Migration birds trail: from Rhenen to Ede – ⭐⭐⭐⭐

In this blog, I jump forward in time quite a bit. My last hike was in September 2023 and now it is January in a new year. In autumn, unfortunately, I was not able to do much hiking. Because the weather was not good, it rained a lot, but mainly because I moved to a new place. I lived in Zevenbergen for 2 years and moved back to Rotterdam due to unpleasant private circumstances. This time in the Prinsenland district. From my new address and in this new year, the new hiking adventures can begin! Today, I continue with the Migration birds trail between Rhenen and Ede in the Netherlands.

Sunrise at Nederrijn river and Grebbeberg

I start at the approach trail from the railway station in Rhenen. It is still dark when I arrive at the starting point near the Nederrijn river. I wait here for a while until it gets lighter, as it is difficult to see where I am walking in the dark. Now I can have a cup of coffee. I see it slowly getting lighter. Dimmed colours appear in the sky, above the floodplains of the Nederrijn river. This is going to be a beautiful sunrise.

When I finish my coffee, I decide to go ahead, even though it is still quite dark. Fortunately, I walk on a cycle path, so the surface is firm and I can’t trip.

A little later, I can now see better, I encounter an obstacle. There is a truck with a lifting platform in the middle of the cycle path. A man is standing on the platform and a woman is standing there looking up. As I approach, the woman tells me that yesterday their drone got stuck in the tree. And now before it gets busy on the cycle path, they are fishing the drone out of the tree. I wait a while for them to finish, and wriggle past the car via the verge. I can move on and the view gets more and more beautiful.

Unfortunately, there is no path through the floodplains. But I am soon rewarded with a different unpaved path. In fact, I get to climb the Grebbeberg (Grebbe mountain/hill) via a very steep staircase. After quite some effort, I reach the top and now have an even more beautiful view over the floodplains and the sunrise. The trail turns right on a winding path along the edge. Fortunately, there are trees, bushes and a fence in between. This does make the view a bit tricky to photograph.

At a bench, I take a break. It turns out to be a special bench, @wandelbankjes (photos of benches) on Instagram tells me: ‘In old pictures, the Reverend’s bench stood here. On Rob Moret’s initiative, it was restored to its former glory. A place to enjoy and look outwards and inwards.’ Indeed, I am thoroughly enjoying the view outwards and looking inwards I will do while hiking.

A little further on, I come to a clearing on the Grebbeberg with a run-down building with battlements and the so-called King’s Table. Where, according to stories, kings forged their plans while enjoying a phenomenal view of the Nederrijn river.

From the Grebbeberg, there are plenty of opportunities to enjoy the view. On the other side of the clearing is a viewing platform with an even more expansive panorama. I already came across a similar viewing platform on the previous section of the Migration birds trail between Amerongen and Rhenen.

The staircase down towards the Nederrijn river is attractive, but the trail does not go in that direction. I turn around and walk back into the Grebbe forest.

In the forest, I come across the markings of a wooden shoes trail: the Grift and Graften trail. Another great hike for my hiking list.

The woodpeckers are busy in the forest. One great spotted woodpecker even stays put for the photo. Below is the checklist of all the birds I encountered on this hike. The most remarkable bird of them is the nuthatch.

Nuthatch
The nuthatch is a striking little bird with a blue top and an orange/rusty brown belly, in addition it has a black eye stripe. The bird moves both up and down the tree trunk, looking for insects or to clasp seeds and nuts and peck them open.

Nuthatches are hole breeders and often use old woodpecker nests. They make their nest exactly to size by sealing the opening with mud. They nest once or twice a year, with 6 to 9 eggs per clutch. The eggs are milky white with grey and brown speckles.



Sources (in Dutch): Vogelbescherming en Wikipedia

Military past Grebbeberg

The Grebbeberg is best known for its military past. The Grebbelinie, which runs from the Grebbeberg to the IJsselmeer, was a pre-defence to the Dutch Waterline defence system. Later, the Grebbeberg became even more famous because of the Battle of Grebbeberg in World War II.

On the slope of the Grebbeberg, I pass several bunkers and casemates. This is already very special to see, but on the other side of the road is a place that really leaves me speechless: the Grebbeberg Military Field of Honour. Here more than 400 soldiers are buried who died during the Battle of Grebbeberg in World War II.

I walk around the cemetery and take a look at the information centre, which is open daily for free.

Through the Gelderse Valley

I leave the Grebbeberg and thus the Utrechtse Heuvelrug behind me. I now walk through the Gelderse Valley along the canal called the Grift.

Other trail guide about the same region

It is lovely and quiet along the canal, with the occasional cyclist passing by. Just before I start to find it monotonous, I see a little bridge in the distance. I cross the bridge and am in the Binnenlandse Hooilanden nature reserve near Bennekom.

Marshy grassy paths lead me through these hooilanden (hay fields). I walk past a beautiful artwork of holm oaks and cormorants.

In this nature reserve, there is also a nice boardwalk leading to a plateau. From here you have a wide view over the Binnenveldse Hooilanden and a good view of the birds that can be found here. As always, there are no birds to be seen now and I walk along the boardwalk back to the trail.

At the edge of Bennekom, I leave the nature reserve and then walk along some farmland roads towards Ede. On the way, I come across two other wooden shoes trails: the Harsloër trail and the Breukereng trail. These hikes seem nice to combine.

When I arrive in Ede, it turns out that the road towards Ede-Wageningen station is closed. I have to make a long detour, and even backtrack a bit on the trail, to get to the station. With this diversion, the counter has reached 20 km.

Final thoughts

More hikes with viewpoints from great heights

From the Grebbeberg, you can oversee the surroundings far and wide. In the hikes below, more viewpoints from great heights:

From the waste hill at Hoge Bergse Bos near Rotterdam:

From the Devil’s mountain near Berg and Dal:

From the watchtower De Kaap near Doorn:

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