Author: ourneverendingwanderlust

Dutch - Zeeland - photographer - 15 countries and counting - day job

A two day itinerary to England

This November I took a weekend getaway to England. We drove over to England on Saturday and came back Sunday night. This might seem like a short time, but you can do a lot in this time frame. Let me tell you what our two day itinerary looked like for this trip.

We left early in the morning to catch the 8.49 train from Calais to Folkestone. We arrived early in Calais, so they offered us to take a train earlier free of charge. Since we only had two days we took the train half an hour earlier. So we arrived in England at 7.45 in the morning. At the train station in Calais there is a big parking area with restaurants, where you can wait in case you are to early.

When leaving the train station in England you can get straight on the highway. Just remember to drive on the left side and to take in account that the speed limit is in miles instead of kilometers.

We first drove to Hastings, which is about an hour drive from the train station. Here we spend the morning at the beach and the pier.

After Hastings we drove to Beachy Head near Eastborne. Which is about another hour from Hastings. Here we spend the afternoon on the beach and the cliffs and had tea at the restaurant.

After the sunset at Beachy Head we headed back towards Folkestone. Were we stayed at a hotel in the town of Rye. Which is a beautiful typical English village. I didn´t take any shots here though. Since I didn´t want to bring my camera to dinner. If you stay in Rye on Saturday I would recommend to make dinner reservations though, since we got turned down at two restaurants.

Sunday morning we took breakfast early and left for the White Cliffs of Dover, which is approximately an hour drive from Rye. Here we hiked to the lighthouse.

After Dover we headed to Folkestone, for dinner and the sunset, before taking the train back to France at 17.00. Here you can read all about Folkestone.

We took our time at every single stop and didn´t rush anything. Even though we only had two days we saw a lot. It felt like I had been on vacation for an entire week.

This is what our itinerary looked like:
Saturday morning:                          beach and pier Hastings
Saturday afternoon:                        Beachy Head near Eastbourne
Saturday night:                                dinner and hotel stay in Rye
Sunday morning/afternoon:         white cliffs of Dover
Sunday afternoon:                          Folkestone
Sunday night:                                  train home

What was your last weekend getaway?

Folkestone

November is the perfect time for a last weekend getaway. Even though it can get chilly it is the best time to get one more roadtrip in before winter comes around. So this November I headed to England with two friends. I had never been to England before, but it blew me away. The scenery is picture perfect around every corner.

We went to the UK for just two days as it is only a short train ride away from France. So perfect for a short weekend getaway. I will post another blog on our two itinerary soon. But today´s post is all about the charming town of Folkestone.

Folkestone wasn’t on the list of places to visit, but because the train comes in here. We made Folkestone our last stop. And am I happy we did.

When we arrived to Folkestone the sun was already starting to set. We had an incredible view of Folkestone’s beach right from the parking lot. There were a lot of people out and about enjoying a nice Sunday afternoon stroll along the beach. They made for the perfect subject for some beautiful shots of this town.

This town is a fishers town, so you will find a lot of places where you can have fresh fish. Unfortunately for us the stand at the harbour was already closing up, so we had to find another place to eat. If you want to try fish and chips while in England I can recommend the Captain’s Table Cafe. From where you have a beautiful view of the harbor, while you enjoy your delicious fish and chips. During dinner the tide started to roll in. Which was beautiful to watch with the setting sun.

In the harbour you will find a tiny house. Which is one of the six tiny houses Richard Woods put around Folkestone. All of them are identical with the only difference the color. He made them as a symbol of the housing crisis. Since a lot of people buy a second home along the coast, there is a housing problem along the coast.

Unfortunately we didn’t have very long to explore Folkestone, but I loved the harbour. So I will be back, because it is such a beautiful town.

Would you stop here when going to England?

A day hike in Nisramont, Belgium

The Belgium Ardennes had been on my list to visit for ages. And even though it is close by (about a 2/3 hour drive) for some reason we have never made it out there. So I thought it was time to finally explore this beautiful region of Belgium. So I invited one of my friends to go on a day hike.

We headed out early in the morning, around 4 am, because we wanted to make it in time for the sunrise. Unfortunately it took us longer then we expected to reach our final destination, so we missed out on the sunrise.

Our final destination was Nisramont. There the river the Ourthe passes through the forest and it is the start of a 13 km hiking trail.

We parked our car at the big parking lot near the little restaurant which is situated at the head of the trail. After a quick coffee we headed out onto the trail.

You can enter the trail by walking past the restaurant on the left side, where you will find the sign of the start of the trail. You will follow the red markers along the trail. The trail is marker really well, so a map isn’t quite nescessary. We hiked about 5 hours, but we did make lots of stops to shoot. Especially the first couple of kilometers.

