Part 3 Leerdam to Geldermalsen (21.5km)(Parts one and two were walked some time ago, prior to this blog, and have not been posted yet).
The day did not start well. At the train station the clock said four minutes after my train. I wasn't (the clock was wrong) but panicked anyway (hourly service) and then the ticket machine wouldn't accept my card - so I had to ride the first stage to Tiel without a ticket. When I got to Leerdam, I realised I had no map/guidebook and no tobacco. Both were sitting on the front seat of my car, forgotten when I shifted my attention to checking the time instead of checking the contents of my day bag. Not the best way to start a day: mapless and smokeless in a strange town.
Fortunately I found the local tourist office- explained my sitaution and got a description of the walk and large scale tourist cycle map that covered broadly the same route. Thrown in at the deep end. Normally when walking in the NL, I read the map and don't pay much attention to the Dutch text. Today I have to pay attention to the linksaf, rechtsaf and rechtdoor (left right and straight on).
Most of the day is spent walking along dikes, following the line of the Linge from west to east. (Route map here) These dikes were built as defense against flooding and have houses built into the sides of them for the same reason. One of the beauties of walking these dikes is that you are 5 or 10 metres above the surrounding land - so can enjoy relatively extensive views over a landscape which is a mixture of water, flood plains and orchards . The flood plains are mostly used for cultivating willows and alders, which are widely used for thatch on the local houses.
Highlights of the day include strolling though four lovely villages. Asperen (below) with its fortifications and complex of sluices and locks. Acquoy, strung like a necklace along a kilometre or so of dyke - and boasts a leaning church tower. Rumpt, another attractive village strung out along the dike 's walls, where they were hanging out the flags for the annual village party and Beesd - a town with larger, more commanding, buildings that speak of a more Southern European influence and some historic aspirations towards grandeur . Imposing churches stand at either end of the high street, with lines of neatly pollarded (lime?) trees running the whole length of the street. Glimpses between gaps in the houses show the orchards running right to the edge of the back gardens. Here is a different Netherlands, far removed from (though doubtless dependent on) modernity. It is one that is rural in its outlook and whose architecture epitomises the Dutch concept of 'gezellig'. The last stretch of the day from Beesd to Geldermalsen includes a decent stretch along a length of dyke lined on both sides by apple trees. Surely worth a revisiting in springtime when the blossoms are fully out.
I made it all the way from Leerdam to Geldermalsen working from a Dutch text and a Mickey Mouse map without getting lost once. A small victory for my Dutch, combined with the very well positioned red and white stripes marking the route. There was just one boring stretch of road (less than a kilometre) in the whole day. Here I found one of those little snack bar so loved by the Dutch in the middle of nowhere, arriving there just as the thunder started to pressage a heavy rainfall. It offered me shelter, chips and coffee while the storm passed.
On the way home both the train connections worked well, taking me back to Zetten in just over an hour (these things still impress an Englishman). On the drive home I buy a half a kilo of beautiful plum-purple Betuwse cherries from a farm gate stall, as a treat for supper.
Highlights of the day include strolling though four lovely villages. Asperen (below) with its fortifications and complex of sluices and locks. Acquoy, strung like a necklace along a kilometre or so of dyke - and boasts a leaning church tower. Rumpt, another attractive village strung out along the dike 's walls, where they were hanging out the flags for the annual village party and Beesd - a town with larger, more commanding, buildings that speak of a more Southern European influence and some historic aspirations towards grandeur . Imposing churches stand at either end of the high street, with lines of neatly pollarded (lime?) trees running the whole length of the street. Glimpses between gaps in the houses show the orchards running right to the edge of the back gardens. Here is a different Netherlands, far removed from (though doubtless dependent on) modernity. It is one that is rural in its outlook and whose architecture epitomises the Dutch concept of 'gezellig'. The last stretch of the day from Beesd to Geldermalsen includes a decent stretch along a length of dyke lined on both sides by apple trees. Surely worth a revisiting in springtime when the blossoms are fully out.
I made it all the way from Leerdam to Geldermalsen working from a Dutch text and a Mickey Mouse map without getting lost once. A small victory for my Dutch, combined with the very well positioned red and white stripes marking the route. There was just one boring stretch of road (less than a kilometre) in the whole day. Here I found one of those little snack bar so loved by the Dutch in the middle of nowhere, arriving there just as the thunder started to pressage a heavy rainfall. It offered me shelter, chips and coffee while the storm passed.
On the way home both the train connections worked well, taking me back to Zetten in just over an hour (these things still impress an Englishman). On the drive home I buy a half a kilo of beautiful plum-purple Betuwse cherries from a farm gate stall, as a treat for supper.
1 comment:
Sounds and looks impressive. Wish to do that one myself. Have hiked a lot of the Netherlands myself and rather enjoy it. I might offer that the Mooke Hiede area was rather impressive, especially in August.
Post a Comment