May 25th-27th – Bacharach’s Greatest Hit

We moved down the Rhine to our favourite campsite so far, in the tiny little village of Bacharach (yes, as in Burt Bacharach). There was no sign of Burt himself, but not only did the campsite have fast Wifi, we were also right next to a sandy beach on the river, looking across at a picturesque town, surrounded by vineyards, and overlooked by an imposing castle.

From Bacharach, we did another long cycle ride along the river, passing by vineyards, ruined and restored castles, and little towns, before we arrived at Bingen, a nice little historic town, for a spot of lunch, before a more leisurely ride on the way back "home".

It didn't take long to realise that the Rhine is still a very important transport route – on both sides of the river, passenger and container trains thundered along; large river cruisers and huge barges crammed with containers chugged up and down the river; while lorries and cars sped along the river banks. Somehow, in spite of all this activity and noise, our spot on the river was just so tranquil and beautiful, that our intended overnight stop stretched to three.

It's not difficult to work out why this stretch of the river is known as "the Romantic Rhine".