The Immeasurable Wilds

[Dynamik]

The title "The Immeasurable Wilds" is taken from a book written by Alastair Mitchell. The subtitle "Travelers to the far North of Scotland 1600 - 1900" fascinated me. Shoudn't it be exciting to visit a country which 300 years ago was almost unkown to the average Eropean. One of the most famous travelers was certainly Samuel Johnson, who made an epic tour to the Western Islands of Scotland in 1773. When Johnson asked Jules Verne what he thought about this idea he answered: "Well, as long as I don't have to go, it is certainly a good idea."





To undertake this journey today and with a velomobile is of course totally different and much easier. But the speed of the velomobile is not so different from the speed attainable in these old times and it is quite interesting to compare the experiences of the travelers from these old times with what you find today. And therefore on a sunny summer morning I set off with my velomobile EVA in direction of Scotland.

Yes, EVA that's me. I have been with DYNAMIK in all corners of Europe but not yet in Scotland. Everyday I will put the daily notes from DYNAMIK in this place. And I will add all the corrections or detailings that DYNAMIK would never write down. For instance that the "Cooling Copper Plate" on the right wheel (special design DYNAMIK) desingaged after the first steep downhill and the one for the left wheel not much later. Doesn't matter, in Scotland they don't have mountains as in Switzerland. Now to the diary of DYNAMIK:


Dijon, 13.6.25

The Immeasurable Wilds: this is how the English scientists called the most Northerly part of Scotland. And this part I am going to visit with my velomobile EVA. (ALVA is still inprisoned in Greece.) It is still a long way till there. To avoid frustration already on the first day Karin brougt me with the car to the "Col des etroits" and from here it is mostly downhill. At least for the first 60 km. But temperatures were rising with each meter altitude lost. As I reached Dijon towards seven a'clock I had 37 degees in my velomobile.

Dijon was celebrating the 150the anniversary of their famous market place "Les Halles". It is a very nice steel structure like the Eiffel tower, but not so famous. The streets were crammed and everybody was enjoying an evening out in the warm air. I took refuge in a air condtioned restaurant. I had anough heat today.


Start on the Col des Etroits


Dijon at it's best


One of the many Churches in Dijon

 

[schlafrad]

In Dijon bin ich auch immer wieder gerne. Hübsche Stadt.

 

[Thomas Neubauer]

The title "The Immeasurable Wilds" is taken fro

Je ne comprends rien.

Im Ernst: muss das sein, als Deutschsprachiger den Anfangsfaden in einer fremden Sprache zu schreiben?
Bitte einfach mal zur Kenntnis nehmen, dass es jede Menge Forumsmitglieder gibt, deren Englisch vergilbt oder gar nicht vorhanden ist.

 

[RobertS]

…
Im Ernst: muss das sein, als Deutschsprachiger den Anfangsfaden in einer fremden Sprache zu schreiben?
…

Sei glücklich daß er eine Sprache nutzt für die es Übersetzer gibt, und nicht den dort üblichen, ja was? eigene Sprache könnte es sein, manche nennen es eine Halskrankheit. Wird weder von Franzosen noch von Deutschen verstanden wenn es die Eingeborenen nicht wollen.

 

[AlexW]

Schön wieder mal einen Urlaubsbericht von Dir in dem Dir eigenen, wunderbaren Stil lesen zu dürfen.

Freu' mich drauf' und wünsch' eine wunderbare Reise
Alex

 

[Dynamik]

DYNAMIK always preaches that before you are going to visit a country you have to understand first it's history. And so he explained me how Scotland came into existance and how it lost it's independance. It was 1286 when the Scottish King Alexander III died. His only heir was his granddaughter Margaret, the Maid from Norway. She was actually brought up in Norway and went 1290 on a ship to Orkney to become Queen of Scotland. But the weather was so bad she became terribly seasick and died shortly after her arrival in Kirkwall on the Isle of Orkney. Not everybody was convinced that it was just this seasickness but the fact was that Scotland was again without King but 14 noblemen who pretended they have the right to the throne. Not a very comfortable situation.

The next chapter of the simpified Scottish history is for tomorrow. There are still a few days till we reach the Scottish border. Let's turn to the diary page of DYNAMIK. It must have been a hard day. We drove through the most lovely countryside like the Val Suzon with it's wild river but we didn't spend time there. DYNAMIK just kept pedalling.


