Monday, 24 October 2011

Saturday 22nd October – Otterloo, Holland


Although the journey to the National Park north of Arnhem was through flat land is was prettier than we had expected. We started by crossing the border at Oeding and if it hadn't have been for the signs, we would not have known. The border was between two houses on the outskirts of the town and there was no indication that a formal border had ever existed.
We were soon travelling on tree-lined roads and sometimes beside tree-lined canals. There was a great deal of deciduous forest that was very pretty at this time of year. Our target was the ACSI approved t'Schinkel campsite near Hoenderloo. When we arrived it seemed very quiet and there was a note in Dutch on the reception window. I walked down into the site to find it deserted and when I got back, Jane had deciphered some of the words on the note. It appears that the bank pulled the plug on the campsite and it closed on the 1st October this year.
There were a number of others in the area so we plugged in a couple of coordinates into the sat nav and set off. We decided that the gods were against us as the road to the first site in Otterloo had a 'no entry' sign on it and an incomprehensible sign in Dutch. We turned away initially but then discovered that the campsite was only just beyond the sign and there was no other route to it. We ignored the signs and ploughed on. The last section of the road was dirt track but when we got to the Beek en Hei reception there was a warm welcome and the campsite is very pleasant. It is surrounded by forest and has footpaths and cycle tracks running past it. We settled down in a very sunny pitch and sat out to enjoy the warmth of the sun.
Photos: Beek en Hei – parked up under the WiFi mast.

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