Time of year travelled: Late September 2018
Total approximate distance: London to Amsterdam – 145 miles / 233 kms
Speed of our journey: Leisurely (5-7 hrs per day)
Why?
Are you looking for a cycle, that takes you into another country on mostly flat roads, with beautiful scenery and limited traffic? Then I would 100% recommend this journey!
There are so many ways you can split the London to Amsterdam cycle ride. We opted for a leisurely – enjoy the sights kind of ride. Here is how we did it…
| Day | Approx Cycle Distance | Start Point | End Point | Our Strava Route | Other |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 46 miles | London | Maldon | ||
| 2 | 43 miles | Maldon | Harwich International Ferry | https://www.stenaline.co.uk/routes/harwich-hook-of-hollandFerry information | |
| 3 | 56 miles | Hook of Holland | Amsterdam | ||
| 4 | |||||
| 5 | 56 miles + Ferry and Train back to London | Amsterdam | Hook of Holland / London | ||
| Bike Equipment | For Cycling | Off Bike Kit |
|---|---|---|
| Tools (shared) | Waterproof jacket | Jeans |
| Spare inner tubes x2 | Midlayer top | Long sleeved top |
| Pump (shared) | Thermal top | Cardigan / jacket |
| Lock x1 (shared) | T-shirts x2 | Scarf |
| Lights | Cycle shorts x2 | Shoes |
| Phone case on bike (shared) | Sports bra x1 | Socks x2 |
| Tape (shared) | Socks x2 | Underwear x2 |
| Helmet | Trainers | Bra x1 |
| Panniers x2 | Head band | PJ's |
| Cycling gloves | Toiliteries | |
| Snacks (chocolate & musli bars) | Small handbag | |
| Charger |
OTHER CYCLE OPTIONS
There are so many options for cycling London to Amsterdam, both in what miles you cycle per day and how many days you go for… here are just a couple of other options people advised:
- Train London to Chelmsford direct (30 minutes) and cycle to Harwich (45 miles) for the 23:00 ferry.
- Cycle from London to Harwich in one day if you are keen on a 85-ish mile day.
THE STORY
WHAT I LEARNT?
My teammate for the journey was Rob, a housemate from years ago who suggested and planned the trip. What I learnt about Rob? He is awesome at organising! Rob was travelling on his speedy, light as a feather X bike, carrying his gear in a backpack. I was travelling on my Pinnacle hybrid, loaded with two hefty panniers.
In my very limited cycle experience, I find route planning the trickiest part of organising a cycle trip. The first question I will now ask myself on future journey's… am I in a hurry to get to my destination? If so, I will more likely use Google Maps or Komoot?
If I am not in a hurry? I’ll now check out the routes others have taken on Strava or look at Google Earth – a tip I learnt from Rob. It lead us to taking the most scenic coastal cycle path all the way from Hook of Holland to Noordwijk, before we started heading inland to Amsterdam. If we followed other route suggestions, we would have missed out on this amazing journey.
WHAT WE DID ON THE TRIP…
DAY ONE
We left Leyton at 11:30 am on Thursday making our way to Maldon and stopping for lunch at great pub in XXX at XXX, before we cycled onto Maldon arriving at the harbour for 5 pm, just in time to watch the sun go done. We cycled to the end of the promanade to the Statue of Byrhtnoth, taking in the view over the River Chelmer, before making our way to the Queens Head Inn for a well earned cider, overlooking the harbour. A great spot to celebrate the end of day one!
Our nights stay was at The White Horse Inn, which had a lovely room and was a perfect spot on the high street to explore the many restaurants for dinner.
I would recommend Maldon as a lovely picturesque town to stop in, if you wanted to split your journey to Harwich.
DAY TWO
We would highly recommend Mrs Salisbury’s for breakfast in Maldon as the perfect place to fill your belly ready for the days ride ahead. After a quick stop at XXX to buy some smoked Maldon salt, we set off with the aim to sightsee along the journey to Harwich, since we didn’t need to check onto the ferry until 22:00 that night. The locals in the area weren’t very enthusiastic about what we’d be able to find between Maldon and Harwich, so it meant everything we came across was that much sweeter!
After 5 miles into the journey we stopped at Tom’s Farm Yard, where they sell alot of timber, items made out of timber and coffee in their cafe. Do you like the smell of wood and being 'wood' inspired? If so, check it out.
The best find of the day was Daymens Hill Farm and Orchards, where you can pick your own apples and pears. Being on the bike, we only brought enough to fill our pockets, however it was a beautiful orchard to wander around in (trying before you buy of course 😉 ) and having a great chat to the owners.
The most unusual site of the day was Grayson Perry’s House, at the end of a long drive with a stunning view over the River Stour at the end of Black Boy Lane.
A great spot to catch the sun go down, is at the end of Wall Lane, before cycling the last few miles for dinner at Alma Inn and Dining Harwich. An awesome pub with great atmosphere, live music and delicious food, being surrounded by other cyclists and locals, before the making the final sprint to the ferry 15 mins cycle away at 21:45.
DAY THREE
The ferry was a brilliant way to travel. Falling asleep in a comfortable cabin, waking up for a lovely warm shower, before heading down to the lower deck to unlock our bikes ready to ride off the ferry at 8am the next morning!
There is no chance of sleeping in on the ferry, as they wake you up with music and the mornings instructions, to ensure you are ready for arrival at Hook of Holland. You can have breakfast on the ferry, but we opted for our delicious apples purchased from the orchard the day before and our many snack bars.
By 8:30am we are off the ferry and in a queue at passport control with our fellow cyclists and motorcyclists all around us. Following the coastal cycle path as we set off was so beautiful, mostly flat all the way, surrounded by sand dunes, greenhouses, the ocean and others enjoying the day, walking, running or cycling along the path with us.
We made our brunch stop at The Hague at Bakkerij van Maanen before continuing our cycle along the coastal path.
During a stop to taking photos of a beautiful landscape of flowers, we got talking to a local women, whose small child was asleep on the front of her bike. She gave us a recommendation for lunch, but we share it with one warning. It was a beautiful spot for lunch with great food and a chilled atmosphere, however they made an error with our food which meant we spent 2 hours chilling and were starving by the time our food finally arrived! So if you are on it with ensuring they give you your food quickly, then I would recommend Buitenplaats Plantage.
DAY FOUR
There are so many recommendations for Amsterdam, so I will leave that for you to explore. However one of my favourite things to do was buy a picnic of cheese, meats and wine and find a sunny spot along one of the many canals to enjoy!
DAY FIVE
We opted to cycle back to the ferry, rather than catching a train from central Amsterdam. That meant a leaving time of 6:30 am to ensure we had enough time to eat along the way and not miss our ferry, which we needed to board by 13:15 at the latest (for our 14:15 departure).
It was a miserable wet ride for most of the trip, however as we took the google route option back to the ferry, we had new scenery and long straight cycle paths, which meant we could get our cycle legs stuck into going as quick as possible.
With the google route there were limited food options directly on that route, apart from a McD’s which arrived half way through our trip at the perfect time for a hot drink and the opportunity to warm up a little, change into drier socks and fill our bellies, before heading back along the coast to the ferry. We made it in the nick of time, managing to get to the supermarket for a foodshop at 12:50, just 25 mins before we needed to board the ferry. It was close!
The ferry had us back in London for 19:45 and ready for the 22:15 direct train from Harwich International station to Stratford/Liverpool street.