Windmills, Tulips and a Spring Road Trip
Some trips are carefully planned months in advance. Others begin with a simple idea: why don’t we just go?
That’s how our spring road trip from the UK to the Netherlands started. A few hours of driving, a ferry crossing, a few more hours behind the wheel and suddenly we were somewhere that felt completely different - visiting an old friend, discovering the quiet windmill landscape of Kinderdijk, and wandering through the colourful gardens of Keukenhof.
If there was ever a perfect spring getaway, this would be it.
The Travel
Being two “children” - otherwise known as adults with adult money but the same sense of adventure - we’d been itching to take a road trip beyond the UK.
And as the proud owners of a Mazda MX-5, we were equally eager to take our little car, Indiana (yes, she has a name), on her first European adventure.
I’d also been meaning to visit a close friend who lives in the Netherlands for several years, and this road trip felt like the perfect excuse to finally make it happen.
Our journey looked something like this:
Drive 1: London → Dover
Ferry: Dover → Dunkirk (France)
Drive 2: Dunkirk → Netherlands
In total, it was around 5–6 hours of driving, with about 2 hours spent crossing the Channel by ferry.
The second leg of the journey was easily the most fun. Europe is wonderfully compact, and in the span of a single evening we drove through 3 different countries - France, Belgium, and the Netherlands.
4, if you count the UK.
Hidden Corners of Netherlands
I had visited the Netherlands before. Back in 2015, I came with my family (also in Spring) when we did a trip to Brussels and Amsterdam. So, I knew Keukenhof was not one to miss!
But the perks of having a friend who was local to the Netherlands? She knew the hidden corners! And she suggested that we visit a UNESCO site of Windmills, Kinderdijk.
We would have been fools to turn down a recommendation from a local.
And so, we planned our 2 days in Netherlands:
Day 1: Kinderdijk Windmill Farm
Day 2: Keukenhof Botanical Garden
Kinderdijk
is a small village in the South Holland province of the Netherlands, famous for its iconic 18th-century windmills.
While the windmills are undeniably beautiful, we also learned something fascinating during our visit: historically, windmills served three key purposes.
- Water management - moving water between canals to prevent flooding
- Food production - grinding grains such as oats to produce flour for bread and other foods. Netherlands is home to the Stroopwaffles - which is my favourite!
- Energy production - harnessing energy from the wind to power the various local industries
Beyond the history, it’s simply a peaceful and picturesque place to explore.
Canals weave through the landscape, and walking and cycling paths crisscross the area, connecting the windmills with visitor centres and small museums - some of which are preserved working windmills.
It may not be as widely known as some other Dutch attractions, but that’s part of what makes it so special.
[Not an ad] For more information: https://kinderdijk.nl/en/unesco-world-heritage/
Keukenhof
Keukenhof is no hidden corner, unfortunately! It's one of the most beautiful, and therefore probably the most famous botanical garden...dare I say, the world? If not the world then definitely in Europe!
During spring, the gardens explode with colour. Rows upon rows of tulips, flowers in almost every imaginable shade, and carefully designed landscapes make it feel like stepping into a fairy land.
There are winding paths, floral displays, and even hedge mazes made from real shrubs and trees.
And if you’re lucky, you might stumble upon traditional Dutch music performances taking place in little corners of the gardens.
Because it is so famous, you can expect a fair amount of people. So the earlier you can visit the better.
[Not an ad] For more information: https://keukenhof.nl/en/
Looking back, it was exactly the kind of trip we had hoped for. A little spontaneous, a little nostalgic, and full of the small moments that make travel memorable - catching up with a friend, discovering a quiet corner of the countryside, and wandering through fields of spring flowers. Sometimes the best trips aren’t the ones planned months ahead, sometimes all we need for a perfect trip is to ask ourselves: why don’t we just go?
