The Gooi, the area east of Amsterdam around Bussum, Naarden and Hilversum, is one of the few places in the western Netherlands with hills, if you can call low sandy ridges hills. It is a region of heathland, woods and wealthy villages. On the edge of Bussum, close to the fortified town of Naarden, stands Fort Werk IV, a small fortification that was part of the New Dutch Waterline and the Defence Line of Amsterdam, and is now part of the UNESCO-listed Dutch Water Defence Lines.
The fort was built in the nineteenth century to guard the routes into Naarden and the waterline, and it is a typical example of the forts of the period, with earthworks, a moat and brick buildings. It has been restored and is now used as an event space. The surrounding area, with its waterways, is part of the defensive landscape that once could be flooded.
Naarden, next door, is one of the best-preserved fortified towns in Europe: a star-shaped town with double walls and moats, built in the seventeenth century. Its fortifications are intact and can be walked around, and the Fortress Museum inside the walls explains how they worked. The town is pretty, with old houses and a big church. The Czech philosopher and educator Comenius is buried in Naarden, in a mausoleum that is a place of pilgrimage for Czechs.
The riding in the Gooi is pleasant but gentle. The roads through the woods and heathland around Hilversum and Bussum are quiet and scenic, with gentle curves. The roads along the Vecht river, to the south-west, pass through a landscape of country houses and villages. Traffic around Amsterdam can be heavy, and the area is busy with cyclists. The Gooi is also the home of Dutch television, with the studios at Hilversum.
Bussum, about one kilometre away, and Naarden have fuel and all services. Local food includes the poffertjes, small pancakes, and the cakes and pastries of the Dutch bakeries. Spring, when the heath and woods turn green, and late summer, when the heather blooms purple, are the best times to visit.