5th - 8th August. On winding Dutch waterways to Bolsward, then on to Harlingen.

We carried on through threatening weather, which eventually did turn into a glorious day, along rural winding waterways.

We skirted Bolsward a week ago, but are now coming into town. We are trying to take in as much of Friesland as we can, and are doing various circuits in order to do so.

The first stone of the new Bolsward Town Hall was laid in 1614, with improvements and renovation going on ever since, most recently in 1955, which was the year of the 500 years Town Charter commemoration.

Upstairs in the Council Chambers, this wooden door frame was carved by Japick Gysberts, and the four tin town jugs above, date from 1550.

The Broerekerk is the oldest church in Bolsward, having originally been built about 1260. It had a chequered history through the ages, but the interior was completely burnt in 1980.

In 2005 the church was restored again, as the walls were crumbling, and the glass roof was then added, to create this splendid exhibition hall.

The old and the new windmills are side by side here. As in other parts of the world, there is some resistance to the new wind turbines, but it looks as though they are here to stay.

Cruising through Witmarsum was reminiscent of the narrower parts of the Llangollen canal in Wales, with sharp corners and no passing places!

As the waterway opened out again, we moored near to the village of Arum, a few kilometres south of Harlingen.

Shannon is enjoying having a shorter trim for the hot weather, and is being a figurehead, on the top of the cratch!

There is a choice of routes through Harlingen. In this part it is mainly moorings for smaller yachts.

The Zuiderhaven 2 building, with two beautiful stepped gables, overlooks the Industrial Harbour.

We walked down to the beach and Shannon had a wonderful time in the sea.

Harlingen is the largest home port for these sailing ships, known as the "Bruine Vloot". This fleet is made up of dozens of historic ships of various types, which take guests on sailing trips on the Wadden Sea.

The Stadhuis (City Hall) was built in 1730. The statue of St Michael, the patron saint of Harlingen, can be seen at the top of the building.

Moving just out of town, we are moored on a jetty, which is owned by the maker of this splendid glass cabined launch. This boat would be at home on The Thames!

3rd - 4th August. A visit to Leeuwarden, then contrasting country waterways and villages.

Coming into Leeuwarden, it is obvious that this is a commercial port.

We came under this stylish lift bridge during the lunch hour, so were ahead of this crowd on the way into town.

Leeuwarden is the largest town in Friesland which we have visited so far.

This café is on the bridge over one of the canals in Leeuwarden, but the town is very quiet today, as it is Sunday.

I really liked this Friesian horse.

Practically everywhere was closed today, but the modern Fries Museum was open, so we went to visit it. It included a lot of video presentations, some with English subtitles, which made it easier for us.

My camera is straight! This tower is reknowned for leaning over!

Mooring not too far out of town, on the Dokkumer Ee waterway, we watched the sun go down.

From the Dokkumer Ee waterway, we turned left on to Finkumvaart. This waterway has been newly opened to more boats, by raising seven lower bridges to 2.4 metres in height, and is well worth a visit. Out into the country to the north of Leeuwarden we saw several windmills.

We took a detour to Oudebildtzijl, following the invitation on a board at the last corner. It is another lovely Friesian village.

Beyond the town bridge are many more jetties, but we could not turn here, so it was lucky we stayed the other side of the bridge.

The old church in Oudebildtzijl is now an hotel.

In this area of Friesland there are field after field of potatoes.

This canal is a real contrast to most Dutch waterways, with so many bends and corners.

We know the Dutch are keen to travel on the water, but is this taking it a little too far?

1st - 2nd August. Through Sneek and on up De Swette to Mantgum.

Another train swing bridge. We had to wait for two trains to pass before we could go through, along with seven other boats.

We are making our way to the north of Friesland, so it is past the Watergate in Sneek again.

We must be through Sneek by 4pm today as the town closes then to through traffic. The final skutje race takes place today on Sneekermeer, then everyone comes into town for the start of Sneek Week, with celebrations all evening followed by a big fireworks display.

Our route out of town was through the newer part of Sneek, where these roofs look like sails, out on the lake.

Following the De Swette waterway to the north of Sneek, we turned off down a side canal, and found horses in practically every field. We saw about 200 in all, with up to 30 in each field, including some mares and foals.

There were sheep too, although we do not yet know the name of this breed.

In Mantgum we visited Willem and Anke, for a very pleasant visit. Here they are in the old part of the village.

Mantgum church dates back to the middle ages. It is built on the terp, which is a raised mound created in a village to protect those buildings on it from potential flooding.

This church is famous for its wooden carvings, which are very impressive.

28th - 31st July 2014. Visits to the skating and clog museums at Hinderloopen, on the Ijsselmeer, then along Fluessen lake to get to Workum.

Some trouble with a faulty alternator delayed us in Koudum, but once that was fixed we sailed on to Hinderloopen. This town has the narrow streets and traditional houses that define these Dutch towns.

The skating museum there was fascinating, telling us all about this Dutch national sport. We learned the history of the Elfstedentocht, which is a 200 kilometre long skating race around the Eleven Friesian Cities. This race has taken place 15 times since 1909, the last time being in 1997. Everyone always longs for another really cold winter here!

The clog museum next door showed how clogs are made, and Shannon was fascinated by the clog workshop upstairs. She also saw some tools in a glass-fronted cabinet and stepped forward to have a closer look, not realising the glass was there! Her nose was a bit sore!

Many cruisers and yachts sail on the Ijsselmeer, here at Hinderloopen, but we are happy to stay on the inland waterways.

The harbour is full of yachts, and also skutjes, which will be racing from here, on the Ijsselmeer, next week.

In Hinderloopen, we find two of these unique bridges, with a central lifting section designed especially for yacht masts. The way to the harbour is through the sluis directly ahead, but we are turning off to the right before that.

Having taken the narrow route out of town, we have to negotiate this right angled corner, to return to the main waterway. Several people had told us we would not be able to turn here, but we were pleased to prove them wrong!

Back on the main canal, we carried on to find this lovely mooring on the edge of Zwarte Woude, a small lake just off Fluessen.

Another wonderful sunset.

Out on Fluessen, one of Friesland's larger lakes, the next morning, we would have liked to see these sails go up!

Going off Fluessen on to Grote Gaastmeer, a smaller lake, we found this island inlet. There must have been over fifty boats moored somewhere on this island, but only a few could be seen at once.

On our way into Workum, another town with access to the Ijsselmeer, most of the other boats on the water were yachts, or skutjes.

This fine skutje was moored on the way into Workum.

The canal through Workum used to go through the centre of town, where these steps are now. Our route takes us through the lifting bridge to the right.

The main street in Workum, in front of the unusual clock tower, is where the canal used to be.