A man who was convicted of grievous bodily harm with intent has absconded from HMP Springhill in Grendon Underwood.

Scott Hunt, 32, walked out of the open jail between midnight and 8am on Saturday April 13.

Hunt is white, about 5ft 7ins, stocky, and has a tattoo with the name ‘Jodie’ on his left arm.

He is known to have links to Datchet, as well as Uxbridge and Hayes in London.

Investigating officer Detective Sergeant Justin Harris said: “Scott Hunt is in prison after being convicted of grievous bodily harm with intent in 2011.

“If you see Hunt, we would advise the public not to approach him.

“If you have any information as to Hunt’s whereabouts call 999 in an emergency or in a non-emergency you can leave information on our website https://www.thamesvalley.police.uk/tua/tell-us-about/cor/tell-us-about-existing-case-report quoting reference number 43190111810.

“Alternatively, you can call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.”

Residents who normally have their recycling and/or waste bins collected on a Friday will have their Good Friday Bank Holiday collection moved back 24 hours to Saturday April 20.

As a result of the Easter Monday Bank Holiday on April 22, all collections that week will be one day later than usual.

So if your bin is normally collected on Friday April 19 it will instead be collected on Saturday 20.

If your bin is normally collected on Monday April 22 it will instead be collected on Tuesday 23.

All bin collection dates on that week will be put back 24 hours:

Tuesday 23 will now be Wednesday 24, Wednesday 24 will now be Thursday 25, Thursday 25 will now be Friday 26 and Friday 26 will now be Saturday April 27.

All bins - blue, green or brown - must be ready for collection at 6.30am on the appropriate day.

To check your garden waste collection date log in to your Aylesbury Vale account at https://account.aylesburyvaledc.gov.uk/resident

From there select ‘my services’ and then under the recycling and waste heading select ‘find your bin days’.

For more information on the district council's recycling and waste collection service, including how to report a missed bin visit www.aylesburyvaledc.gov.uk/recycle

From today (Monday) resurfacing is taking place at Manor Crescent in Wendover through until April 19.

The whole road is being resurfaced and will be closed each day between 7am and 7pm.

Starting tomorrow (Tuesday) potholes are being repaired at various points along Dorton Road, Chilton until April 18.

During this time the road will be closed between 9.30am and 3.30pm.

Starting on Wednesday more pothole repairs take place at Mead Way, Oving, through until April 23, with the road closed between 7am and 6pm.

Pothole work is also starting today (Monday) on School Lane and Barnard Close, Chearsley, with repairs taking place until April 17.

The road will be closed daily between 8am and 5pm during the duration of the works.

Plane and patch work takes place over the next two days (April 15 and 16) on Whitchurch Lane, Oving, with the road shut between 9.30am and 3.30pm.

More plane and patch work starts on Thursday April 18 on Winchendon Road, Chearsley, to repairs potholes.

The road will be shut each day until May 7 between 9.30am and 3.30pm.

Resurfacing work continues on Main Street, Mursley from Swanbourne Road to the sports pavilion until April 18.

The resurfacing takes place under a daytime road closure between 7.30am and 6pm.

Finally, preparation work for resurfacing takes place on Church Street, Main Street and School Lane in Twyford along the whole length of the road from today (Monday) until Good Friday.

The micro surfacing prep work takes place under a daytime road closure between 7am and 7pm.

Please note that roadworks are subject to change in the event of bad weather.

But an idyllic break doesn’t always have to involve an exotic, far-off destination, as there are a wealth of stunning spots to visit right here in the UK. From peaceful coastal escapes, to lively city breaks, here are nine of the best ‘staycation’ destinations you could visit this year.

It took firefighters hours to control the blaze. which resulted in the collapse of the famous spire to collapse. The cause is unknown but officials have said it was possibly linked to ongoing renovation work.

Back in July, Team Apollo, consisting of 20 girls, qualified in the Junior Level Two (ages 10-16) category for the All-Star Cheerleading competition, called The Summit, held at ESPN Walt Disney World on 2 May.

However ACA have been keeping themselves busy. In March they took two squads to Disneyland Paris to compete in the Future Cheer, Bring It On in Paris competition.

Both Team Rockstars (youth team, ages 7 - 11 years) and Team Rise (senior team ages 12 - 18 years) won their division with the Senior team going on to be crowned Grand Champions – an accolade awarded to the best team across all divisions.

