.  A tube ride, and then the train to Harwich International, where I boarded the ferry for Hook of Holland.  This was an overnight crossing so that I could start my walk the next morning.