Netherlands gathering 11th-16th April 2019

[Stitch]

THIS POST HAS BEEN UPDATED ON 2/4/19 BUT THE UPDATE TAKES POST#1 LENGTH PAST THE WEBSITE CHARACTER LIMIT. I HAVE THERFORE HAD TO INCLUDE THE UPDATE AS POST #202. PLEASE SCROLL DOWN TO POST #202 FOR THE LATEST UPDATE.


THIS POST HAS BEEN UPDATED ON 6/3/19. PLEASE SCROLL DOWN TO THE SECTION WITH AN ORANGE HEADING


THIS POST HAS BEEN UPDATED ON 24/2/19. PLEASE SCROLL DOWN TO THE SECTION WITH A BLUE HEADING


THIS POST HAS BEEN UPDATED ON 25/1/19. PLEASE SCROLL DOWN TO THE SECTION WITH A RED HEADING

Yes “ Update”
I have now confirmed a booking for 20 vans with Camping op Hoop van Zegen. To book your place could I have a £25.00 none refundable deposit via Paypal gift.

Paypal, veloslow67@gmail.com
PayPal.Me

Or bank transfer
Ian Jenkins
RBS
Acc; 1 0 1 6 0 8 4 7
Sort; 1 6 - 3 0 - 1 0

They have also asked me for the total numbers of persons per van, if you can add this to the payment message. That would be great.

This deposit is only for the campsite and not the aires on the way up and after. This can be sorted out at a later date for those who are joining us.

So after getting lots of interest and after a quiet a few emails. I'm now able to announce the dates for the Netherlands gathering.

I have organised the gathering for 5 nights from the 11th-16th April 2019 Arrival is after 14:00 hours, departure until 12:00 hours. This is over a long weekend but could also coincide with a longer trip.

This will be held at Camping Op Hoop Van Zegen.

Camping Op hoop van zegen

The prices for 2019 have not been announced as yet, but are likely to be in the region 23,50 Euro's per night including electric hook up and tourist tax. There are good clean toilets and showers (coin operated, 1 Euro 20mins) on site.
This years prices,
High season Flower Parade
€19,00 excluding tourist tax €1,71 per person per night.
Extra adult €4,40
Dog €3,00
Child 13-17 jaar €4,40
Tourist tax, per person €1,71

I have asked for a discount, but this is the busiest time of year...

This will be over the best weekend, with the Keukenhof Gardens being 10kms away and with the flower parade passing by on the Saturday, less than 1.5kms from the site.

The campsite is 2, 5 km away from Noordwijk aan Zee, which is known as a seaside resort. Noordwijk-Binnen has a beautiful historic village centre. In the spring there are a lot of flower fields. Around Noordwijk are beautiful natural areas.

The Keukenhof flower gardens are a must see, 70 acres of beautiful laid out flower gardens through woods and beside lakes. Its a once in a lifetime experience. Cost wise its very reasonable 17.00 euros per person and 6.00 euros to park. Its better to purchase your tickets before hand to save queuing at the entrances.

Two other places that are close buy and well worth seeing are the Zaanse Schans windmills. It’s 10 euros to park here and not allot of room for motorhomes. I parked further away and cycled in. Wormerveer has free parking along the canal and a beautiful cycle ride through the old town upto the windmills. These are great to walk round and for people interested in industry and steam power then a visit to the The Museum De Cruquius is a must.

This is a work in progress and as more ideas and suggestions come forward this could extend either side of these dates to explore more of the Netherlands. I did wild camp at a very traditional Dutch bar for a couple of nights so this could be an added possibility.

I'd like to welcome Full Member, Colin to the organizing team. He is a great addition, with a heaps to travel experience in the Netherlands and Europe. One of his many good suggestions as he lives in the South East. We could organize a Dover Calais crossing with a few days spent travelling up through France and Belgium before the main meet.

There are many ways to get to the Netherlands, I usually go from Harwich to The Hook of Holland with Stenna Line catching the 23.00 ferry. Booking a cabin and breakfast before arriving at 08.00. This is normally under £300 return. Though I have contacted Stenna line about a group discount if people would like to travel that way. Dover Calais return for me last week with the van was £80.

I have been to Europe countless times over the years and its easy, well after the first roundabout. We would be more than happy to help people who have never been before. Later on we will be adding a list of requirements and tips for continental travel.

Plan so far;

Colin and myself will be leading the group from the Dover via Calais.

