8 Landscape Route

This varied route leads you through the Noorderpark, the area between Utrecht and the Loosdrechtse Plassen that is bordered on both sides by the Vecht and the Utrechtse Heuvelrug. The route gives a beautiful picture of the changes that man has made to nature for centuries. All stages of the extraction and dyeing of this once inaccessible, marshy area can be found along the way.

Cycle along the rustling reeds of the cap holes, through the tight ditch pattern in the polder and through centuries-old ribbon villages. Experience the immense difference in the flat peat landscape on the south side and the wooded sandy soils on the north side of the route. Forts and group shelters along the way remind us of the New Dutch Water Line, of which the area is part.

The tour starts on the bank of the Vecht, at Zuylen Castle. A unique museum where you can experience the life of a noble family in the 18th century in the beautifully decorated rooms. Along the way, visit the Vredegoed regional museum, where the life and works of the people in this area are displayed in nine decorated themed rooms such as a cheese dairy or a grocery store.

Embankment and meadows, marshes and lakes, forests and centuries-old villages, nobility and farmers... This tour is a varied journey through time and through unprecedentedly beautiful nature.

For more information about this route, see http://www.zichtopdevechtstreek.nl/route/157/8landschappenroute.html

For all routes in the beautiful Gooi & Vecht region and further tourist information, go to the official tourist office site of the region: www.vvvgooivecht.nl