Gager

With trepidation we started off towards Rügen Island. We'd done our research and found some exciting places to visit. However, the Rough Guide didn't forewarn us of the business and difficulties we experienced on the previous peninsula and we were worried it would be more of the same on Rügen.

Thankfully our fears were soon allayed! Whilst the sometimes narrow roads were tricky to navigate with large trees leaning over in to the path of high sided vehicles, Rügen's atmosphere seemed relaxed and friendly.

The island is Germany's largest and it took us a good while to get to the South Eastern Monchgut and Göhren peninsula where we'd looked up a stopover. On arrival we were all ready to pay the €10 the book had stated for the stopover (which turned out to be a campsite). We ended up getting charged €17 because the price stated only included the van and not us or the local tax! They didn't ask about a dog and we didn't tell them about Poppy as it would have cost an extra €2 for her! Whilst €17 was more expensive than we were used to paying over here, it was still a lot cheaper than anywhere we know in the UK and it was in a brilliant position.

We took a short walk to the sea and looked around the marina which had a mix of leisure craft and places for fishing boats that would return and unload their catch to be processed in the harbourside huts. There was sailboat hire but there were only very small boats available, more suited to children than two 6ft adults.

After lunch outside the van with Poppy, we cycled 3km to the other side of the peninsula where we found a long arcing beach with soft white sand and views of chalk cliffs at the point. The beach was separated into sections for clothing, no clothing and a dog beach. The day was warm and so was the Baltic and we really enjoyed swimming around before lying on our beach towels to dry off.

The evening saw Will head to the harbour with his fishing rod and Vicky hike up the hill at the head of the peninsula. We both watched the huge red sun set over the water from our different vantage points. The hillside is beautiful, being covered with wildflowers, many gone to seed but some still in flower. A network of tracks offer views over the various coves and headlands with sea visible in almost all directions. On the way back down, Vicky spotted 3 deer only 15 meters away, unfortunately she couldn't stop for long as the mosquitos were swarming and she ended up with around 25 bites from the day.

Our stay ended with a hike up the hill the next morning and a little wander through the small village on the way back, where we bought smoked eel from a family business.Read more