Elst is a commuter town in the Betuwe, the flat river island between the Rhine and the Waal, halfway between Arnhem and Nijmegen. At first glance there is nothing remarkable about its big brick church on the market square. The surprise lies underneath it. Excavations in the twentieth century found the remains of two Roman temples beneath the floor, built one after another on the same spot, dedicated to a local god adopted into the Roman world. The site belongs to the Frontiers of the Roman Empire, Lower German Limes, inscribed by UNESCO in 2021, and the foundations can be seen in the church cellar when it is open.
The Romans held the Rhine as their frontier for centuries, and the Betuwe was the land of the Batavians, a tribe famous as soldiers and horsemen who served in the Roman army, and who rose in revolt against Rome in the first century. Nijmegen, a few kilometres south, grew from a Roman settlement and claims to be the oldest city in the Netherlands.
The twentieth century left its mark too. In the autumn of 1944, after Operation Market Garden failed to take the bridge at Arnhem, the area between the rivers, nicknamed the Island by Allied soldiers, became a front line for months, and Elst was badly damaged in the fighting. The church tower was hit and rebuilt after the war.
The Betuwe is fruit country, with orchards of apples, pears and cherries stretching across the polders, and in April the blossom turns the landscape white and pink. That is the best time to ride here. The roads are flat and mostly straight, but the dikes along the Waal and the Nederrijn carry narrow lanes with gentle bends, views over the floodplains and the slow procession of barges on the river. Watch for cyclists, farm vehicles, and strong winds that sweep across the open polders. Dutch roads are generally excellent, but speed limits are low and enforced with cameras.
Elst has over twenty thousand inhabitants, so fuel, supermarkets and cafés are all close by. For a snack in true Dutch style, buy fresh fruit or apple juice from a farm stall in the orchards, or sit on the square with a coffee and a slice of apple pie.