6th leave from Calais if you are going that way, this will be the preferred direction. We will be meeting at the Aire in Gravelines that evening to accommodate different sailing times. Then on Bruges, Zeeland and a few other places.
7th-10th This is still in the planning stages.
11th - 16th Camping op Hoop van Zegen. Keukenhof, flower parade, gardens as well as bbq and beer drinking ��
16th-17th Amblasserdam aire, for the Overwaard windmills.
18th-20th heading back to Calais, Dover or Hook of Holland, Harwich.


1. Stitch deposit paid
2. Full Member deposit paid
3. Campervanannie deposit paid
4. Minisorella x1 + 1/2 deposit paid
5. Chipvan deposit paid x4 Saturday 13th- Tuesday 16th
6. Linda x2 deposit paid
7. Elsid x2 deposit paid
8. Rapido9 deposit paid
9. Clunegapyears deposit paid
10. Rubyken x2 deposit paid
11. Moonshadow x2 deposit paid
12. Paulhelenwilko deposit paid
13. Benylin x2 deposit paid
14. Old man down deposit paid
15. Ed on toast deposit paid
16. Blue Lady x2 deposit paid
17.
18.
19.
20.

Reserve list
1.
2.


***UPDATE 25/1/19***

Hi All.
The Netherlands Gathering is approximately 10 weeks away and we now have a more detailed itinerary to share with you.
Please consider the options described below and advise us which of the options you would like to attend and/or where you plan to meet us. Some of the options have an associated cost which we have noted as an estimate only. This is because we won't have an exact cost available until we know numbers attending. We have included in Green the information we would appreciate from you. The balance of the cost at Camping Op Hoop Van Zegen and the Alblasserdam aire cost need to be paid for in February and we will advise you how much and how to pay once you have indicated your preferences.

When indicating your preferences please use the following example as your format. This will minimise the reading we have to do!

'My preferences for the Netherlands gathering are:
1. No
2. Yes
3. No
4. Yes
5. No
6. (a) 11/4/19 - 16/4/19 (b) 6.9 metres (c) 2 (d) 1 (e) none
7. Nights of 16/4/19 and 17/4/19
8. Yes. 3 people in total

Many thanks, (please put your Wildcamping username here).'


1. 5/4/19 Leaving Dover on 09:25 P&O ferry. Please advise if you plan to be on this ferry.

2. 5/4/19 overnight at Gravelines aire. This aire is free and has no facilities. The location will be advised to those confirming attendance there. Please advise if you plan to overnight here with us.

3. 6/4/19 visit and overnight at Bruges. This aire is payable by you on site. The location will be advised to those confirming attendance there. There are full facilities in the Aire proper and limited facilities in the adjacent coach park (which is used as an overspill aire). Please advise if you plan to overnight here with us.

4. 7/4/19 visit and overnight at Ghent. We believe this 'aire' will be free but has no facilities. The location will be advised to those confirming attendance there. Please advise if you plan to overnight here with us.

5. 8/4/19 - 11/4/19 potter along the Dutch coast towards Camping op Hoop van Zegen stopping at aires and/or campsites on the way. We have no locations planned for this part of the gathering but we will stay on aires and campsites because wild camping is forbidden in the Netherlands. Fees will be payable by you on site. Please advise if you plan to join us for this part of the gathering.

6. 11/4/19 14:00 - 16/4/19 12:00 at campsite. Please confirm (a) which nights you plan to stay at the campsite, (b) the approximate length of your moho (c) how many adults (d) children and (e) dogs you will have in your moho.
Whilst at the campsite we plan to visit the float preparations (approximately 5€ entry charge p.p. payable by you on entry), tulip fields (no charge), Keukenhof gardens (approximately 17€ entry charge p.p. payable by you on entry, though you may wish to pre-book on the Keukenhof website) and tulip procession (no charge).

7. 16/4/19 p.m. - 18/4/19 a.m. Alblasserdam aire. This aire costs approximately 15€ per moho per night. There are full facilities including electricity and showers (we believe that showers are 1€ extra). We will visit the UNESCO World Heritage windmill site on 17/4/19. Please advise if you plan to overnight both nights here with us.

8. Evening of 17/4/19 meal at restaurant in Alblasserdam. This will effectively be a 'farewell' meal marking the end of what we hope will be a successful gathering. The restaurant we choose will to some extent be determined by the number of people wishing to attend. Please advise if you are likely to attend such a meal and the total number of adults and children attending.



We hope that you find the above straight forward and not too onerous. It would help us a great deal if you could feed back your preferences sooner rather than later and in any case no later than Thursday 31/1/19.

Ian and Colin.




*****UPDATE 24/2/2019*****


The Netherlands Gathering is now approximately 6 weeks away and we are now due to pay the balance of the campsite cost. We are also taking this opportunity to collect the cost of the Alblasserdam aire for those attendees staying there. The final invoice for the Alblasserdam aire is expected to arrive this week and will require payment soon after.

