Utrecht

Utrecht 

Thursday 14th - Saturday 16th June

A change of  plan

My original plan was to try and cycle in all 12 of the Dutch Provinces.  So from Arnhem I planned to go South to visit the National Cycle Museum at Nijmegen and then spend the next few days in the Provinces of Nord Brabant, Limburg and Zeeland. But as I wanted to be home by the 22nd it looked as if it would be far too rushed and I would miss things. Lucy reminded me that this year’s trip is called, ‘Lucy Goes Back To .....’ and she suggested that we return in the Autumn to do it properly. So I changed my plan, looked at the map and headed west into the Province of Utrecht, the smallest of the 12 Provinces.

I cycled through the Nationaal Park Utrechtse Heuvelrug and stopped in this clearing for a mid-morning break before heading off towards the city of Utrecht.

 I stayed in Veenendaal, one of the biggest cities within the Dutch Bible Belt. It was originally a small peat colony, Veen means peat and Daal is valley. It has grown in size during the last 50 years and is now a fairly large modern commuting town for nearby Utrecht. In 1997 it was elected the greenest city in Europe and as Fietsstad 2000, the top bike city for the Netherlands in 2000. I found a B&B which looked very ordinary from the outside, so the fine interior was a big surprise, especially my bathroom which was huge. As well as the large power shower there was  a hip bath and two wash basins.  

From the B&B I headed to Utrecht and cycled through the City. My route also took me through the campus of Universiteit Utrecht. One of the oldest and best Universities in the Netherlands, dating from 1636. Its motto is ‘Sol lustitiae Illustra Nos’, Son of Justice shine upon us. 

The University motto which I managed to photograph above one of the buildings.

I cycled through the modern Science Park and Medical School. It was a very wide thoroughfare and, apart from the buses that had their own lanes in the centre, it was traffic free, except for bicycles. 

Again I stopped in another Utrecht commuting town, Ijsselstein, on the banks of the river IJssel and stayed in the old town which is surrounded by a canal and was given city rights in 1331. 

A canal surrounds the old town of Ijsselstein

Along the Lek 

From Ijsselstein I headed for Lekkerkirk, on the river Lek. About midday I crossed into my last Province of this trip, Zuid-Holland and had lunch in Schoohoven.

The border between Utrecht and Zuid-Holland

Since the 17th century Schoonhoven has been known for its silver and is often referred to as Zilverstad, Silver City. It hosts Het Nederlands Zilvermuseum and the International Silver School. 

A statue of a silversmith in the main square.

During the afternoon I followed the River Lek for about 20 kms to Lekkerkerk whereI stopped for the night. I sat on a bench overlooking the river and was joined by a local couple. We got chatting and found out that they had just returned from a conference in Birmingham about the world future of the United Reform Church, I wrote earlier that I was in the ‘Bible Belt’. 

Where I sat to look at the river discussing the United Reform Church

Tomorrow I will start making my way back to the ferry.