More recently Team Apollo competed at Future Cheer, Adventure in Atlantis, in Milton Keynes - their last competition in the UK before they head out to America.

To round-off a perfect build-up for America, Team Apollo won a tough division and were once again crowned Grand Champions.

Team Dad, Tim Salt, said:

“We are so very proud of this group of athletes, they have an exceptional dedication to training and have developed to become a close team with full trust in each other - needed when you are flying across the mat. The opportunity to travel to America to compete on the world stage is something very special and the parents travelling with them will be full of voice when they hit the mat. We cannot wait to get on the plane now!”

All-Star Cheerleading is a highly competitive sport, and not perhaps what many people may envisage when they think of cheerleading. It takes place in a gymnasium – not at the side of a sports field.

Parent Nina Lewis said:

“It is a very demanding sport which requires physical strength, trust in your teammates, endless hours in the gym, dedication and commitment.”

We look forward to following the team's progress in America and reporting on how they get on.

Flora Bouchier, 19, is taking part in the challenge next month in aid of Brain Tumour Research and Epilepsy Action.

Flora, who was diagnosed with the illness following a seizure while studying for her A-levels at the Royal Latin School in Buckingham, has now recovered from the tumour following surgery.

She is taking part in the Tough Mudder London West event near Henley next month alongside her brother Henry, 21, and friends Ruby Morris, 22, and Ellie Coppins, 21, who she has known since they started at Thornborough Primary School together.

As part of the Tough Mudder challenge, the quartet will be battling their way through plenty of mud, and will be faced with 25 large obstacles scattered over an eight to ten-mile course.

Flora, who is currently in the second year of a chemical engineering degree at the University of Nottingham said: “I am really excited and looking forward to the challenge, although I am slightly concerned about my ankle which I sprained badly while playing rugby recently.

"Luckily, I am now starting to walk again without crutches and Ruby, Ellie and Henry have assured me that, if necessary, they are happy to go at a slower pace."

Reflecting on her illness Flora said: "Nearly four years ago I started experiencing strange feelings of nausea, hot flushes and partial seizures, but it wasn’t until five months later when I had a tonic-clonic seizure that I was diagnosed with a low-grade brain tumour.

“Fortunately, following surgery and a lengthy recovery period, I now feel fantastic, am seizure-free and back driving again.

"I feel the fittest I have ever been."

As well as supporting Brain Tumour Research, the four friends are also getting muddy in aid of Epilepsy Action in memory of Merryn Allen, also from Thornborough, who died, aged 10, in May 2009, after contracting epilepsy.

Flora said: "We are taking part in this crazy challenge because on the one hand I am one of the lucky ones to survive a brain tumour diagnosis and on the other hand, a lovely local family lost their gorgeous ten-year-old daughter, who I was first introduced to aged six by Ellie and Ruby.

“I have some lovely memories of time spent camping at Ruby’s family’s farm with other families including Ellie’s, Merryn’s and my own.

"We would have great fun tie-dyeing t-shirts, playing in the pond and hurtling down a makeshift water slide together.

“I hope that people continue to donate generously and we manage to exceed our target of £1,000 to be split equally between our two chosen charities.”

Merryn’s mum Lisa, who lives in Thornborough with husband Tristan and Merryn’s sister Cleo, now aged 14, said: “We are grateful to Flora, Henry, Ruby and Ellie for thinking of Merryn and we wish them well in their challenge.

"We have many memories of the children playing together as they grew up. Merryn was beautiful, bright, energetic, funny, joyful and courageous, a child full of love.

"She died from sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP), just three months after her first seizure.

“The money raised in her memory helps to educate and raise awareness of epilepsy and its effects, both for those who live with it daily and those whose death it causes.”

Paula Rastrick, community fundraising manager for Brain Tumour Research in the central region added: “We are extremely grateful to Flora and her Thornborough team and wish them all the best of luck in their tough mudder, inspired by Flora’s brain tumour experience and the tragic loss of Merryn.”

To sponsor the tough mudder team visit https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/FloraBouchier

Last week we applied to the Government to launch a petition for our readers to sign.

The petition calls for all members of Parliament including ministers to be given a free and final vote on the future of the HS2 scheme.

