Bikepacking on Brompton – Sweden to London

In mid September, I was still in Sweden. The nights were getting chilly, and a new Covid wave was breaking out across Europe. I needed to go back to the UK, and I wanted to cycle it. I wanted to try the route along the North Sea coast, which looked as if it would be very different from the inland route I’d taken on the way out. But what with one thing and another, I was hesitating, delaying setting off. Suddenly, however, I realised that a lot of campsites would close at the end of the month. So, if I was going to ride it, I had to go pretty much immediately. The weather forecast was bad – tons of rain – but I packed up the bike, and late one Friday night, I set off. It did feel a bit mad to leave our cosy sitting room and ride alone to the docks in the dark and the wet. But I was pretty sure that, come what may, I’d enjoy myself. Anyway, here’s what happened! Hope you enjoy the film!

Thank you Hello in september it was time to return from sweden to the uk i rode to the docks in malmo it was dark and cold and wet from the ferry i watched the city of malmo slip past in the rain under the autumn clouds the next day at dawn i arrived in germany

The route i had chosen was along the coast the first part was across schleswig-holstein well good morning here i am in germany again it’s about quarter to eight in the morning completely nobody but it’s quite chilly my woolly hat on i’m heading for tim and all first hand which looks like it’ll be

Really nice and i’m going to have breakfast there it felt quite hard setting off actually i felt which is not like me at all but i did feel a bit lost but it’s hard going away from somebody it’s a little bit up and down here in holstein actually

Kind of like lessons in a way totally cheered up now right has been really lovely i like it around here it’s woodland and farmland I went past lovely old farmhouses they seemed keen on painting things green in this region there were nice busy towns And i had a lovely coffee break at the roadside Well it’s half past three now forecasters is likely to rain soon and definitely going to be pouring down by seven eight o’clock well it’s not raining very much actually not too bad i’m on the last little bit now coming into bob ramstad said and hopefully i’m gonna find the site

Good morning it is sunday it’s raining just now but it’s stopped That’s right uh Space there or a little bite to get through these kind of lanes are a joy to ride on it’s super The western part of holstein was really flat this feels like a whole other landscape here just huge and i reached holstein’s west coast and came to gluckstadt on the banks of the elbow so that’s the first bit of the journey done i was hoping to stay at the campsite but

It didn’t work out well i realized i wasn’t going to make it to uh odd bedder scarf i think it’s cold and it’s kind of dark and rainy and it’s four o’clock now and i thought okay i’m gonna pitch wild somewhere i saw this grassy track that led away from the main road

It’s a turf farm or something i don’t think it’s within actual sight of anybody um it’s been quite a tiring day actually or sort of just a grim day in a way a grim but it’s rained a lot like pretty much on and off the whole day which is sort of what i

Expected but it makes it harder it’s been long straight roads so far across what they call a mall which seems to be black green wet open space winding roads and woodlands it’s really nice [Applause] just had another one of these road shut problems you just get a sign going

Shut and then a huge diversion which of course i don’t want to do just rang on a doorbell and talk to a lady and she said they’re resurfacing the roast it’s the first day of the Left a little bit and i came to the visa the port at brainerd harvard and my second ferry which would take me to aust queensland now in australisland i rode through an area called studland with drained marshes and friesian cows and horses i came to the jade bite a huge bay of

The north sea it was looking pretty hopeless for camping but then i found a brilliant spot i sat in the shelter of the tent and i cooked my dinner and watched the light fade over the sea maybe first couple of days of this ride hadn’t been that easy

But now i was really enjoying myself that was a fantastic place the days have just floated by this time really fast yeah well there’s all of holland still to go lots to look forward to so time to go i entered the area called the trees there were frisian gulf house farmhouses

And dense woodlands i came to the flat annoyed the water more and tried to shelter from the wind and then the rain it’s got a bit wet as you can see i took a break in a bus shelter and now i am back on the road heading for leah

It’s been so wet this afternoon but um never mind so i’m gonna cross the ms river and hopefully find a place to camp quite soon oh wow wow this is big it was getting late now and i urgently look at somewhere to camp along the dike by the river ends

So i think i’ll come here it was getting a bit late and i was slightly anxious actually that um it’s going to get dark and it’s not a good feeling not having a camping spot so well good morning it’s a nice day here down at the m’s river

A little bit gray and but it’s not raining the breeze is destroying the tent nicely i’m so lucky with these wild camping places had three really cracking spots now i was really close to the border between germany and the netherlands there was a minuscule sign saying colin so i’m following it But the tiny sign was right and i arrived in the netherlands in groningen province i loved the wide open space and the huge skies and the sun came out [Applause] There were amazing posh villa farmhouses i rode through massive grasslands sparkling in the sun and sweet villages but i needed to stop my clothes were dirty my gear wet my bike jammed with mud from the jade bite and the chain clogged with thick oil that a kind stranger had sloshed onto it

I’ve got so many things i need to sort out now after three nights i’ve been so clear the chain runs smoothly now but oh my goodness it’s just like a lot of stuff and it’s all on my trousers it was the last weekend of the season

And i had the entire trump side to myself so dirty the next day i watched the sun rise over the north sea and then i packed up and continued i went through gorgeous old villages Riding on tiny paths through the fields I had lunch at a manor house now i rode into the air report from punching home aiming for a village called lauerzook at the westernmost tip of groningen The sky was full of birds i kept making wrong turns but it didn’t matter too much i’ve gone wrong so many times this afternoon it’s just a maze of little sort of lost alleys up here but every time i go wrong i find something else it’s going to pour with rain

Tonight it’s coming now so by five o’clock it’s gonna be tipping it down here it’s about quarter to four now the next day the sun came out i rode along the north sea dyke into breezeland there were huge flat fields shining in the sun absolutely beautiful today i took small lanes through villages

Right under the sea wall morning I had planned to see my friend andrea in the hague on sunday but it was getting a bit tight today it’s friday i’ve still got a hell of a long way to go actually get all the way downstairs I do want to make sure i get it at an old fishing village i climbed up town The air was filled with birds Absolutely i came to hauling in a brilliant world then i wrote the last bit before the scene Well i don’t know if this is right at all the website said that the bus is going from scotland i thought it would be sign there isn’t really anything here i’ve got to get on that bus oh it better not just go god wow i’m so

Lucky what time do you go four minutes you are lucky indeed that’s my lucky day yeah that must be yeah thank you very much for the ride and also for speaking english oh my god even speaking yes it feels like i’m gonna make it that’s just been so much what’s going on

It’s starting to look pretty good it’s so quiet i hardly dare talk is Hello hello i’m going south towards a big patch of views i crossed the north sea canal on another ferry it’s quite a long day actually anyway there you go it’s been such a super trip even though the weather’s been mostly bad it’s been such a lovely trip

Feels so lucky i mean it’s a cliche but after you’ve had a couple of brushes with cancer then it just seems so precious and then there’s not a hundred summers left so good idea to make the most of them That’s it packed up last time slight sense of humor failure just a minute ago completely muddled up and lost and it was raining so it’s such hard nice weather it’s nice and the sun’s trying really hard gonna get to the end now I took the ferry from hook of holland back to england the government advice was to avoid public transport so i had a massive breakfast on board the ferry and then cycled from harrich back to london i passed pubs post boxes churches and public footpaths it was a lovely long last day

Monday it’s about [Applause] i’m october the m25 back into greater london it’s been such a lovely summer You