Early start this morning. Woke up just before 5am so figured I might as well just get up. The drive to the ferry was quick and straightforward, the wait painless and I was the fifth car on. Sixth car on had a Polish licence plate and four men in it. They sat near me at […]

Nice lie-in this morning, so it was nearly 9am before I was on the road. Followed the Meuse through some excellent hilly woodlands up past Givet to Dinant. Some lovely views and villages on that drive. That also left Mons on the straight line route to my final overnight stop on this tour. Mons is […]

Just before 8am this morning I found out that Lidl sell vodka for under 8 euro a bottle. At 8am this morning I was getting seriously dirty looks from customers and staff at Lidl for buying vodka at that time in the morning. I had no choice: ten minutes later I was in another country. […]

The V where my shirt is unbuttoned is revealing what looks like a very poorly patch of skin. Technically it’s sunburn, but it looks far far worse. My head isn’t doing too well either. From one perspective it’s self-inflicted and entirely my own fault. From another, if you had a Mercedes roadster and were driving […]

So last night after writing up the day’s events I found out that you can buy barn owls to keep as pets in the UK. Although it’s recommended that you don’t bother – very bad and silly idea, and if you really must go through with it, get a rescue one. Although if I’m ever […]

Today’s my rest day, so before sunrise I strode out into the misty forest. Well, more of a limp than a stride, that chafing on my thigh hasn’t had a chance to heal. I think the wood is what the RAF base was named after but every British person knew it only as Boar Woods. […]

Quick quiz: Can you list all the towns in Germany that have a name beginning in X? Today I went to all of them. The northernmost part of the Roman Empire had 7% of the Roman armies based here but after the Dutch got a bit arsey the spanking they received impressed the emperor so […]

I have friction burns on the inside of my thighs. Sorry if that’s not how you expected me to start this update, but it’s been 17km today in a body designed to walk a tenth of that. Apparently it’s the hottest April day on record in the UK but my walking was done somewhere warmer […]

Today started with a quick trip into Nijmegan to find a travel adaptor. I failed, but I did find a bridge. Holland is full of water, despite their best efforts. Today I’ve crossed the Waal twice (so I could drive across that bridge, but then I had to come back), the Maas WaalKanal at least […]

A long day today, not least because it started at 2.30am. Over 200 miles to drive to catch a ferry, not helped by the Highways Agency website lying about the A46 roadworks. One lane closed, it said, but use the other lane. No. Road completely closed. And at the next junction. And the one after […]