And the sun came out

Our day started with a game of hunt the Bromptons. They’d been stowed in the hotel’s bike store last night and were the only bikes in there. At 9am this morning they were surrounded by dozens of big, hefty Dutch bikes.

A couple of them had route numbers written on tape around the handle bars. They wouldn’t be stopping at every junction to check if they were heading the right way. A useful tip for our next trip.

We headed out through wooded Shuddebeurs, across more dikes and into Zierikzee, a small medieval town. The Dutch certainly know how to make things last and keep them looking good.

Our first big challenge was 9km over Zeelandbrug Bridge, another relentless pedal into a headwind. The Dutch are good at that too..

It was difficult – at one point we were even overtaken by a man on a mobility scooter. It was lovely to stop for a breather and take in the view across the water.

Our route took us into Colijnsplaat and along the waterside through the Oosterschelde National Park until we reached the Oosterscheldekering bridge. We stopped briefly to refuel with a local speciality of Kibbeling. It sounded like something you’d feed cats but was little pieces of fresh fried fish. Kim was impressed, John wasn’t.

We’d been dreading cycling over the bridge. So far, they’ve all been awful. This one was a dream, top gear all the way and the cycle route managed to be gently downhill while the road went up. How does that work?

We’ve covered over 125 miles in four days and it was a relief to reach the hotel back in Burgh-Haamstede.

Tomorrow, John has suggested we visit a market garden site in Arnhem where he has booked us on a history tour. This could be difficult, our legs have forgotten how to walk and we’ve struggled up one flight of stairs to our hotel room.

Bum butter, a final review. 8/10! Bottoms are sore so extra was slathered on this morning. It saw us through the day and does everything it claims but still doesn’t pedal the bikes.