One of the newest of the LF routes, the Waterlinieroute was launched in 2021 to follow the ‘waterlines’ that for centuries protected Holland from invasion.
These were routes across the country that could be flooded on command by opening a series of sluices, providing an impenetrable moat around cities and across the nation. 20th century military technology rendered them helpless, but until then, they provided a watery bulwark against attack.
The waterlines were designed to protect cities, not to flood them. As a result, this is an entirely rural route. It skirts Utrecht, Amsterdam and Haarlem, rarely passing through any built-up area. You will, however, see a fascinating array of historic defences: batteries, dykes, and fortifications such as the garrison town of Naarden.
It’s entirely flat, of course, and two-thirds on very quiet roads with a further third on traffic-free cycleways.
Made in the Cotswolds. Published by Éditions Système D Ltd.
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We cycled and described the Waterline Route on our website - one of the most interesting long-distance cycle routes in the Netherlands. In the article we write about the historic Dutch water defence lines, forts, canals, windmills, cycling infrastructure and places such as Utrecht or De Biesbosch National Park.
It is also a story about what cycling tourism in the Netherlands really looks like beyond the famous images of crowded bicycle streets in Amsterdam. You can find more about our journey on our website and on cycle.travel:
Cycling the Netherlands: the Waterline Route through canals and forts
Waterline Route - the Netherlands by bicycle