Troyes, 14.6.25

Today was a fight against the heat and steep mountains. Three times I had to climb from 300 m to 600 m. In one small village a farmer was worried about my water supply and offered to fill up my bottles. After the last mountain it was time to stop for lunch. A small restaurant in an abandoned train station with tracks that haven't seen a train for many years. Two Harley drivers were quite enthusiastic about my velomobile. But when I explained that uphill was 5 km/h and only downhill I reached 50 there interest was a bit reduced. At 6 a'clock I reached the outskirts of Troyes and took the first hotel at hand. As it was Saturday I didn't want to run the risk of finding no hotel room in the historic center. Therefore no lovely pictures of historic Troyes. At least EVA has a save place.


EVA's place in the Hotel garage

 

[Jag]

我很高興你沒有去中國。

 

[Felix]

Im Ernst: muss das sein, als Deutschsprachiger den Anfangsfaden in einer fremden Sprache zu schreiben?

Ich glaub er veröffentlicht das auch noch woanders und da wäre es zu aufwändig es für dieses Forum ein zweites Mal zu tippen.

 

[Dynamik]

EVA: As we said, Scotland was - in 1290 - left with 14 rivals for succesion but no king. To prevent civil war the nobles of Scotland came up with a brilliant idea. Or was it the most idiotic idea? Why not ask Edward I of England if he coudn't be an unpartial arbitrator. Well, Edward needed not be asked twice. He interpreted his new function for Scotland in his own way. Scotland should be a feudal dependancy to England and from now on England would decide who is to become king of Scotland. Edward I chose John Baliol, a weak figure with no influence. And thats how Scotland lost its independance. But, as we will see, not for too long.

DYNAMIK is often asked: "But what are you doing when it rains?" The standard anser is: "It doesn't rain when I travel." And mostly he is right as we see in his diary below.



Reims 15.6.25

Today the long expected weather change set in. It really poured down. But as I was sitting at a nice breakfast table in the hotel I didn't mind. When I took out my velomobile it had already stopped and the temperature was much better than yesterday.

From Troyes I headed northwards. The terrain was slightly rolling with light uphill sections followed by really fast downhill sections. Châlons en Champagne is a good stop for lunch with nice old buildings in the old town centre. In the direction to Reims I took first the A4 but this road is to busy . I left the A4 and zigzagued a little through the countryside until a bicyclist told me that there is a nice path along the canal. And this was certainly the best part of todays ride. The canal brought me right into the center of Reims.


Along the canal right into the centre of Reims


The cathedral of Reims, a real marvel

 

[Martin]

Ab wo bist du den Kanal gefahren? War die Oberfläche durchgehend gut? Da ich ein Faible für französische Kanäle entwickelt habe, will ich vielleicht auch mal an den Aisne-Marne-Kanal.

Ich hätte gedacht, A-Straßen in Frankreich sind wie Autobahnen in Deutschland, also nicht für Fahrräder erlaubt. Ist dem nicht so?

 

[MartinL]

Im Ernst: muss das sein, als Deutschsprachiger den Anfangsfaden in einer fremden Sprache zu schreiben?

Jeg liker å lese engelsk. Språk er nøkkelen til verden, ikke sant?
Falls das nicht verständlich ist:
Mi piace leggere l'inglese. Le lingue sono la chiave del mondo, non è vero?
It's a nice occasion to brush up the withered English. Practice makes perfect.

Je ne comprends rien.

J'admire ton francais!
(ja, da gehört noch ein accent unter das c, sorry)

 

[Jag]

Jeg liker å lese engelsk. Språk er nøkkelen til verden, ikke sant?

Das stimmt natürlich. Deswegen bedauere ich auch, dass unsere niederländischen Freunde nicht in ihrer Sprache schreiben.

 

[Dynamik]

Ab wo bist du den Kanal gefahren?

Ich bin den Kanal ab Sillery gefahren. Der Belag war sehr gut. In Reims gibt es einen Lift vom Kanal zur Strasse hinauf. EVA war just 5 cm zu lang. Muss man halt einen kleinen Umweg fahren.

Das mit den A-Strassen ist so eine Sache. Wenn es ein Schild "Blaues Auto auf weissem Grund" hatte, bin ich schon nicht drauf gefahren.

 

[ChristianW]

EVA war just 5 cm zu lang. Muss man halt einen kleinen Umweg fahren.

Oder das Fahrzeug hinten anheben (mit Reisegepäck vermutlich etwas schwer und gibt am Bug womöglich Kratzer), dass es diagonal rein geht.
So komme ich mit dem Personen-Aufzug ins Büro

Klasse Bericht bisher. Ich bin gespannt, wie es weiter geht - insbesondere in UK. Und ob EVA auch ein Visum braucht...

