Today is a bit of a red-letter day, and in many respects, the sole reason we visited Holland during April. Spring flowers! To be specific, tulips.

Thinking ahead, we’d booked a hire car, knowing the easiest way to travel to Keukenhof was by road, and the Tulip barn was a 7-minute drive from there. When we collected the hire car, we checked the return time to ensure we didn’t stumble into any late return fines or fees. The chap booking out the hire car checked his system and then informed me that they use a one-day hire rate ending at 9am the following day. It wouldn’t cost any more to keep the car until then, rather than return it at 6:30pm. We’d previously investigated different methods of transport to the night parade and discovered it wasn’t easy. We’d be faced with a complex route using public transport, which needed the buses and trains to run perfectly on time. With that in mind, we jumped at the chance to extend our hire for free and use the car to travel to the night parade.

The queue of traffic approaching Keukenhof was as long as expected, but crawled to the car park entrance reasonably quickly. We were particularly impressed by the concrete tracks which ran along the parking bays on the overflow field. Having felt how soft the sandy soil is, the thick concrete slabs were vital to prevent huge furrows being gouged out of the field by the volume of cars using it each day. To give a better feel for the volume of people and cars, think of it like a busy theme park parking lot on a sunny weekend in June. In short, rammed! And that continued into the vast grounds, which were swarming with a melting pot of nationalities, all united in their appreciation for the spring flowers in ample supply all around us. 

Down the first path, which felt like it was north or maybe west facing, the cold weather had caused entire beds of tulips to remain in tight bud. As we gazed at this phenomenon stretching way from us as far as the eye could see, your scribe felt a little disappointed and forlorn. This was, after all, one of the key reasons… actually I’m wrong. It was “the reason” we visited Holland at this time of year, and the notion that it was going to be taken away from us by a downturn in the weather wasn’t at all pleasant. As the path began to bear left, the first thing we saw was the sun shining through the trees. A few more paces along the path revealed an absolute forest of tulips bathed in sunlight, swaying gently in the breeze. It was a magical sight. 

Although there were plenty of examples of different varieties of tulip not yet in flower, it soon became clear just how many tulip varieties there are. If you’ve ever seen a spring bulb catalogue, you’ll have some idea. But that doesn’t do it justice. It would be remiss of me not to also mention the sheer number of different daffodils and narcissi, without forgetting the staggering number of different colour hyacinths.

The common blue and pink were in plentiful supply, but alongside them were a pale creamy yellow, dark pink, light purple, dark purple and a dark blue. Oh, and an absolute ton of grape hyacinths, in classic blue, white/cream and pink.

Some of the light pink tulips and particularly the white with either pink or purple lines were of extreme interest to the Oriental guests, and they swarmed excitedly around them, eagerly posing for pictures from every angle imaginable.

Every flower bed was pristine and maintained to a high standard of excellence. A team of groundsmen were scattered around the park, ensuring that every blade of grass, or grass edge, was clipped within an inch of its life, and conformed to their immaculate standards.

We noticed a couple of them patrolling the hyacinth beds armed with 30cm metal rods. This seemed a little strange until we saw what they were doing. A large hyacinth flower head in full bloom is quite heavy, causing it to droop. But this would violate the standard which had been decreed for all flower stems, stating they must be vertical. To ensure they conformed and were evenly spaced from their neighbour, the groundsmen were pinning them with a rod neatly down the side of the stalk. The effect was amazing, especially from a distance.

We spent the next few hours trundling around at a snail’s pace, admiring the different varieties of tulip and attempting to take photos without having unwanted humans in them. The flowers are the unquestionable stars of the show. Eventually, we stumbled upon the windmill, which was a firm favourite with everyone, especially those visitors armed with a digital camera who were engrossed in snapping it from every angle.

Of course, we made time for coffee! After all, it’s the lifeblood and a non-negotiable necessity for one member of our group. Needing to rest our feet, we purchased three of the hot drinks and apple cake special deals in the main restaurant. Judging by the number of people happily munching the apple pie, it was a popular choice.

Afterwards, we embarked on another loop of the grounds for good measure and exploration around the indoor areas. One contained orchids, another building a few minutes away was filled with daffodils and narcissi arranged by variety in separate pots with a label. They’d also thought of a wet weather contingency, with a shopping mall-sized greenhouse rammed full of tulips. With the popularity of the coach tours, I guess they needed to ensure there was somewhere for people to congregate out of the rain. If nothing else, it would prevent the restaurants from becoming an overcrowded refuge. Thankfully, the day we visited was dry and sunny.

Our next stop was only a few miles up the road at the Tulip Barn. Unlike Keukenhof with its neat black ropes and keep off grass signs, the Tulip Barn provided opportunities to get up close with the tulips. Where Keukenhof had everything arranged in neatly arranged flower beds edged with grass, situated between well-manicured trees, the Tulip Barn was a vast open space, with long blocks of flowers. This created a vibrant backdrop for an endless number of photos.

To help their guests scratch this itch, they’d peppered the space with a windmill, a large foot bridge, a huge backless picture frame, a stationery tandem, an old Jag and an assortment of wooden chairs. 

It was amazing to be able to walk between the rows of tulips, rather than being confined to the authorised walkways. For tulip lovers, this was a great experience. But there’s something about the way Keukenhof executes their tulip experience that adds a must-see element. 

After allowing ourselves time to consume another cappuccino (I know! You’d have thought four was enough for anyone), we drove to the little town where the night parade was scheduled to take place.

Once we’d walked from our side road into town, it was a total surprise to see all the floats parked up in a long road not far from the town centre.

I checked with the tourist information and discovered the floats for the night parade were the same ones we’d also see the next day. On that basis, we decided to spend a while inspecting, photographing and enjoying the floats that afternoon and skip the parade the next day. This was a great plan as it removed the challenges we’d have faced travelling to the parade route without the hire car. The floats were amazing. And much like their gardens, the Keukenhof float was a precision job with every flower head arranged and pinned in position. 

The town had engaged in considerable effort to showcase its floral artistry around the town. Many of the shops had large arrangements outside or in their windows, and in the town square around the church, there were lots of wonderful floral creations.

While the crowd waited for the parade to start, the organisers had a brass band performing, which was pretty good. From the crowd’s reaction, I suspect several tunes were local folk songs. 

It took a while to get going, with a few false starts, but eventually the first floats of the night parade rolled past. Unfortunately, they didn’t move at a steady pace. We suspect some had issues steering their way through the bollards at the other end of the pedestrianised areas.