Blog
What is happening on this coast. Every article carries the date it was written, because seasonal information without a date is worth nothing.
praktisch
Whether your dog may run off the lead depends on the municipal boundary, and you cannot see it
This stretch of coast lies in two municipalities. Bergen runs from Egmond aan Zee up to and including Camperduin, Schagen begins at Petten. In Bergen the dog may run off the lead on the beach all day from 1 October to 1 May; for Schagen we could not find that same arrangement in the same form.
natuur
Why you walk four kilometres at Schoorl and a few hundred metres at Camperduin
From the Schoorlse Nok the dune area continues for a good four kilometres before the beach begins. At the Zwarte Blink, three kilometres further west, that is 1.3 kilometres. That difference explains why Schoorl aan Zee can only be reached on foot or by bike.
praktisch
Which beach pavilions open in winter, and why the rest do not say
Of the fifteen beach pavilions between Egmond aan Zee and Petten, seven publish a season on their own site. Four of those say they are open all year. The other eight give only opening hours per day and say nothing about when they close for the season.
natuur
De Kerf: what happens when you dig a gap in the sea dune
De Kerf is a cut through the zeereep north of Bergen aan Zee, where salt sea water was allowed to flow into the dune area behind the first row of dunes. There is a viewpoint at 52.686, 4.640 from which you look out over the whole area.
natuur
How high is the highest dune in the Netherlands, really?
The highest dune top in the Schoorlse Duinen is the Catrijper Nok, at 55.4 metres above NAP. The Klimduin in the middle of the village is 51 metres and is the best known, but not the highest. A third point on the map, labelled 'highest dune of the Netherlands', stands at 53 metres.
natuur
There is a British battleship off the coast in front of the Hondsbossche Zeewering
The British battleship HMS Prince George ran aground off the Hondsbossche Zeewering in 1921 and is still there today, at roughly 52.734, 4.640. From the sea defence there is nothing to see of it; the wreck lies underwater.
praktisch
From 1 November your car parks here for free, except where it does not
From 1 November to 1 March, parking at Hargen aan Zee is free, every day, including public holidays. At Bergen aan Zee, Egmond aan Zee and in Schoorl you still pay on Saturday and Sunday in that same period, but not on weekdays.
seizoen
When the heather in Schoorl turns purple, and exactly where
The heather in the Schoorlse Duinen usually flowers from mid-August to early September, peaking around late August. The exact timing shifts each year with that summer's weather.