 

[Dynamik]

EVA auch ein Visum braucht.

EVA nicht, aber ich brauche ein ETA. Ganz einfach, wenn die App funktionieren würde. Tut sie aber nicht.

 

[Dynamik]

EVA: As to be expected, Edward I did everything to undermine both the authority of King John and the independance of Scotland. But a new lead figure for Scotland appeared in the person of Robert the Bruce. After several battles and internal intrigues and murders Bruce was crowned as King Robert I in March 1306. Edward I had died and his heir Edward II moved 1314 with a large army northwards to break the siege of Stirling Castle, the last castle still under English control. And here in the memorable battle of Bannokburn Robert defeated with his small Scottish army the much larger English army and secured thus the de facto independance of Scotland. In 1320 in the Declaration of Arbroath the Pope John XXII accepted the Sovereignty of Scotland. The Abbey of Arbroath (we will certainly visit this place) that's the place where Scotland is born as an independant Nation. But not for too long.

But we are still in France, the country with which Scotland has an "Auld Alliance". The terms of the treaty stipulated that if either country were attacked by England, the other country would invade English territory. Presently there is no danger of this sort and DYNAMIK could write his diary in peace.

Valencienne, 16.6.2025

A new wonderful day, sunny but not too hot. I left Reims in direction of Laon, where I had my first "Café au lait avec Croissant". EVA got first a lot of attention but then the guest retuned to their main occupation, which was filling out lottery forms.

Towards midday I reached Guise where I had a short lunch on a bench in the city park. An old man (like me) kept me company and explained that I have to visit the "Familistere" created by Godin. He had been working at Godin his whole life. 1200 workers lived and worked there but it has been sold and only 120 are now working there.

What he didn't tell me was that Godin buildt 1840 a foundery to produce iron stoves. All the profit from this business was used to build a palace with over 1000 roomy flats for the workers. They had schools for the children, insurance for the employees and even a theatre. At the end of the year the remaining surplus was distributed among the employees. It worked fine as long as Godin was alive but not longer.


The Familistere in Guise

After 150 km I reached Valencienne and here I found the most beautiful hotel I have ever visited. "Auberge du bon fermier" is more than 500 years old and I have been told that Louis XIV has been here.


The most beautiful hotel "Auberge du Bon Fermier" in Valencinne


The narrow staircase leading to my room

 

[Dynamik]

EVA: As DYNAMIK never plans ahead we have two days more on the continent. He will explain that in his diary. But so we have two days more for the short history of Scotland. As we said Scotland gained its independance 1320. And in 1328 Edward III signed the treaty of Edinburgh acknoledging Scottish independance under the rule of Robert the Bruce. And everything could have been in best order. However the battles with England went on but Scotland kept bravely its independance. But some 200 years later in the year 1503 the Scottish King James IV married Margaret Tudor, daughter of Henry VII of England. And what might have been a family afair led eventually to Scotlands loss of independance. But more about that later. Let's see how DYNAMIK explains his brilliant planning.

Vlissingen 17.6.25

Yesterday evening I had an unpleasant surprise. When I looked up the ferry departure in Zeebrügge I found out that this ferry doesn't operate anymore. During Covid they have decided that there is too little demand and stopped it altogether. So no ferry from Zeebrügge to Hull. It almost looked as I had to bury my Scotland project. But then I found an alternative: the Amsterdam to Newcastle ferry. It just means 200 km more in Belgium and Netherland but also 200 km less in England. And the bit from Zeebrügge to Amsterdam is suposed to be really scenic. Some ferries, some bridges and a lot of coast.

Crossing Belgium and Netherland with a velomobile is a treat. It is absolutely flat and they have good pavement. I took the bicycle road along the "Schelde-Kanal" to Gent, a section I can highly recommend. Beautiful landscape and good pavement.
In Gent I had to restock energy with a large plate of Spagghetti Bolgnese. Gent is very interesting with lots of Palaces and Churches. Then I headed Northwards towards Breskens, my first ferry port. And indeed there was a small ferry especially operating for bicyclists. And this ferry brought me to Vlissingen, the destination of today.



Gent with its wonderful palaces and churches


The Ferry to Vlissingen especially for pedestrians and cyclists


Evening meal in Vlissingen

 

[Jupp]

muss das sein, als Deutschsprachiger den Anfangsfaden in einer fremden Sprache zu schreiben?

Muss nicht sein, aber wenn dann bitte Rechtschreibung und Grammatik der jeweiligen Sprache anpassen.

