Return to Den Haag

We lived in The Hague from October 1999 to December 2002, first at Hooikade 15, then at Jozef Israelslaan 59.

As part of an 18 day journey from my home in North Yorkshire to London, Marseille and Rotterdam in the heat of August 2026 I re-visited The Hague. Our old haunts are still there, but there's been much new building. Den Haag Centraal Station is quite spectacular now. I'm used to Kings Cross looking swish, but this something else.

"The four people—three men and one woman—are depicted in an animated, equal discussion. They symbolize the modern public engaging in debate and democratic dialogue." Beyond is the re-developed Central Station.

Our home in Hooikade was by a canal. It used to be white and plain. Now it's tarted up in olive green.

Grace was born when we were here. I used to carry her up and down this street on my shoulders to ease her bawling at 1 in the morning, my hand behind her back fixing her against the back of my head. Or sometimes atop my head with both my hands. 

Our bike supplier.

The Blue Cafe where we sat outside on weekend mornings. Shut, alas, when I was there.

"Hooikade (literally Hay Quay) was historically used for unloading hay brought in by canal boats for horses kept in nearby city stables. The bridge crosses over the waterway, where small pleasure craft, electric rental sloops, and canal tours regularly pass under the historic stone and cast-iron bridge."

Our coffee spot.

"Jozef Israëlslaan is a notable tree-lined avenue located in the prestigious Benoordenhout neighborhood. Characterized by its wide layout, classic green trees, and early 20th-century townhouses (many built around the 1920s). It sits very close to the Haagse Bos park, Van Hoytemastraat shopping area, and is within walking distance of Den Haag Centraal station. The street is named after Jozef Israëls (1824–1911), one of the most celebrated Dutch painters of the Hague School. He was famous for his realism and depictions of fishing communities in Scheveningen."

Our house was the brown door extreme left.

A few yards round the corner is a sculpture of an owl.

The owl is by Jan Altorf (Johan Coenraad Altorf, 1876–1955), one of the most prominent Dutch sculptors of the Art Nouveau and Nieuwe Haagse School eras. Altorf was legendary for his highly stylized, geometric animal figures carved into building facades. 

Material & Style: The relief is carved directly into a dark, heavy natural stone panel (Namense hardsteen / Belgian granite). Altorf used bold, sharp planes and cubist angles, perfectly matching the geometric lines of architect Jan Wils' building design.

Symbolism of the Owl: In Art Deco and Nieuwe Haagse School architecture, the owl was widely used as a symbol of wisdom, vigilance, and quiet domestic peace—an inviting motif placed right at the threshold to welcome residents into a secure and luxurious home.

Designed in the Nieuwe Haagse School style, strongly influenced by Frank Lloyd Wright's geometric and organic forms Wilshout is designated as a National Monument (Rijksmonument).

It was my solace when I left America for the North York Moors and photographed the barn owls hunting right outside my window.

A few yards further is the side chapel entrance to the Sint-Paschalis Baylonkerk. The pelican is an ancient symbol of maternal self sacrifice later adapted to Christ's sacrifice (shedding his blood to give eternal life to his followers).

In Hooikade.

In Jozef Israelslaan on a dark December day:

Bourgeois Valhalla

Bourgeois Valhalla, brick Benoordenhout

Is rich with emblems and foreshadowed memory.

Haunting heron, eagle owl,

The spirit selves of Grace and you and me.

In dark and darker days and neon nights

Sinisterly zoftig 's-Gravenhage

Gathers shadow armies in the sky,

Signifying something is to change,

Or did already change and memory plays tricks.

Cold flares up and wind dies down,

The patina is frozen from the brick,

The darkest days come crowding round,

And in this shadowed time and place

May angels guard us, Kirsten, Mark and Grace.

******

       

 

The last 4 weeks

I was in America over Christmas, back in North Yorkshire now. I love this place. Here's a few images from the last 4 weeks as an aide-memoire to me.

