from Heathrow to Hook and into the Netherlands

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Our first two weeks has comprised of Southern England exploration as our MH has been inspected and serviced. Using a small car enabled us to tour the REALLY narrow roads in Devon, Cornwall and the Dartmoor National Park areas. Several National Trust sites in that area also would not have allowed our MH entry.
The Dartmoor moors were captivating. The beauty during periods of bright sunshine was such an opposite to the brooding and bleak appearance under cloud cover. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote the Hounds of Baskerville while staying in the moors and the film WAR HORSE was filmed there. A likely surround for the huge Dartmoor Prison, that was also described by Doyle in some of his writings. The total freedom of the wild ponies, flocks of sheep and herds of cattle keep the moors from becoming overgrown and add a sense of haunting mystery to the infinite 'wildness' of uninhabited land as far as you can see or imagine.
We continually find links to the escape of King Charles II, as he avoided capture by Cromwell's anti-royalist forces. He avoided capture and execution for 9 years by utilizing the protection by royalists throughout England and France until Cromwells death and Charle's return to the monarchy. This enabled him to regain his throne as King of England. Moseley Old Hall, a National Trust (NT) site is one of those estates, owned by a royalist, who not only provided part of of the escape route but also provided a 'priest hole' for the actual concealment of their resident priest and Charles II when a search of the property was carried out.
As we continued to explore another (NT) site we toured the Ancestral Home of the late photographer Patrick Lichfield aka Thomas Patrick Amslen the Fifth Earl of Lichfield: Shugborough Manor. Many of these gorgeous estates and gardens are given to the National Trust in lieu of Death Duties owed to the government and the renovation in some cases or just the ongoing maintenance is taken over by the National Trust society of England.
Our Stena ferry to the Netherlands sails from Harwich International Port and we were on our way via Welwyn-Garden City. Then on to the very active port to await a AM boarding of the largest passenger ferry in the world, the Stena Britannia, for a 6 hour calm crossing of the North Sea to Hoek.
Then on to explore windmills, canals and polders (the land below sea level that has been kept dry by huge pumping stations and dikes throughout the country. Schweinden and Kinderdijk were our first intense experiences with many windmills and the steep pitch of roads down to the level of land behind the dikes. The flatness of the land certainly lends itself to the use of wind power and the highway system is incredibly complex and clearly marked. Our GPS ROBERT, has only directed us astray a few times, usually where construction messes him up.
We have circled Den Haag and spent yesterday enjoying Amsterdam, it's Metro system, canals and canal side architecture. The center city provides many sightseeing opportunities as well as INTERESTING shops and restaurants. Tourists from all over the world give the Dutch lots of opportunity to practice the many different languages taught in their school system. We will leave Holland and head toward the Freisland district of the Netherlands, over a 6 lane 32 Km. dike between the North Sea and IJsselmeer ( the largest fresh water lake in Europe) For those of us who remember singing a little ditty that sang of 'sipping cider by the ZiederZee', this whole area is known world wide as the ZiderZee Project: one of the SEVEN ENGINEERING WONDERS OF THE WORLD.The ZiderZee was the shallow inlet from the North Sea that was always a potential for flooding the lands adjacent to it. It is no longer there. The fresh water in the Ijsselmeer comes from the Rhine river and is for drinking and agricultural use. Stay tuned for the further adventures of the Mature Meanderers.

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