How far away are you from Newcastle dear Phil? There is a daily (and very cheap ferry) from New Castle to IJmuiden!!! From IJmuiden to Haarlem is ten kilometers and from Haarlem to Amsterdam is only twenty kilometers (16 minutes by train)!
Thank you dear R. In Haarlem this is often the case: so many very old street patterns still exist, and also the river Spaarne itself makes several bends changing the view completely!!!