Our never ending Wanderlust Nisramont-8882Along the trail there are a couple of look outs, which will give you an incredible overview over the river the Ourthe and the surrounding forest. Beside the lookouts there are several places where you can sit and enjoy the river. Which is incredible especially on summer days.

If you hike this trail in the fall make sure to bring a hiking stick, because this trail can become really slippery. There are two steep climbs at the end of the trail, which will be quite challenging in wet conditions.

We did the hike during the heat of summer, so when we ended our hike we took a dive into the river. Which was incredible. There are a lot of spots at the river where you can enjoy a relaxing afternoon at the river. You can also rent kayaks and stand up paddle boards at the restaurant to explore the river from the water.

For me the best moment of this hike was jumping in the lake after finishing our hike, because it had become 36 degrees by the time we finished the trail.

I can’t wait to come back to the Ardennes in the fall and explore more of this beautiful region.

Have you visited the Ardennes in Belgium before? What is your go to hike?

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Beach sunrise Breskens

Growing up in Zeeland means growing up besides water. We are surrounded by it, which also means being surrounded by beaches. Mostly during summer we tend to avoid the beaches, but this summer we are turning things upside down. So instead of going to the beach during the day time we go to the beach for the sunrise.

Our neverending Wanderlust Breskens-6845I have never been a morning person, but ever since I got up for my first sunrise I have been hooked. There is nothing better then to watch the sunrise and to see the world coming back to life. It is one of those things that will always be magical.


So the first of July we took Milow to one of the beaches close to our home, Breskens. There are big parking lots everywhere along the dunes, which you only have to pay for between 11am and 6pm. So you shouldn’t have any trouble parking your car.

Our neverending Wanderlust Breskens-6814

Breskens is home to a beautiful lighthouse. Which is open for visitors. The lighthouse was build in 1866-1867. And thus has been here for over a 100 years! It is the oldest still excisting cast iron lighthouse and it is still operating.

It is one of my favorite spots along the coast here in Zeeland.

Our neverending Wanderlust Breskens-6855

Which is your favorite coastal spot?

Our neverending Wanderlust Breskens-6754

Puy de Dome, France

Two years ago, in 2016, we went on a 4 week roadtrip through France. Which took us to many incredible places and hikes.

One of the places we decided to make camp at was the Auverge. The Auvergne is a beautiful part of France, and luckily it isn´t yet overflown with tourist. Which for us was a big plus. If you love nature, the Auvergne is definitely the place to be. The Auvergne is known for it´s volcanoes.  One of them is the Puy de Dome, which is the most famous volcano of the region.

The Puy de Dome is a very popular destination for paragliders, but it is also a beautiful place to hike.

Our never ending wanderlust Puy de Dome-0369There is a big car park at the foot of the Puy de Dome, from where you can either take the train up to the top or you can hike, ofcourse we decided to do the hike.
Our never ending wanderlust Puy de Dome-0260
The first part of the trail will take you through a forest until you get to the start of the trail going up the Puy de Dome. From there it is a long trail going up and up and up, until you reach the summit at 1415 meters. There are benches along the trail everywhere, so you can enjoy the view of the surrounding volcanoes.

Our never ending wanderlust Puy de Dome-0300
Our never ending wanderlust Puy de Dome-0335
Our never ending wanderlust Puy de Dome-0323
When you get to the summit you will find a restaurant, where you can have a bite to eat. There are also benches where you can eat your own sandwiches.


When you want to head down, you just follow the train for the first few meters. After a couple of hundred metres you will find the entrance to the trail down. There are stairs to take you back down to the car park and this part of the trail will take you through an incredible landscape. I was waiting for the hobbits to pass me on this part of the trail.

 

Monte Urgull vs Monte Igueldo San Sebastian

If you follow me on instagram you might have seen we were back at the Basque coast.

Last year I completly fell in love with San Sebastian or Donostia as it is called here. This says a lot as I am not a city girl at all.

So ofcourse I couldn’t come here without visiting San Sebastian again and eat my way around the city.

So last year we took the cable car up to Monte Igueldo, but this year we decided to go up Monte Urgull. Since that was something we didn’t get around to last year.

So which one do we prefer?

Monte Igueldo vs Monte Urgull

If you only can do one of the two I would go up Monte Igueldo. The view over the city there is incredible.

Our never ending wanderlust San Sebastian-7021

The view of Monte Urgull is beautiful to, but it really can’t beat the view from Monte Igueldo.

