Epic Rhine journey British couple cycle the entire Rhine
BONN · Following in the footsteps of the Romantics, British architects tell the GA about their six week bike tour of the Rhine from source to sea.
The British were the first to discover the beauty of the Rhine in large numbers. The enthusiasm of painters and poets created a yearning for the romantic Rhine in the British Isles in the early 19 century. Today, a great many British still come to the area between Cologne, Bonn and Mainz.
Two of them undertook a very special trip this year. This summer, Lucy Pedler and Paul McWilliams from Bristol cycled along the Rhine – not only the most picturesque stretch full of fortresses and castles but almost along the entire river from its source to Amsterdam. And their overriding feeling was of freedom.
Of course the 57 and 55-year-old architects knew about the British who first brought a form of mass tourism to the Middle Rhine area. And they also enjoyed the journey along that “very picturesque” part of the Rhine valley. But they were also captivated by other regions along the Rhine. The first stages in the Swiss mountains were “stunning” and the most beautiful of the whole tour according to Lucy and Paul.
They flew to Basel and then took the train to Andermatt. From there they went by bike past the source of the Rhine and then further along the Rhine valley through Liechtenstein, along the Bodensee, the High Rhine and the Upper Rhine and through Basel, Strasbourg and Karlsruhe. Then they headed for Amsterdam, with stops in Speyer, Mainz, Bacharach, Königswinter, Cologne, Arnheim and Hilversum among others. From Amsterdam they flew back to Britain after six weeks of cycling. They cycled a total of around 1300 kilometres, averaging 50 to 60 kilometres a day. They stopped for a week in Koblenz.
So why along the Rhine? They wanted to ride a long stretch with lovely scenery that was easy to follow. As they made their way along the Rhine, the river got larger and stronger and became “our travelling companion.”
They particularly enjoyed “meeting so many friendly people” along the way. “So many of them stopped to help us when we no longer knew where we had to go,” said Lucy Pedler. They could hardly believe it when, after being soaked through in a storm in Waldshut in South Baden, they could simply get on the next train. They even blocked the doors with their bikes and no-one complained. In Great Britain, cyclists always need to make a reservation for their bikes and only three are allowed on one train.
Lucy Pedler says her homeland has a long way to go before becoming a bike-friendly country. Cycle paths in Britain are often on roads and are not complete. Drivers are also not as considerate towards cyclists as in central Europe, something that makes “a big difference when you want to enjoy cycling.”
The English pair, who the General Anzeiger met by chance on their journey through Bonn, were surprised not to see more long-distance cyclists on their trip. “It’s such a wonderfully easy way to move around,” and in such picturesque scenery. Even 200 years after the Romantics, the British have still not lost their enthusiasm for the Rhine and its surrounds.
(Original text: Bernd Eyermann. Translated by Kate Carey.)
