Why this ride
181 km from Heemstede to Heemstede, about 3 h 12 of riding. The stops in between: Frontiers of the Roman Empire - The Lower, Van Nellefabriek, Corbulo's canal | Rozenrust and back through Van Nellefabriek.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Fort near Heemstede and Corbulo's canal | Rozenrust
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 181 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 3 h 12
- 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.
Scenic road chapters
Dutch Flower Route
Expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast. For about 27 km this is Dutch Flower Route, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 27 km
- Named road
- Dutch Flower Route
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 Frontiers of the Roman Empire - The Lower.
2. Frontiers of the Roman Empire - The Lower
Where the old Rhine reached the North Sea, near the modern town of Katwijk, the Romans built a string of forts, and Valkenburg was one of them. The Dutch Valkenburg, a village near Leiden, not to be confused with its namesake in Limburg, was the site of a fort and harbour called Praetorium Agrippinae, a base on the northern frontier of the empire that stood on the south bank of the river. Along this stretch the Rhine formed the border of the Roman province of Lower Germany, and the line of forts, watchtowers and roads along it is part of the Frontiers of the Roman Empire World Heritage listing.
Read the complete Frontiers of the Roman Empire - The Lower write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Frontiers of the Roman Empire - The Lower comes up about 27 km into the recorded legs. Next is Van Nellefabriek.
3. Van Nellefabriek
The Van Nelle factory, on the edge of Rotterdam, is one of the most beautiful industrial buildings ever made. Built between 1925 and 1931 for a company that processed coffee, tea and tobacco, it is a long, light building of glass and steel, with curtain walls that let daylight flood into the workspaces. The designers, Johannes Brinkman and Leendert van der Vlugt, created what became an icon of modernist architecture, a factory of light and air for its workers. It was added to the UNESCO list in 2014.
Read the complete Van Nellefabriek write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 66 km into the recorded legs you reach Van Nellefabriek. Next is Corbulo's canal | Rozenrust.
4. Corbulo's canal | Rozenrust
In the year 47, a Roman general with time on his hands and a restless army decided to dig a canal. The Roman historian Tacitus records that Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo, the commander on the Rhine frontier, kept his legions busy by having them cut a waterway of about twenty-three miles between the Rhine and the Meuse, so that ships could avoid the dangerous open sea. The Fossa Corbulonis, as it is known, probably linked the Old Rhine near Leiden with the Maas estuary, and its line seems to follow the later course of the Vliet, a waterway that still runs between Leiden and Delft. Scholars debate the exact route, but this area, between Voorburg and the Rozenrust district, is a natural candidate.
Read the complete Corbulo's canal | Rozenrust write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Corbulo's canal | Rozenrust, about halfway. Next is back through Van Nellefabriek.
5. back through Van Nellefabriek
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Van Nellefabriek write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Van Nellefabriek sits at 125 km, about halfway. Next is back through Frontiers of the Roman Empire - The Lower.
6. back through Frontiers of the Roman Empire - The Lower
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Frontiers of the Roman Empire - The Lower write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Frontiers of the Roman Empire - The Lower comes up about 155 km into the recorded legs. Next is Fort near Heemstede.
7. 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
Fort near Heemstede closes the day.
Leg by leg
Fort near Heemstede to Frontiers of the Roman Empire - The Lower
Fort near Heemstede → Frontiers of the Roman Empire - The Lower is 27 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Frontiers of the Roman Empire - The Lower to Van Nellefabriek
Frontiers of the Roman Empire - The Lower → Van Nellefabriek is 39 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Van Nellefabriek to Corbulo's canal | Rozenrust
Van Nellefabriek → Corbulo's canal | Rozenrust is 25 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Corbulo's canal | Rozenrust to back through Van Nellefabriek
Corbulo's canal | Rozenrust → back through Van Nellefabriek is 26 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Van Nellefabriek to back through Frontiers of the Roman Empire - The Lower
back through Van Nellefabriek → back through Frontiers of the Roman Empire - The Lower is 38 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Frontiers of the Roman Empire - The Lower to Fort near Heemstede
back through Frontiers of the Roman Empire - The Lower → Fort near Heemstede is 26 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.