The costs noted below include:

(a) the cost of your campsite fee including tourist tax and the cost of dog(s) if you have stated that you are taking one or more.

(b) a fairly pessimistic exchange rate. This is because the invoice will not be paid until all attendees have paid the balance indicated and, with the current
political uncertainty, we have no idea of the rate we will achieve at the time of payment. If the rate at the time of payment is different to the rate we
have assumed then we will arrange a refund to you at the campsite in the Netherlands.

(c) the anticipated cost of your stay at the aire at Alblasserdam. Again, if the final invoice is different from the cost initially agreed with the aire we will
arrange a refund or request extra payment from you at the campsite in the Netherlands.

(d) an deduction for the £25 deposit you have already paid.

We would now appreciate prompt payment of the balance due into the account that you used for payment of your deposit. The payment from you should be in pounds sterling and your user name should be added as a reference so that we can identify the sender. The account details can be found at the top of this post.

Username	Campsite Euro	Aire Euro	Total Euro	Total £	Balance £ to be paid after deducting deposit
Stitch	107.50	30	137.50	131	106
Full Member	107.50	30	137.50	131	106
Campervanannie	107.50	30	137.50	131	106
Minisorella	115	30	145	138	113
Chipvan	86.7	0	86.70	83	58
Lee	115	30	145	138	113
El Sid	115	30	145	138	113
Rapido 9	130	30	160	153	128
Clunegapyears	145	30	175	167	142
Rugbyken	130	0	130	124	99
Moonshadow	115	30	145	138	113
Paulhelenwilko	115	30	145	138	113
Benylin	115	30	145	138	113
Old Man Down	115	30	145	138	113
Ed on Toast	107.50	30	137.50	131	106
Blue Lady	69	0	69	66	41

Many thanks in anticipation.

We are still looking forward to this Gathering!

Ian and Colin


***** UPDATE 6/3/19 *****

It is now about a month to the start of the Netherlands gathering and we have chosen a restaurant in Alblasserdam for our 'End of Gathering' meal.
The 'Hotel het Wapen van Alblasserdam' restaurant is about 200 metres from the aire and has excellent reviews on all the usual feedback sites including Trip Advisor.
The menu we have chosen costs €34 (at current exchange rates approximately £29) per person and vegetarian options can be arranged if you give us notice:

Starter

• Tomato soup with cream and meatballs
• Half a melon filled with thinly sliced Serrano ham
• Composition of fish; smoked salmon, eel and shrimp

Main Course

• Satay of chicken with homemade peanut sauce, raw vegetables, Russian salad and fries
• Beefsteak with a sauce of choice
• 3 baked North sea sole fish fillets in a ravigotte sauce
• Pork tenderloin wrapped in Serano ham with a sauce of blue cheese



Desert

• Dame blanche
• Lemon cheesecake with sorbet ice cream
• Fresh salad of seasonal fruit with a scoop of sorbet
• Hot chocolate souffle with vanilla ice cream


An extensive drinks list is available. The cost of drinks are not included in the meal cost of €34.

The following people (number of people in brackets) indicated earlier that they would in principle be interested in attending our gathering 'Farewell' meal:

Stitch (1), Full Member (1), Campervanannie (1), Minisorella (2), Lee, (2), El Sid (2), Rapido 9 (2), Clunegapyears (2), Moonshadow (2), Paulhelenwilko (2), Benylin (2), Old Man Down (2), Ed on Toast (1).

Now that the details of the 'Farewell' meal are available, could you please post in this thread whether you wish to attend together with how many people will be attending. At this stage it is not necessary to choose which option you would like for each course.

As always a prompt response would be appreciated!

Ian and Colin

[campervanannie]

I’ll be up for this one

[Full Member]

............be in on this one, please Ian.

Colin 😊😊😊

[Linda]

We have already been to keurchenhof twice now.......

Yes please Ian.

Lee & Linda

[Benylin]

Yes please....put us down for this one Ian

[campervanannie]

Can you stick Sue down for this please

[The laird]

Can you stick Sue down for this lease

Fancy this will try n work out Callander,annie is it (cheese of leased pitch or give us a clue what your putting sue up for ?😀

[Stitch]

Can you stick Sue down for this lease

Yes ok, I’m in contact with the Dutch authorities at the moment about a lease for Sue... but her background checks are causing problems.

[norman64]

Yes ok, I’m in contact with the Dutch authorities at the moment about a lease for Sue... but her background checks are causing problems.

Yes please...can you put us down for this one Ian

[moonshadow]

Sounds great, yes please!