Abgesehen davon freue ich mich auf den Bericht, die Bilder und Begebenheiten! Das wird interessant.

 

[Dynamik]

EVA: In 1603, James VI of Scots inherited the throne of England. It seems their was no other heir around. And over night Scotland, Ireland and England were united under one person. Of course they were officially independant but the idea of James VI was to create a new "Imperial" throne of "Great Britain". Two generations later in 1660 under Charles II Scotland again became an independant kingdom. James VII followed his brother (Charles II) on the throne, but he was a fervant Catholic and thus not very popular. All hope was on his daughter Mary (a Protestant) who had married William of Orange of the Netherlands (thats where we are right now). But when James VII produced a male heir and England and Scotland had little inclination to return to Catholicisme his life was in danger and he abdicated. Mary and William were put on the throne but the disposed James still lured in the background. But that's for later. Let's see what DYNAMIK is writing about the Netherlands:

Den Haag, 18.6.25

The Netherland is the country of the bike routes with all its advantages and disadvantages. The biggest dissadvantage is that on most normal roads bicycles are forbidden. And it is almost impossible to find your way on the bike lanes as these bike lanes have very few street signs. But once you have found the right bike lane like the bike lane along the coast you are well off with a velomobile and you can travel at tremendous speed.


Barrier north of Neeltje Jans, an artificial island buildt for the construction of the barriers

The bike lane along the coast, over the barriers and through some islands was really beautiful. The barriers have been buildt to prevent flooding of the low lying parts of Netherland. Originally designed as simple dams they have eventually been buildt as barriers that can be opened and closed. Normally the barriers are open and do not influence the habitat of the area inside the barriers. Only at very high tide the barriers are beeing closed and protect the land inside the barriers.


Riding on these dams is a dream

A bit difficult was the crossing of the big harbour of Rotterdam. For bicycles they have buildt a tunnel. But first you have to find it. Luckily a nice co-bicyclist offered to show me the right way.

On the other side of the big water I headed towards Delft. Here the bike lanes run through a fairy land. Old trees and water streams with lovely bridges.


Fairyland just outside of Rotterdam (close to Schidam)

To find my way I just kept a more or less northerly direction. Luckily the sun was shining. And suddenly I was in the old part of Den Haag. And that was a good place to stop.

 

[Dynamik]

EVA: For 400 years Scotland was an independant nation. It fought innumerable battles against England and did not surrender. But in the year 1707 Scotland was united with England in the so called "Union Act". Not in a battle they lost their independance but Scotland has been sold by their own magistrates. How come? The main factor was the Scottish attempt to build a colony where we have today the Panama Canal. An incredible amount of money was put by the Scottish nobles in the chest of the "Company of Scotland" in order to build a colony in the Darién Gap where the distance between Atlantic and the Pacific Ocean is only 100 km. The idea was brilliant and promised incredible wealth and influence. Scotland would - if successful - control the world trade. But it was a complete failure. Most of the colonists died and Scotland lost about 25 % of its money. And in this situation England achieved what it did not achieve on the battlefield. England promised to pay the loss from the Darién disaster if the Scottish parliament would agree to the Union Act. And the nobility of Scotland agreed to unite Scotland with England. At least this way DYNAMIK did not have to apply for two visa for his journey to the most Northerly point of Scotland.

IJmuiden, 19.6.25

Today I had to find again my way through the maze of bike lanes. But I made it surprisingly fast to the sea side of Den Haag and there was the Coast Bike Lane. Once on this lane it is pretty easy. The Coast Bike Lane follows - as you would expext - the coast, meandering nicely between dunes and sometimes through forest. I was in no hurry as I planned to stay another night in the Netherlands and take the ferry tomorrow in IJmuiden.


The Coastal path to IJmuiden is perfect also for velomobiles


Quite a few cyclists on the Coastal path to IJmuiden

In Catwik it was time for hot chocolate and cake. Sweets are excelent in the Netherlands. Slowly I proceeded Northwards enjoying the superbe Coast Bike Lane through the dunes. Towards two a'clock I reached the harbour of IJmuiden and drove up to the ticket office to ask for the exact departure time of the ferry tomorrow. "Oh, there is one leaving right now" the lady at the counter replied. She quickly made out the ticket and I got on the boat. Sometimes it is best to do no planning at all.


EVA in good company with motorbikes

Now I am sitting in a comfortable armchair, watching the waves slowly passing by. The speed matches nicely the speed I had with my velomobile the last seven days. In these seven days I have covered some 1000 km. The boat will cover another 1000 km and then I will have reached Scotland. At least the Southern tip.