This change would be very much in the interests of our readers given the political make-up of this area.

At the time of going to press the petition has not yet been approved by Westminster.

I have written to the relevant department asking why there has been a delay - and am assured that it is procedural, and that due to a high volume of approaches there is a backlog to address.

We had hoped to launch our petition this week - but rest assured we will do so as soon as is possible, and if the Government response is unfavourable we will find a different way to raise the very same points with the powers that be.

Thank you to everyone who has engaged with our campaign so far, and don’t forget - if you are on Facebook you can join the HS2: Enough Is Enough campaign group for all the latest each day.

Thieves ransacked a smallholding outside Brackley after the owner was taken to hospital in an ambulance – the latest in a long history of break-ins on his land.

Valuable chainsaws, a hedgecutter, a new battery and a new set of sockets were taken from the property off the A422 Farthinghoe Road sometime between Sunday evening and yesterday afternoon (Monday).

Four vehicles were broken into by smashing windows or prizing open the doors while random items like cans of cola and cider were also stolen.

All while the owner, James Carpenter, better known as Bill, was at the Horton General Hospital for a hip replacement after hurting himself in a fall last week.

This is the 44th crime on Bill’s land over the past 30 years, he has lived there for the last five to try to put off thieves, the last theft was in November, 2016.

His son Nick Carpenter said: “Not many people knew he was in hospital, he’s been living there for five years and the first time he’s not there, he gets robbed.

“Someone must have been watching – it’s massively frustrating.”

Nick locked up The Old Piggery at 7.15pm on Sunday after his father, 79, was taken to hospital by ambulance as he could not walk because of his damaged hip.

On their return yesterday at around 3.15pm, with Bill not having had the surgery, they found the damaged vehicles and realised what had been stolen.

The thieves had cut a fence with wire cutters to gain entry to the land from a neighbouring smallholding.

The windows on a Mini One, a Ford Mustang and a Land Rover Defender had been smashed to see what was inside, while the back of a Peugeot Bippa van was forced open.

Nick said: “They ransacked the place, we’re still not completely sure what they took.

“But I want the goods to be as hot as possible so they can’t sell them, one of the chainsaws was quite rare.

“Someone must have seen something or heard something, but no-one seems to know about it.”

Anyone with information should call police on 101, quoting reference 19000192182.

Last Saturday, Anti-HS2 campaigners in Steeple Claydon had cause to cordon off a hedgerow that had been cut down after finding what they believed to be a recently made bird's nest.

On Thursday 11 April, HS2 contractors Fusion, started removing hedgerows from a 300 acre site of countryside during bird nesting season, much to the outrage of local residents and animal welfare campaigners and environmentalists more generally.

The campaign group Anti-HS2 – SOC (Save Our Countryside) were monitoring activity at the weekend when they came across the bird's nest.

On Monday this week we were contacted and various attempts were made to seek expert opinion on whether the nest was indeed from this season.

Though the RSPB told us that they can never be 100% sure from photographs, a spokesperson provided the following statement:

“From the images sent to the RSPB, the probability is that it is an old nest given that it’s built into a bush with no visible foliage on it yet and was probably built last summer when the hedgerow was in full leaf. The RSPB understands that it’s upsetting for people in the local area to see works being carried out by HS2 and we have already recommended to HS2 Ltd it should delay any tree or vegetation clearance to the late summer but it seems very unlikely that they are going to do so. What we can all do is to try to persuade HS2 Ltd to minimise the impact by sensitive working on the site and ideally delay non-essential vegetation clearance until after the breeding season this year.”

Some relevant context to this is that the photos were taken after the hedge had been cut down – presumably removing it from possible surrounding foliage.

We also went on site to take a look for ourselves. Unfortunately the downed hedge and the nest had been removed by site workers, meaning we would be unable to obtain definitive expert opinion on the status of the nest.

While in the vicinity we were approached by wildlife crime officer Dean Kingham. He told us that he had received a tip-off about the nest and had also seen a photograph that he thought showed an old nest, although when pressed he acknowledged that he is not an expert.

Under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 it is an offence to intentionally take, damage or destroy the nest of any wild bird while it is in use or being built. Ecologists need to demonstrate that they have checked vegetation and that it is clear of nesting activity before they can give a permit to clear.

