Greetings from the blue lagoon

It's almost one month since our little trip to Zeeland and already it is receding into a distant memory.

Trawling through the dozens of photographs I've made, it struck me how lucky we've been with the weather, the foggy day in Middelburg notwithstanding. After all, that day was merely marred by low visibility and the absence of blue skies, while it could easily have been ruined by rain.

Nevertheless, on opening our curtains on our last day, Saturday, we were relieved to find that all the fog had vanished and that blue skies reigned once more. Even if the temperature had dropped several degrees, it was still good for the soul to be out and about on such a gorgeous day.

For our final day, we'd planned a trip to Veere, a gem of a town which lies to the north-east of Middelburg, a mere 15 minutes' drive along a quiet, tree-lined road.

Veere's popularity is disproportionate to its size. Indeed, the town itself only has a population of about 1500, while well over a million tourists visit it each year.

So, what exactly is its secret?

First of all, there is no denying that Veere is a charming and picturesque little place. Then there's its scenic location next to the Veerse Meer, a lagoon of some 22 kilometres long and, in places, 1500 metres wide. The stretch of water, which was separated from the North Sea in 1961 by the Delta Works dam system, is very popular among water sports enthusiasts.

For those who don't know the story, in January 1953 a storm surge combined with a high spring tide broke Zeeland's sea walls and dykes, which resulted in some 10000 people being made homeless overnight and 1835 drowned.

In order to prevent this from happening again, the protective Delta Works, an extensive system of dams and storm surge barriers, was created. To give you an idea of its size, a 2012  article in the Independent said that it makes the Thames Barrier look like a child's Meccano project!

But back to our visit!  In spite of this being a sunny Saturday, there was ample parking space, which was free of charge as it was after the 1st of November.

A short walk brought us to the Markt, a quiet rectangular square surrounded by ancient houses and a plethora of restaurants and independent shops which, even if aimed at the constant influx of tourists, seemed to be a cut above the usual tacky tourist shops.

We were particularly charmed by 't Swaentje (the little swan), a red-brick step-gabled house with cheerful red and yellow shutters, originally dating from 1579.

Undoubtedly, the square's most eye-catching building is the 15th-century town hall, which was built by the Keldermans family of architects from Mechelen in Flanders, who also built the town hall in Middelburg. Its 16th-century tower has a 47-bell carillon.

In spite of its size, Veere obtained city rights in 1353. But Veere only began to flourish in the 16th century, when it became the staple port for Scottish wool. A Scottish colony was established in the town at that time, complete with its own governor.

The town's harbour, where once richly laden ships from Scotland moored, has now been turned into a marina full of bobbing pleasure craft.

On the opposite side of the marina, the waterfront has retained its dyke, which was once part of the town's fortifications.

Rather than continuing our exploration of the town, we were lured across the typical Dutch drawbridge which lead to the town's ramparts, offering magnificent views across the deep blue lagoon. 

Windmills feature prominently in the Dutch landscape - there are about 70 in Zeeland alone - and this traditionally whitewashed one, dating from 1909, was beckoning us from afar.

The mill is an integral part of the town's defensive walls and seemed to be keeping an eye on the surrounding Autumnal hued watery landscape, complete with Napoleonic bastion.

If you look closely, you can see what looks like a small landing stage beyond the bastion, below and slightly to the left of the mill. I was wondering about its use, but I was about to find out!

Accompanied by some strange creatures, we kept following the path leading towards the mill until we passed directly in front of the landing stage and saw its equivalent on our side of the creek, which had an intriguing contraption moored to it.

Much to our delight, it was a miniature, manually operated ferry, which allowed you to cross the creek by pulling a cable. 

Jos turned out to be the perfect ferry man!

Once we arrived at the other bank, we walked until we were level with the mill, enabling us to admire it at close quarters.

Then it was back the way we'd come, as it was time for a spot of lunch.

But not before showing you my outfit. Wearing the same coat, scarf and fingerless gloves that I'd worn the day before, I now chose my sage green beret and burnt orange opaques. You can just see a tiny bit of my dress peeking from underneath the coat, but here is a close-up. 

For lunch, Jos had set his heart on sole, which he'd noticed on the menu of one of the restaurants in the square. I decided to join him and I can say it was most delicious. We lingered over lunch, finishing with a cup of coffee before braving the cold once more.

As we usually do, we just wandered around, following our noses, happening upon several of the town's many landmarks.

On the top left is the imposing and aptly named Grote Kerk (meaning big church). It was completed in 1521 and has played many roles over the years: house of worship, military hospital and poorhouse. Nowadays, it is used as a cultural centre.

Near the church is the Cisterne (water reservoir, bottom right). This was dug by the Scottish merchants in 1531 to supply them with with 40,000 gallons of water and it continued to supply the needs of the people of Veere until 1931. 

Facing the marina are the 15th-century Scottish Houses, two Scottish merchants' houses, which now house a museum.

If you are wondering about Veere's ties with Scotland, these were the result of the marriage in 1444 between Wolfert VI of Borssele, Lord of Veere, and Mary Stuart, the daughter of the Scottish king James I and Joan Beaufort. Mary died in 1465 and was buried in the Grote Kerk. 

After visiting the museum shop in search of a present for our loyal cat-sitter, we walked to the end of the quay where, rounding the corner, we were met by such a strong wind that we beat a hasty retreat.

The gabled house which sits in a prominent position at the end of the quay is the Campveerse Toren (Tower of Campveere).  It was built as part of the city defences around 1500. Thereafter, it served as a lighthouse and an inn, which it remains until this day. It's one of the oldest inns in the Netherlands.

We finished our day by walking along the harbour and sitting on a bench well away from the cold, stinging wind, wistfully gazing at the boats gliding along the lagoon, before driving back to our cottage for the final night of our holiday.

This week, I'm linking my ferry outfit to Nancy's Fancy Friday! Do check out Nancy's fabulous all black outfit!