Our never ending wanderlust San Sebastian-1569
Our never ending wanderlust San Sebastian-1559

Even when you get to the top of Monte Urgull you won’t have a completly clear view with all the trees blocking the view.

It is also easier to get to the top of Monte Igueldo then to the top of Monte Urgull.

So for us the view on Monte Igueldo is the one you should go for if you only want to do one of the two. Besides the old cable car going up the mountain is also worth the visit. If you don’t want to take the cable car you can also hike to the top.

Our never ending wanderlust San Sebastian-6980

Have you visited either one of the Montes in San Sebastian and which one did you prefer?

The painted forest of Oma

For some reason after we left the Basque coast last year I saw pictures popping up on my instagram feed of the forest of Oma and I made the mental note that if I returned to the Basque coast I would go visit.

So this April we did go back to the Basque coast and we headed out to the painted forest of Oma. Ofcourse I hadn’t done my research beforehand, because we decided to go back to the Basque coast at the last second. So when we got there we decided to first head over to the information centre and ask where we had to go.

If you aren’t a local you can’t get close to the forest by car. You have to park your car 3,5 kilometers away. They made a hiking loop to visit the forest, which will past through the forest and through the valley of Oma.
Ourneverending wanderlust Oma Forest-1787Luckily we picked a fairly cold day, ahum, defenitly not and we headed onto the trail at the hottest part of the day. The total trail is 7 kilometers and it is actually quite a climb as the forest is situated in the valley.

The forest was painted back in 1984 as a project by Agustin Ibarrola. Who used the trees as his canvas.

When you get to the forest you will find little direction markers with numbers on it on the forest floor. They point you to where you should look. Multiple trees will form different shapes and you can use your imagination in full force in this forest.

April roundup

And another month has come to pass once again. Since we are so busy this year seems to fly by! It is also the reason why I haven’t posted  in a while. I can’t believe May is already half way through. It is the month I have been looking forward to for months, because we finally started to build our new home!

So what have we been up to in April?

The Keukenhof

I didn’t go to the Keukenhof just once this month, but twice! I had never been in the Keukenhof before. So this year I finally got the chance to go. Read all about my Keukenhof trip here:A daytrip to the Keukenhof

Owl and bird of prey shoot

I signed up for an owl shoot this month, which was a lot of fun. I even got to hold an owl! It was an amazing experience to watch the birds and the love of their owner for them. And the chance to shoot (with a camera) these beautiful birds.

Spain

We didn’t decide if we were going to either the Dolomiti in Italy or back to the Basque coast until the night we left. But we decided to go back to the Basque coast, which was amazing once again. I can’t wait to share all the new things we did there this year!

So what did you do in april?

The Hallerforest

The Hallerforest is famous for the bluebell, they usually bloom during the month of April.

Since I had never been there before I decided to go there at the end of March, of course the bluebells weren’t blooming yet. Even without the bluebells I absolutely loved this forest. I could wander around this forest for hours on end.

In March the forest was still completely deserted at sunrise. For me it is the absolute perfect time to head into the forest. I love to wander around a forest that is just waking up.


You will find two trails in the Hallerforest, a short and a longer trail, but you can also just wander around the forest. There are a lot of signs, so it is quite easy to get around.


While I was shooting, a deer crossed the trail, unfortunately I didn’t see him, but my friend that tagged along did. He even saw the deer twice, but apparently I need new glasses, because I really didn’t see him.

We decided to not hike a trail, but just wander around the forest. Which in this forest is a perfect option, because the forest holds so many beautiful lanes.

Have you ever visited the Hallerforest?


 

A daytrip to the Keukenhof

There are those trips that you want to do at least once in your life, no matter how much of a cliché they are. Well for me that was visiting the Keukenhof. It is one of the biggest tourist attractions in the Netherlands, and I had never been there. not even as a child. So this year I put it on my bucket list for 2018.

And I didn’t go once, I actually got to go twice in a week’s time.


The Keukenhof is known for it’s Tulip fields. Obviously you don’t need to visit the Keukenhof to see the Tulip fields, but there is so much more then just the Tulip fields at the Keukenhof.

In the Keukenhof you will find multiple greenhouse which store an amazing variety of flowers. I have never seen so many sorts of tulips together in my entire life. Besides Tulips, you will find a green house that only holds orchids, in every color imaginable.

Besides the greenhouse you will find flower beds throughout the entire parc. They even planted flower beds to form a Tulip from flowers.

The first day I went to the Keukenhof with a group of fellow photographers. When your main goal is to photograph you can easily spend the entire day there. If you only go to wander through the gardens you can probably get through the entire park in about half a day.

Ourverending Wanderlust Keukenhof-9960

Have you ever visited the Keukenhof?