Councillor Charlie Clare said:

“If HS2’s lawyers are able to keep HS2 within the letter of the law, there is no doubt that they are still breaking the spirit of it.”

Considering that HS2's Notice to Proceed has been delayed until December 2019 because updated costs and a revised business case have yet to be submitted, there is growing concern that the North Buckinghamshire countryside may be being destroyed for no reason.

A medieval student from Tingewick is preparing to walk the 'iron ring' of castles in north Wales.

Alli Templeton, who is studying medieval history at the Open University, will be embarking on the epic journey along Harlech Castle, Caernarfon Castle, Conwy Castle and Beaumaris Castle in July.

Alli said: "My interest in castles escalated several years ago after watching a TV programme and reading a book.

"It went from being an interest to an obsession.

"I plan to chronicle my experiences in my travel blog and hope to help tell the fascinating story of how these English castles came to shape the lands of the last native Prince of Wales."

Alli's trip will begin in Chester but will not all be on foot - she plans to take a boat from Conwy to Beaumaris Castle on the Isle of Anglesey before walking back to the mainland across the Menai Bridge.

She will then use her pilots licence to fly the final leg from Caernarfon to Harlech following the advice of medieval historian and author Marc Morris.

Alli says she expects the iron ring trip to take three weeks and hopes to use the experience towards her final dissertation as part of her Open University project.

If the castle trip proves a success, Alli has further rural historic ‘wanderings’ planned, including a walking journey through the castles of the wild Welsh Marches and a Saxon tour of Northumberland.

She added: “I love walking, and the stories and colourful characters from the Middle Ages are the some of the best in all our history."

You can keep up-to-date with Alli's activities and adventures via her website at https://medievalwanderings.com

It means AFC Rushden & Diamonds have been given the title despite being beaten on penalties in the final at Sixfields on Tuesday, April 2.

A statement from the Northamptonshire Football Association read: "Brackley Town FC guilty of fielding two ineligible players in the Hillier Senior Cup Final against AFC Rushden & Diamonds.

"As a result, the club has been stripped of its 2018/19 Hillier Senior Cup title and fined £500, with the title subsequently awarded to this year’s runners-up, AFC Rushden & Diamonds.

"The Hillier Senior Cup winners earn the right to play in the Maunsell Cup Final at the start of the next season, and with Brackley having had the title removed, AFC Rushden & Diamonds will now face Northampton Town in the 2019 Maunsell Cup Final, the date of which is to be confirmed.

"It is with regret that such a decision has had to be made, but the Association was left with no choice but to enforce the rules of the competition."

Brackley Town bounced back from their first defeat in eight Vanarama National League North outings to beat play-off rivals Altrincham.

Saints came from behind to win 2-1 in Tuesday’s vital tussle through an added-time own goal from keeper Tony Thompson to remain in third place with Altrincham missing the chance to leap-frog Saints.

The home team took a 38th minute lead through Max Harrop’s deflected free-kick and started the second half well. But Saints fought back, levelling through a well worked goal in the 65th minute. An exchange of passes between Luke Fairlamb and Shep Murombedzi opened up the defence and Lee Ndlovu expertly turned the low cross into the goal.

Omari Sterling-James went close, firing just wide as Saints finished strongly but nobody could have expected the last gasp drama. The game’s extraordinary twist came in the fourth minute of stoppage-time to settle what had been a close contest between two excellent sides.

Pressured by substitute Luke Fairlamb, Thompson missed his clearance and was unable to scramble back to keep the ball from dribbling over the line in the most dramatic of climaxes to leave the home crowd stunned and Saints supporters celebrating.

That goal secured a play-off place for Kevin Wilkin’s team. The results of the remaining three games will determine final positions and the line-up for the play-off finals in May.

The Beech House in Beaconsfield first opened in April 2013, and, so successful and popular has it become, that when the opportunity came to enlarge the premises, its owners, Oakman Inns, jumped at the chance.

Situated just 100 metres from the Waitrose store in Penn Road, the relaxed bar and restaurant provides a happy and comfortable meeting place in the heart of Beaconsfield’s community, serving a delicious range of freshly prepared, seasonal and sustainably-sourced food and drinks throughout the day.

Importantly, it has also provided employment for - and helped develop - the careers of a team of 30 local residents. The new, enlarged premises now doubles that number of full and part-time staff for its re-opening.

