Why this ride
A 254 km round trip from Heemstede - roughly 3 h 58 in the saddle. It goes by way of Group shelter type P, Arnhem-Meinerswijk and back through Group shelter type P. It was put together for the scenery rather than the shortest line.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Fort near Heemstede and Arnhem-Meinerswijk
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 254 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 3 h 58
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. 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.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. 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 is where the day begins. Next is Group shelter type P.
2. Group shelter type P
Concrete is not usually romantic, but a Dutch group shelter manages it. Type P was a standard design of bunker built in the 1930s along the New Dutch Water Line, the old defensive belt that ran in an arc around Utrecht, Amsterdam and the middle of the country. Each shelter was a small, low, rectangular box of reinforced concrete with a flat roof and a narrow door, designed to protect a squad of soldiers from artillery and aircraft while they waited for the real fighting to start. Hundreds were built, and when you find one, usually half hidden in grass or trees, it looks like a stout, silent animal.
Read the complete Group shelter type P write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Group shelter type P comes up about 65 km into the recorded legs. Next is Arnhem-Meinerswijk.
3. Arnhem-Meinerswijk
The Rhine has always been a frontier here. In Roman times, the Lower Rhine marked the northern edge of the empire, and the Romans built a chain of forts, watchtowers and roads along its banks to guard it. At Meinerswijk, on the southern bank of the river opposite Arnhem, the remains of one of those forts lie buried in the floodplain. It is part of the Frontiers of the Roman Empire, Lower German Limes, listed by UNESCO in 2021. There is little to see on the surface, but the floodplain itself, a wide expanse of meadows, ponds and willows, is a pleasant place to walk, and markers explain the history.
Read the complete Arnhem-Meinerswijk write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 128 km into the recorded legs you reach Arnhem-Meinerswijk. Next is back through Group shelter type P.
4. back through Group shelter type P
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Group shelter type P write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Group shelter type P, late in the day. Next is Fort near Heemstede.
5. 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 at Fort near Heemstede. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Fort near Heemstede to Group shelter type P
Fort near Heemstede → Group shelter type P is 65 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Group shelter type P to Arnhem-Meinerswijk
Group shelter type P → Arnhem-Meinerswijk is 63 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Arnhem-Meinerswijk to back through Group shelter type P
Arnhem-Meinerswijk → back through Group shelter type P is 63 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
back through Group shelter type P to Fort near Heemstede
back through Group shelter type P → Fort near Heemstede is 64 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.