Jacob van Lennep route, Part 38 (Bergen op Zoom - Goes from 1 July to 31 August)

Ferry
Friday, August 22. After a short viewing, Van Lennep and Van Hogendorp leave Bergen op Zoom again. Walking along the Brabantse Wal, they look out over corn and woods to the right, and over lower-lying meadows to the left. Suddenly it starts to rain and it gets dark. The ferry is nowhere to be seen, even though they have been walking for more than an hour. At half past eight in the evening they finally arrive at the harbour. After the crossing they sleep in Tholen.

Madder
Van Lennep and Van Hogendorp want to walk across the island, but it starts to rain again. They take a carriage and view the country. The fields with straw and grain had been ravaged by gigantic hailstones four weeks before. They also see fields of madder: a plant that was grown at the time to make dye. Later in the nineteenth century madder disappeared from the fields of Zeeland: a cheaper alternative had been found. You can hear more about this in the ninth radio episode.

trot
Via Sint Annaland they drive to Stavenisse. Here they visit the church to see the tomb of Baron Tuyll van Serooskerken. In Gorishoek, Van Lennep and Van Hogendorp have to wait two hours for the boat to Zuid-Beveland. It means they don't arrive at their destination before dark: a rarity on their journey. Van Lennep kills time with a novel, as he has done more and more in the days before. Arriving in Yersekendam, the young men arrange a carriage and ride in the light of the full moon at a trot to Goes.

Please note: the ferry from Gorishoek to Yerseke only operates from July 6 to August 31, only on Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays. You must book this crossing in advance!

Floor sources
-Jakob van Lennep," The Summer of 1823": Part 3, Chapter 4.
-Geert Mak, The summer of 1823 as a television series : episode 9.
-Maya Schepers, The summer of 1823 as a radio series : episode 9.