Xanten-CUT and Kleve-Reichswald | East

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Xanten-CUT

   Xanten is an old Roman town that still behaves like a small, cosy market town on the Lower Rhine, and right next to it lies one of the largest archaeological parks in Germany. Colonia Ulpia Traiana, CUT for short, was founded around AD 100 under the emperor Trajan, who gave it the rank of a colonia and his family name. At its height it was a walled city of several thousand people, the second most important Roman city in the province of Lower Germany after Cologne.

   Read the complete Xanten-CUT write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Xanten-CUT is where the day begins. Next is Kalkar-Kalkarberg.

2. 2. Kalkar-Kalkarberg

   Near the Dutch border, where the Rhine flows through wide meadows and dyked farmland, the small town of Kalkar holds a surprising amount of history. The Kalkarberg is a low rise near Altkalkar, and on it stood the Roman fort of Burginatium, one of the posts along the Lower German Limes, now part of the UNESCO-listed Frontiers of the Roman Empire. The rise would have given a valuable view over the river plain, and the fort controlled the road between Xanten and Nijmegen. Today it is fields and trees, but the shape of the land still hints at the old fortification.

   Read the complete Kalkar-Kalkarberg write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Kalkar-Kalkarberg comes up about 16 km into the recorded legs. Next is Kleve-Reichswald | East.

3. 3. Kleve-Reichswald | East

   South of Kleve, near the Dutch border, the Reichswald is one of the largest forests in the Lower Rhine region, a mix of oak, beech and pine on a low ridge of sand and gravel left behind by the glaciers of the Ice Age. On its edge, the Romans built military installations as part of the Lower German Limes, the frontier along the Rhine, and the remains in the Reichswald, including traces of camps, are part of the World Heritage site listed by UNESCO in 2021. There is little to see above ground, but the forest itself is a quiet, beautiful place to walk.

   Read the complete Kleve-Reichswald | East write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   about 32 km into the recorded legs you reach Kleve-Reichswald | East. Next is back through Kalkar-Kalkarberg.

4. 4. back through Kalkar-Kalkarberg

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Kalkar-Kalkarberg write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   back through Kalkar-Kalkarberg, late in the day. Next is Xanten-CUT.

5. 5. Xanten-CUT

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Xanten-CUT write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Back at Xanten-CUT. That is the ride.