Camping Lauwerszee

Cycling in the UK is often synonymous with taking your life into your own hands. Big, boisterous buses, few cycling lanes and cross motorists can make it a hanging-on-by-the- seat-of-your-pants ordeal. Happily, such scenarios are unheard of in The Netherlands, where cyclists have priority over everyone else. Whether you’re four or 84, the preferred method of transport here is sedate pedalling.

One of the country’s top locations for enjoying a bit of biking is around Lake Lauwersmeer and its surrounding National Park. Twitchers will delight to hear that this area’s home to over 140 species, to be spotted flapping and wheeling overhead or paddling in the lake.

An easy pedal away is tiny Vierhuizen, watched over by its large wooden windmill. At the other end you’ll find Camping Lauwerszee, tucked behind its owners’ cosy restaurant, where local diners (just the men, thankfully) boast the kind of bushy moustaches that’d have the likes of Ned Flanders burning with ‘tache-envy.

The campsite resembles a landscaped garden, with brightly coloured hedgerows and huddles of trees providing tent- privacy, whilst sprinkles of flowers, host to butterflies, adorn the spacious lawns. Its laid-back ambience makes it the perfect place to relax after a good day’s exploration in the saddle.