We leave the Keukenhof after an early lunch just as everyone is arriving.
This one is the end of the jam as the road comes in from the A4 at Nieuw Vennep. You wouldn't believe you can hire a bike from Haarlem or Leiden but who cares wee off towards the coast.
A relaxing fountain to ease the road rage.
The church at Hilegom - home of an Anglo-Irish pub yes they exist but not in England or Ireland. Far too hot for beer though so we press on.
One last bulb field before the coast.
Another sheep
Just before Zandvoort we take the national cycle route that now runs in a circle via England Scotland and Shetland to Norway and Calais in France with an option of continuing to Brittany rather than crossing The Channel.
We just slip round Zandvoort as most of the traffic is heading for the coast.
A few more shots showing the dune landscape
You can just see Zandvoort with the motor racing circuit in the foreground.
More of the dunescape
Avoiding the busy Zandvoort and Bloemendaal aan Zee we find ourselves in the Kennemer Duinen National park.
A deceptive shot of the path heading North - it was incredibly busy but there were breaks in the traffic and a nice little refreshment hut.
Horses running wild in front of a rare Dutch castle.
And yes another church somewhere around the confusingly named Santpoort.
More traffic around Santpoort - we were tempted to stop here and take the direct train back to Den Haag but for some reason we pressed on.
We make the Amsterdam - Noordzee Canal and here we see the view towards the city. There is a hydrofoil service much like the Greek Flying Dolphins that departs from the quay but.
We are going across to Velsen Noord continuing on our way to Zandaam.