The re-opening sees the return of former General Manager, James Stanton, who welcomes his new operational challenge with the larger 120-seat restaurant and bar. He said: “I was Manager here before opening the Beech House in Amersham last year. I guess the fact that Oakman Inns has asked me to come back here means I must be doing something right! They are an excellent company to work for, and, whilst you’d expect me to say that, we keep winning awards for our ethical approach to hospitality, our staff and our local communities as we’re all passionate about what we do. I’m very excited about returning to Beaconsfield, reconnecting with our regulars, making our new guests feel at home and introducing them to our extensive Spring/Summer menus.”

James’ Deputy General Manager is Amelia George, who started working at Oakman as a bar tender at The Beech House when it first opened, has progressed through Oakman’s Management Programme. She added: “The Beech House has all that we love about food and drink, under one roof, for everyone at any time of the day: from coffees to cocktails, bubbles to beer; full-English fry-ups to super food salads, Neapolitan pizzas to rib-eye steaks, all cooked in front of your eyes.”

The Beech House has been designed using a variety of materials such as reclaimed timber, charred larch, steel, ceramic tiles, leather upholstery and pewter. It has a contemporary, semi-industrial feel, with comfortable booth seating & a variety of loose furniture, providing a warm and welcoming communal style in a flexible space.

Emergency services attended a three vehicle crash on the Bicester Road at 16:50 on Wednesday evening 16 April.

An ambulance crew treated four patients at the scene with two being taken to Stoke Mandeville hospital with what are believed to be non-life threatening injuries.

The following people from Aylesbury Vale have been sentenced at High Wycombe Magistrates Court from August 12 to 16.

Darren Martin, 50, Griffin Lane, Aylesbury: handling stolen goods (a bank card belonging to another individual). Fined £120. Ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £30 and costs of £85 to the CPS.

Theft of a pedal cycle. Ordered to pay compensation of £150.

Blair Lennox, 38, Tillson Square, Aylesbury: used an unlicensed vehicle in Wimborne, Dorset. Fined £165. Ordered to pay vehicle excise back duty of £100 and costs of £85.

Craig Shoult, 27, Chalgrove Walk, Aylesbury: possession of a class B drug (cannabis). No separate penalty.

Assaulted a male by beating. Committed to prison for 12 weeks with prison sentence suspended for 18 months. Ordered to pay compensation of £150, a victim surcharge of £115 and costs of £300 to the CPS.

Assaulted a second male by beating. Committed to prison for 12 weeks with prison sentence suspended for 18 months. Ordered to pay compensation of £75.

Bradley Shoult, 19, Chalgrove Walk, Aylesbury: assaulted a male by beating. Committed to prison for 12 weeks with prison sentence suspended for 18 months. Ordered to pay compensation of £75, a victim surcharge of £115 and costs of £300 to the CPS.

Assaulted a second male by beating. Committed to prison for 12 weeks with prison sentence suspended for 18 months. Ordered to pay compensation of £150.

Nicola Doherty, 53, Diane Close, Aylesbury: parked a vehicle in a disabled bay when not eligible to do so. Fined £120. Ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £30 and costs of £619.20.

Zeshaan Shah, 25, Carr Close, Aylesbury: destroyed the rear windscreen of another individual’s vehicle which was valued at £75. Discharged conditionally for 18 months. Ordered to pay compensation of £215, a victim surcharge of £20 and costs of £85 to the CPS.

Used threatening words or behaviour in a public place in Aylesbury. Discharged conditionally for 18 months.

Benjamin Addison, 46, Bicester Road, Aylesbury: drove a large goods vehicle in High Wycombe in breach of the speed limit (travelled at 37mph in a 30mph zone). Fined £92. Ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £30. Driving record endorsed with three points.

Andrew Brooks, 39, Griffin Lane, Aylesbury: used a large goods vehicle on Haw Lane, Bledlow Ridge, without third party insurance or a licence. Fined £120. Ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £30. Disqualified from holding a driving licence for 28 days.

Paul Corroll, 44, Bragenham Side, Stoke Hammond: pursued a course of harassment against a woman. Discharged conditionally for 18 months. Ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £20 and costs of £85 to the CPS.

