Why this ride
A 325 km round trip from The Hague - roughly 5 h 50 in the saddle. The stops in between: Mill Network at Kinderdijk-Elshout, Fort near Heemstede, Woerden-Centrum and back through Fort near Heemstede. It suits an unhurried touring pace.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
The Hague day out · Woerden-Centrum
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 325 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 5 h 50
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
The recorded total and the leg detail need reconciliation. Inspect the leg notes before using this record for timing or navigation. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Scenic road chapters
Zeeland Delta Works Route
Expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast. For 43 km this is Zeeland Delta Works Route, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 43 km
- Named road
- Zeeland Delta Works Route
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. The Hague
The Hague is where the Dutch government sits, but not where the capital is, which is a characteristic Dutch compromise. Amsterdam is the capital, but the parliament, the ministries, the royal working palace and the embassies are all here, and the city has an air of quiet formality. The Binnenhof, a cluster of medieval buildings around a courtyard, is the centre of Dutch politics, and the Mauritshuis next door holds Vermeer's Girl with a Pearl Earring and some of the finest Dutch paintings in the world. Close by, the Peace Palace, a vast, fairy-tale neo-Gothic building finished in 1913, houses the International Court of Justice. The city has long been the seat of international law.
Read the complete The Hague write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The Hague is where the day begins. Next is Mill Network at Kinderdijk-Elshout.
2. Mill Network at Kinderdijk-Elshout
Nineteen windmills stand in two rows along the canals at Kinderdijk, their sails turning slowly against the wide Dutch sky, and it is one of the most iconic sights in the Netherlands. They were built in the eighteenth century to pump water out of the Alblasserwaard, a low-lying polder between the rivers Lek and Noord, which would otherwise be flooded. Each mill lifted water from a lower canal to a higher one, and from there it was let out into the river. Over time steam, diesel and electric pumping stations took over the job, and the most recent ones still keep the polder dry today. The mill network was listed by UNESCO in 1997.
Read the complete Mill Network at Kinderdijk-Elshout write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Mill Network at Kinderdijk-Elshout comes up 39 km in.
3. Mill Network at Kinderdijk-Elshout
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Mill Network at Kinderdijk-Elshout write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
78 km in you reach Mill Network at Kinderdijk-Elshout. Next is Fort near Heemstede.
4. Fort near Heemstede
Between Haarlem and the bulb fields of the Dutch coast, near the town of Heemstede and the hamlet of De Glip, lies a squat, grassy fort surrounded by a moat. This is the Fort near Heemstede, built around the turn of the twentieth century as part of the Defence Line of Amsterdam, a ring of forts, dykes and flooding zones around the city, and now part of the UNESCO-listed Dutch Water Defence Lines.
Read the complete Fort near Heemstede write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Fort near Heemstede, about halfway. Next is Woerden-Centrum.
5. Woerden-Centrum
Woerden is a small Dutch town on the Oude Rijn, the old Rhine, halfway between Utrecht and Leiden, in the middle of the Green Heart of Holland, a landscape of polders, meadows, ditches and cows. Its centre is a compact old town ringed by canals, with a castle, a big church and a windmill on the old ramparts. The Romans were here too: Woerden lies on the line of the Lower German Limes, and the remains of a Roman fort lie beneath the town centre.
Read the complete Woerden-Centrum write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Woerden-Centrum sits at 156 km, about halfway. Next is back through Fort near Heemstede.
6. back through Fort near Heemstede
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Fort near Heemstede write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Fort near Heemstede comes up 194 km in. Next is back through Mill Network at Kinderdijk-Elshout.
7. back through Mill Network at Kinderdijk-Elshout
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Mill Network at Kinderdijk-Elshout write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
233 km in you reach back through Mill Network at Kinderdijk-Elshout.
8. back through Mill Network at Kinderdijk-Elshout
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Mill Network at Kinderdijk-Elshout write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Mill Network at Kinderdijk-Elshout, late in the day. Next is The Hague.
9. The Hague
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete The Hague write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 325 km.
Leg by leg
The Hague to Mill Network at Kinderdijk-Elshout
The Hague → Mill Network at Kinderdijk-Elshout is 43 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Mill Network at Kinderdijk-Elshout to Fort near Heemstede
Mill Network at Kinderdijk-Elshout → Fort near Heemstede is 68 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Fort near Heemstede to Woerden-Centrum
Fort near Heemstede → Woerden-Centrum is 44 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Woerden-Centrum to back through Fort near Heemstede
Woerden-Centrum → back through Fort near Heemstede is 44 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Fort near Heemstede to back through Mill Network at Kinderdijk-Elshout
back through Fort near Heemstede → back through Mill Network at Kinderdijk-Elshout is 68 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
back through Mill Network at Kinderdijk-Elshout to The Hague
back through Mill Network at Kinderdijk-Elshout → The Hague is 43 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.