The arctic conditions on the moors are balm for the soul:

We spent Christmas in New Hampshire. JM and I went to shoot a pier in Maine at dawn.

JM working with a film Hasselblad:

My shot of dawn:

Our beloved mini schnauzer, Trixie, died the day I came to England in July. We scattered her ashes by Dumont Rock in Rockleigh Wood which she loved to climb at the top of a hill in New Jersey:

Grace and I re-visited Bushwick in Brooklyn, NYC, to shoot street art:

I finally cleared out all the boxes of stuff I'd stored in London for years from the living room floor. Now it looks like a good spot for chess and whisky:

My barn owl neighbors are especially active. These shots from my study window:

I have permission to prowl around this farm and the next-door farm. This is an opportunistic shot of a stag with the moor behind:

The nearby North Sea is a visual contrast. I like the ghosts of the wind turbines in the mist behind the cormorant at Redcar Sands:

The recent high winds brought out kite surfers at Teesmouth:

Anyway the barn owls are thriving. This place is a nature reserve really, not a farm, as it hasn't been cultivated for 10 years and there's a beck with plenty of woods. There is lots of undergrowth in the fields which means rodents and therefore birds of prey. This from an upstairs window:

Newsflash - a neighbor says she's seen otters by our stream. That would be incredible. Andrew says there used to be kingfishers, but the run-off from upstream farms polluted the water and killed the fish. If there are really otters, well!

Maybe I'll start posting again

A Drive in Scotland with Hikes

1. Fly into Inverness from London. Birmingham Airport is also good to fly from - only 70 minutes by train from London, Euston.

 2. Drive to Ullapool on the west coast.

There's an ok Tesco's in Ullapool.

A good b and b is Suilven 3 miles north of Ullapool on a single track road to Rhue - bedrooms ok, lounge very good, breakfast very good, short stroll to Rhue lighthouse.




3. Climb Stac Pollaidh from the car park. Good path, do it as a circle up and round the back of the mountain, about 2 and a half hours. This is a must, despite the other hikers.






4. Visit Knockan Crag, a lovely easy walk round a world famous geo-site.



5. Climb Quinag from the A894 car park marked. "Quinag is a magnificent and complex mountain with three summits attaining Corbett status. The ascent of all three is one of the finest hillwalks in Scotland, with fine peaks, dramatic ridges and stunning views. If the full walk is too much, the ascent of the first peak (with a return the same way) is a short and fairly straightforward hillwalk with rewards out of all proportion to the effort involved."



6. Take the car ferry from Ullapool to Stornoway on the Isle of Lewis.







7. Drive south from Stornoway to Harris, past Tarbert to circle round the southern peninsula. 8. Vist the cafe and gallery at Geocrab on the way. 9. Visit the church at Rodel.



10. Visit Luskentyre sands.



11. Take the car ferry from Tarbert to Uig on the Isle of Skye.

12. From Uig on Skye it's 20 minutes drive to the Quiraing car park. This is a famous landscape. Take the path from the car park as far as you feel like it and maybe come back over the high plateau. Strangely I don't have any good pictures of my own.

13. Do the picturesque drive south to Elgol. Skye can be heavily visited, so best to book a b and b in advance preferably at Elgol.  On the way you get fine views of Blaven.

14. Walk up the coast north from Elgol to Camasunary and back. I once slept in the bothy there after climbing Blaven.

15. Drive back to Broadford and on across the bridge to Kyle of Lochalsh on the mainland.

16. If you still have time before heading back to Inverness airport, then the next stretch has many points of interest such as the Applecross peninsula, Mellon Udrigle, Poolewe WW2 naval base, the mountains of Torridon and much else. If you want to do one of the finest ridge walks in Britain, then climb An Teallach (pronounced 'An Shaylack').





17. Dont miss the very short walk to Corrieshallock Gorge.

18. You can fill up the rental car at Tescos on the big roundabout a few miles before Inverness airport.