Courtney Simmons, 18, Bittenham Close, Stone: behaved in a disorderly, indecent or offensive manner at Aylesbury railway station. Ordered to pay compensation of £40 and costs of £85 to the CPS.

An investigation has been launched after the remnants of a cannabis factory were found fly-tipped in Whaddon.

Officers from TVP Aylesbury Vale located the leftovers on Stratford Road, Whaddon this morning (Tuesday) and reported the fly-tipping to Bucks County Council.

Anyone with information about the waste dumping should call police on 101 quoting URN 345.

We’ll be live here throughout the day bringing you news and photos from schools across Aylesbury Vale, Buckingham and the surrounding area as they come in.

You can share your good luck messages, news and photos by e-mailing neil.shefferd@jpimedia.co.uk

"It's somewhere I've always wanted to visit, but my husband refuses to fly," confided Phyllis, a keen gardener and a fellow pensioner. In fact it was her desire to visit Keukenhof Gardens in the Netherlands which led me to take the opportunity of enjoying a no-fly alternative offered by Titan Travel.

Like many elderly pensioners Phyllis has never flown, yet she had never considered making the trip by coach or experiencing a gentle cruising holiday around the Dutch waterways which would allow her to tick off one of her bucket-list items.

Unlike most holiday companies, Titan arranges a non-nonsense door-to-door pick-up service. You get your own personal chauffeur, are collected from home and driven in a comfortable vehicle to your point of embarkation. After that you transfer to an awaiting coach before making the Channel crossing, either on a 90 minute P&O ferry out of Dover or, in our case, by train through the much faster Eurotunnel.

What follows is an easy onward journey on good European roads from Calais to Amsterdam, passing through France and Belgium and into the Netherlands, the trip itself taking approximately five hours, including a 45-minute break for snacks and drinks.

Once we arrived in Amsterdam we immediately transferred to our awaiting 90 cabin river boat and were greeted by Titan's cruise director and tour manager and offered a welcoming cocktail. During the six-day holiday, they would accompany us on three included excursions; to Keukenhof Gardens, a visit to the windmills and pretty traditional Dutch houses at Zaanse Schans and then on an enjoyable Amsterdam canal cruise and city tour.

As Keukenhof's magnificent spring garden only has a short eight-week season, it attracts more than a million visitors from more than 100 countries every year while it is undoubtedly the highlight of Titan's 'Dutch Waterways and Tulips'holiday which we spent aboard the luxurious four star-plus MS Bellejour river boat.

Following the company's success after exclusively chartering MS Serenade 1 back in 2017, Titan (www.titantravel.co.uk) chose to add a second river boat for its 2019 season so it chartered the near identical Maltese-registered MS Bellejourfrom Swiss-based company Select Voyages. It's a sleek 127m (417ft) long vessel and can carry a maximum of 180 passengers in 90 well-appointed en suite cabins.

Built in 2004 and originally named Johann Strauss, the MS Bellejour has three deck levels and all have 16 square metre cabins. Those located on the upper Danube and central Rhine decks have large panoramic sliding glass windows with French balconies while on the lower Moselle deck, the cabins have large elongated portholes which still provide excellent views as the Dutch landscape slips serenely by.

A selection of cabins on the Moselle deck are available for sole occupancy while all 90 are air-conditioned and include double beds (which can also be split into a twins), tea and coffee making facilities, a private bathroom with shower, satellite television, a mini bar, telephone, hairdryer and a safe, plus plenty of wardrobe space.

In the restaurant guests can enjoy a buffet breakfast, then a choice of a five-course luncheon or a light lunch in the lounge, before a dinner comprising an appetiser, soup, main course and dessert plus tea or coffee. All meals are accompanied by a choice of drinks – either top quality wines and beers or a non-alcoholic soft drink option. You can also purchase an optional unlimited drinks package from £10 per person per day which runs from 10am to midnight.

Facilities onboard include a large restaurant and lounge with a well-stocked bar, a small onboard shop and 24-hour reception plus a reading area which has a 24 hour tea and coffee making facility. There's an enormous promenade sun deck, a wellness spa and fitness centre with a sauna. There's also a heated whirlpool spa while guests also have free WiFi and a daily onboard newspaper.

For 2020, Titan have renamed the trip, 'Waterways and Tulips' and have priced it from £1,149 which includes all meals (there are two seven-course gala dinners), afternoon tea and late night snacks, together with a Captain's Cocktail reception party.

