Today is the big day: I will complete my first long-distance hiking trail in the Netherlands. Well, the Dutch part, because the Great rivers trail goes even further into Germany towards Kleve. I start in Nijmegen and leave the great rivers behind me. I seek higher ground in the fantastic Berg and Dal region. My finish line is at the Duivelsberg (Devil’s Mountain), where long distance trail 16 the Roman Limespad also ends.
Already a week after my previous hike on the Great rivers trail, I return to Herveld-Zuid. I can almost see the finish line. Unfortunately, the trail takes an unexpected turn. From Herveld, I hike the original trail from the booklet via Slijk-Ewijk, Oosterhout and Lent to Nijmegen. Only halfway along the trail I find out that there is a diversion….
It is once again time for a hike on the Great rivers trail. Moreover, I want to complete all parts of this path on Dutch soil this year (2021). So the upcoming blogs are all about this long-distance trail. This time, I have combined two shorter sections (of about 11 km) into one blog post. Two separate blog posts seemed a bit redundant. These two sections go from Ochten to Hemmen and from Hemmen to Herveld-Zuid. All sorts of towns that mean nothing to me beforehand and which are all located near great river the Waal.
The heather season has not yet ended at the beginning of September (2021), so I am hiking another part of the Migration birds trail in the Netherlands. I travel to Baarn and have several options for the finish line: Hollandsche Rading, Lage Vuursche or perhaps Soesterberg. As you can see from the title, it has become Hollandsche Rading. On the way, I have been busy photographing the many mushrooms, heather and other flora and fauna. So the hike is not very long this time.
It is August (2021), I am still on my holiday and the Migration birds trail cannot be missed in my hiking series. The heather season (heather in bloom) has just started and the next part of the Migration birds trail goes over the heatherlands near Hilversum! So, the choice for a hike is easily made. Today, I walk a bit over the Bussumer heide (Bussumer heatherlands), but also over the Westerheide (Western heatherlands) and the Zuiderheide (Southern heatherlands). After that, the trail goes through the forest and over the Groeneveld estate towards Baarn.
In previous hikes of the Great rivers trail, I often walked along the river Linge. Today, it is the turn of a really big river: the Waal! I travel to Tiel and follow for a large part of the trail this mighty river, up to the town of Ochten.
It is time to continue hiking on the Great rivers trail in the Netherlands. Last time, I ended on the outskirts of Buren. Now I first go through the historical centre of Buren. Next, I hike in the direction of fruit village Erichem and walk via Soelen castle and a town with the same name (but with a Z) to the station of Tiel.
This time, two hikes in one blog post. In the first hike, I’ll be walking through the Naardermeer nature reserve and then take an extra look at the fortified walls of Naarden-Vesting. In the second hike I return to Naarden-Vesting, but this time inside the walls. I then walk through Bussum and – for a change – through the polder towards the Bantam estate, where I encounter forest for the first time on this trail. Via the Spanders woods, Zanderij Crailoo nature bridge and the Bussumerheide (Bussumer heatherlands), I finally reach Hilversum Mediapark station.
It is now the end of May (2021) and once again I am going bird watching on the Migration birds trail in the Netherlands. In this part, I hike from the Gaasperzoom park in Amsterdam to Weesp, then I continue to the edge of the Naardermeer nature reserve.
In this blog post, I describe three hikes in one. In other words Under the spell of the blossom part 1, 2 and 3. This is because I have done the same hike three times on the Great rivers trail: from Beesd to Tricht, from Tricht to Beesd and again from Beesd to Tricht and then on to Buren. This is in the Betuwe region of the Netherlands. All sorts of things went wrong with my blossom mania, hence three times the same hike.
