Why this ride
A 262 km round trip from Ens - roughly 3 h 42 in the saddle. It goes by way of Fort along the Pampus, Frontiers of the Roman Empire - The Lower and back through Fort along the Pampus. It suits an unhurried touring pace.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Schokland and Surroundings and Frontiers of the Roman Empire - The Lower
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 262 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 3 h 42
- 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 55 km this is Dutch Flower Route, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 55 km
- Named road
- Dutch Flower Route
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Schokland and Surroundings
Schokland was once an island in the Zuiderzee, a long, narrow strip of peat and clay surrounded by an inland sea that constantly threatened to swallow it. For centuries, its inhabitants lived on raised mounds and fought a losing battle against the water, as storms ate away at the island's edges. By the mid-nineteenth century, life had become so precarious that in 1859 the Dutch government ordered the island to be evacuated. Then, in the twentieth century, the Dutch did something extraordinary: they enclosed the Zuiderzee with a dam, the Afsluitdijk, completed in 1932, and drained large parts of it to create new land. The Noordoostpolder, drained in 1942, swallowed Schokland, and the former island now rises slightly above the surrounding fields, a long green ridge in a flat landscape of farmland. In 1995, Schokland became the first Dutch site to be listed by UNESCO, as a symbol of the Netherlands' heroic struggle against the water.
Read the complete Schokland and Surroundings write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Schokland and Surroundings is where the day begins. Next is Fort along the Pampus.
2. Fort along the Pampus
Out in the open water of the IJmeer, a few kilometres off the old fortified town of Muiden, a low circular fortress sits on an artificial island. This is Pampus, one of more than forty forts that make up the Defence Line of Amsterdam, a ring of fortifications built around the city in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The idea was simple and very Dutch: in case of attack, large areas of land around the city would be flooded to a depth that was too shallow for boats and too deep for soldiers to wade, and the forts would guard the roads, railways and dykes that crossed the flooded zone. Pampus guarded the approach to Amsterdam by water. The line was listed by UNESCO in 1996.
Read the complete Fort along the Pampus write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Fort along the Pampus comes up about 76 km into the recorded legs. Next is Frontiers of the Roman Empire - The Lower.
3. 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
about 131 km into the recorded legs you reach Frontiers of the Roman Empire - The Lower. Next is back through Fort along the Pampus.
4. back through Fort along the Pampus
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Fort along the Pampus write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Fort along the Pampus, late in the day. Next is Schokland and Surroundings.
5. Schokland and Surroundings
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Schokland and Surroundings write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Schokland and Surroundings. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Schokland and Surroundings to Fort along the Pampus
Schokland and Surroundings → Fort along the Pampus is 76 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Fort along the Pampus to Frontiers of the Roman Empire - The Lower
Fort along the Pampus → Frontiers of the Roman Empire - The Lower is 55 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Frontiers of the Roman Empire - The Lower to back through Fort along the Pampus
Frontiers of the Roman Empire - The Lower → back through Fort along the Pampus is 55 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Fort along the Pampus to Schokland and Surroundings
back through Fort along the Pampus → Schokland and Surroundings is 76 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.