The 'Tulips and Windmills' itinerary

Following a welcome glass of bubbly and light refreshments, we set sail from our berth close to Amsterdam's Centraal Station for the town of Hoorn, located on the western shore of the Markermeer where we spent the night following a seven-course Captain's Dinner.

Hoorn became one of six homes to the former Dutch East India Company and it has a 17th Century town centre whose main square is called Roode Steen. Quickly becoming one of the wealthiest and most important towns on the Zuiderzee, Hoorn's population has grown to more than 70,000 inhabitants today.

One of Hoorn's many claims to fame relates to a pair of Dutch ships which negotiated a safe passage around the southern most tip of South America on their way from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean. While huge storms and previously uncharted rocks had claimed many previous explorers, it was to become known as Cape Horn.

Hoorn's ancient harbour features the Hoofdtoren, a huge 16th Century lookout tower while nearby is the Westfries Museum which has on display paintings of the Westfrisian Golden Age.

Leaving Hoorn we sailed north to the equally attractive town of Enkhuizen. However because the Ijsselmeer (formerly known as the Zuiderzee) has a huge 19 kilometre causeway which bisects it, we had to sail via the giant locks at Lelystad in the province of Flevoland on the opposite bank.

Enkhuizen is a former fishing and whaling port and was also another base of the Dutch East India Company. Unfortunately we had little time to explore as after breakfast we set off by coach for Keukenhof Gardens, passing through much of the countryside which is now a huge nature reserve.

In celebration of its 70th anniversary season, Keukenhof's theme for 2019 was 'Flower Power' with visitors getting to experience the 1960s in all its flamboyant and colourful glory. The spring garden – which is located close to the pretty Dutch town of Lisse – is only open for eight weeks between late March until mid-May. It's located just a short 30 minute bus ride from Amsterdam or Schiphol Airport and each year Keukenhof displays over seven million flowering bulbs in a spectacular fashion.

The gardens themselves are looked after by a dedicated team of 40 gardeners who make sure that the fabulous displays of tulips, daffodils and those amazing scented hyacinth flowers, are shown in the best possible light.

That night we set sail again and, having berthed in Lelystad, we were royally entertained by 25 members of the Shantymen Kaap Hoorn choir – shades of the Fishermen's Friends! They have performed all over the world and all the members have links to the sea, either as fishermen or sailors, their repertoire including many well known sea shanties which the MS Bellejour guest were encouraged to join in.

The following morning we set off again, this time to Zaandam where we visited Zaanse Schans, an historic 18th Century village comprising six well-preserved windmills. We also learned of the skilled craft of clog and cheese-making and wandered the streets alongside the River Zaan.

It was then back to Amsterdam for our final full day which included a city tour by coach and an hour-long cruise around the city's wonderful 17th Century canal system aboard a glass-topped boat. And while many guests chose to visited the Rembrandt exhibition at the fabulous Rijksmuseum, be warned that the Anne Frank House and Van Gogh Museum always need to be booked well in advance as the crowds can be enormous.

One very interesting exhibit at Amsterdam's National Maritime Museum is the 18th-century replica East Indiaman “Amsterdam” which takes you right back to the Dutch Golden Age when the Netherlands capital was the world’s largest port and Holland was truly a world power.

Sadly the holiday was over all too quickly and after an early breakfast, we were back aboard our coach making the return journey to Calais. However unlike the outward journey, we set sail for Dover on a P&O ferry before returning home courtesy of another chauffeur driven Titan vehicle.

Titan Travel Fact File

Alan Wooding travelled to The Netherlands with Titan Travel (08082 391 428, www.titantravel.co.uk) on a sixday ‘Tulips and Windmills’ river cruise. The tour for 2020 includes five nights on board MS Serenade 1 – 14 meals including unlimited wine, beer, and soft drinks during lunch and dinner – plus thee excursions. The price also includes a Farewell Gala dinner, Titan’s VIP door-to-door travel service, services of a Titan tour manager and return Eurotunnel or ferry crossings. Phone bookings on 08082 391 428.

Also see https://www.titantravel.co.uk/destinations/europe/holland/tulips-and-windmills-sr8

Below is a selection of photos from schools around the area - the majority are by Jane Russell.