Beccles Rotary Club members make special exchange visit to Holland

A party of ten people from the Rotary Club of Beccles were guests on an exchange visit to the Rotary Club Naarden-Bussum in Holland.

Beccles Rotary club members visit a Dutch club. The Dutch Rotary clubs president Lex Maas and Beccles Rotary Clubs president John Warburton with the presentation tankard. Pictures: John Swanbury - Credit: Archant

A very full programme of events awaited the party of six members and four wives as they landed at Schipol Airport and were first whisked off to Utrecht for a picnic afloat on one of the canals.

Spirits were not dampened by a little rain as activities included a conducted tour of the museum quarter, a visit to two of the museums and the Dom Tower and Dom Church, which are parts of the cathedral that remained standing after the massive nave collapsed in 1674.

A fascinating visit was made to Dom Under, an underground space where one can view 2,000 years of Dutch history. This is in the middle of Dom Square and it includes remains of the fallen cathedral nave and of the Roman fort that formerly stood on this site.

Generous hospitality by the Dutch Rotarians concluded with a lunch at which the Beccles president John Warburton re-presented a travelling tankard to the Dutch club’s president Lex Maas.

Next year the Beccles club will hope to repay this hospitality during the Dutch club’s visit here.