Royal Cycling through the Veluwe - 5 dagen

DUTCH BIKETOURS - EMAIL: [email protected] - TELEPHONE +31 (0)24 3244712 - WWW.DUTCH-BIKETOURS.COM Royal Cycling through the Veluwe 5 days, € 415

Introduction

If peace and tranquility are paramount on your wish list for your next cycling holiday, consider that the stillness of Veluwe forest, heath, quiet villages, and sparsely inhabited farmland may be just what you need. It is one of the largest and most important nature reserves in the country. Our cycle route follows some of the historical “rides”, paths commissioned by successive kings to connect palaces, retreats and hunting lodges to hunting grounds. You will also discover Veluwezoom National Park where - from mid-August to mid-September - the heath will be at its most spectacular: This is the period when heather plants flower and a mauve blanket cloaks the heath. The rolling terrain, uncharacteristic for Holland, is much appreciated by the Dutch.

Day to Day

Day 1 Arrival The starting point of this route is the big city of Arnhem, known for the Battle of Arnhem in WWII, part of Operation Market Garden. It boasts a marvelous zoo; beautiful Sonsbeek Park; and an open air museum of cultural history, to name but three of many points

of interest. The city is the gateway to two National Parks: Hoge Veluwe and Veluwezoom. Your hotel is located outside the city at the edge of Veluwezoom National Park (free parking).

Day 2 Arnhem - Beekbergen 41 km You will start your first cycling day with a journey through one of the ’ most beautiful and beloved areas of natural beauty: Veluwezoom National Park, the oldest National Park in the country. Drink in the views of heathland, beautiful woods and patches of shifting sands, a veritable cyclists’ paradise. Heather flowers from mid-August, so try to plan for August-September to

feast your eyes on a carpet of colours ranging from pink to mauve to purple cloaking the heath. From Oosterhuizen to Lieren the woody landscape makes way for typical Dutch meadowland, dotted with farmhouses. Today’s journey ends in the friendly little village of Beekbergen.

Day 3 Beekbergen - Garderen 49 km We have a varied cycling day in store for you. A Dutch landscape of cropfields and pasture is quickly followed by woody surroundings. Through the forest that encloses town, you will reach Het Loo Palace (meaning: the forest palace). Our royals have moved away: It is now a state museum with original interiors, historical formal gardens, stables and coach houses. Visitors may enter the coach houses to admire the royal carriages, cars and sledges from up close. Next, mount your bikes and continue through the woods to the village of Elspeet. On the last stretch, vast cropfields and woods alternate. At the end of the day, you will reach the village of Garderen where you will stay the night.

You could extend the route to 70 km (via ) or 77 km (via Vierhouten). These longer options take you through impressive heathland. Lovers of history will enjoy the route to Vaassen which passes a traditional Dutch windmill and Cannenburgh Castle.

Royal Cycling through the Veluwe - 5 dagen

Day 4 Garderen - Arnhem 52 km Your day begins with a ride through a type of landscape we call coulissenlandschap, a term taken from the theater stage. It is a visually appealing pastoral scene of half open countryside, dotted with free-standing elements such as hedgerows, woodlets and farmhouses which give depth and partly conceal what lies behind, inviting you further in to see more. Do you get the picture? Gradually the woods that surround Kootwijkerduinen appear on the horizon. This lovely nature reserve is marked by sandy inland dunes, shaped by the wind, where the trail gently dips and rises. Continuing on the route, the landscape will open more and more until you reach Radio Kootwijk. If you are into ominous architecture you will enjoy Radio Kootwijk Building A, a concrete sphinx from 1918, purpose-built as a radio broadcasting station. It once featured in a scary movie! Proceed through Veluwe forest to the village of and from there enter Hoge Veluwe National Park, where you can also visit the excellent art Museum Kröller- Möller, which houses one of the largest van Gogh collection worldwide. An entrance ticket to the park is included in the tour price

(exclusing museum entrance).

At this point, you could opt to make a detour to Oosterbeek to visit the Airborne museum. It tells the story of the Battle of Arnhem, where many British, Polish and US troops lost their lives in a 1944 Allied plan for a new invasion route into Germany by securing bridges across the Rhine in the Netherlands, then under Nazi occupation.

If you would rather cycle from Hoenderloo straight back to Arnhem, you could opt to take a trip into the city center to tune into the ambiance of this lively city. Our tip: Just outside the city center is a working-class neighbourhood where artisans, artists and designers have congregated in Modekwartier, a fashion district boasting hip stores, studios and workshops.

Day 5 Return home After one last breakfast, your cycling holiday will come to an end.

Prices, Data, Booking

Starting dates: Daily from April 1 till September 26

Price pp € Double room, breakfast 415.00 Single room, breakfast 535.00 Dinner 130.00 Extra night, breakfast only 70.00 Rental bike € Child bike 40.00 Hybrid 48.00 E-bike 100.00 Extra services € Bike Breakdown pass € 3.00 x 4 12.00 Child seat € 5.00 x 4 20.00 Bike theft insurance € 3.00 x 4 12.00 E-bike theft insurance € 6.00 x 4 24.00 Theft insurance premium bike € 6.00 x 4 24.00 Extra luggage € 5.00 x 4 20.00 Tag-along bike € 6.00 x 4 24.00 Child trailer € 17.50 x 4 70.00 Bike helmet per piece 10.00 SGR per piece 5.00 Starting point: Arnhem

Accommodation

The hotels on this trip have been carefully selected for their location, atmosphere and/or unique services. All rooms are en-suite. A list of the hotels we work with appears below. If a certain hotel is unable to confirm due to lack of availability, we will try to request a comparable alternative if possible.

Arnhem - Postillion Hotel Arnhem **** Beekbergen - Fletcher Hotel Apeldoorn **** Garderen - Westcord Hotel de Veluwe **** Royal Cycling through the Veluwe - 5 dagen

Practical Info

4 Nights included

3/4 Star Hotels

Breakfast included, Halfboard optional

Detailed roadbooks with maps and tourist information

The possibility of renting our bikes

7-days a week service-hotline

Luggage transport to your next hotel

Arnhem CS

Parking possibilities at the hotel

GPS-tracks available

Any ferry crossings are not included

Arrival info

Nearest Airports are Flughafen Düsseldorf (DUS) or Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (AMS)

The train from Dusseldorf to Arnhem departs 1 time per hour. Travel time is about 1.4 hours. The train from Schiphol to Arnhem departs 4 times per hour. Travel time is a bit more then 1 hour . A single ticket costs approx €19,- per person excl. bicycles.

For timetables and tickets, go to www.ns.nl/en. For bus details, how to reach the hotel, check: www.9292.nl/en.