The Hague, city of court, city of government. A city with many faces. A city with a port (Scheveningen) and a beach. One that is not known for its beautiful cycle paths, let alone the infrastructure to 'take a spin'. It does not have the appeal of the Hill Ridge Or an attraction like the Dwingelderveld. With the formation completed, we thought it would be a nice nod to take a look at a 'round' of The Hague. Because while The Hague itself may not be a fantastic cycling destination, you can cycle around it magnificently. The Hague is also a Cyclingdestination.
Start and finish in The Corner
Of course, there are many places where you can start this round trip, but for us, this round trip starts in 'The Corner'. Advantages: you can get there easily by public transport, it's not too crowded and when you're done, you can enjoy a little afterglow on the beach on a summer's day.
Through the dunes northwards
From Hoek van Holland, you actually head straight into the dunes. Many Dutch people actually forget how unique this area is. How unique the dunes actually are. Because no matter where you go in the world, nowhere is it as beautiful as here. You drive almost 20 kilometres through the dunes before arriving at the harbour (and the craziness) of Scheveningen and Kijkduin. That really is pure enjoyment, especially in a densely populated area like here. Westland is one of the most densely populated/built-up areas. The Hague too has its 'urban sprawl, not to mention Greater Rotterdam. The peace and beauty of the dunes is then to be enjoyed.
(c) Rik De Voogd (c) Rik De Voogd
On to Katwijk
After manoeuvring over and along the promenade, you enter beautiful Meijendel. This is a lovely piece of nature, west of Wassenaar. You might encounter a stray hound here, but generally speaking, it is really enjoyable here. The cycle path here is also a bit wider than the well-known dune paths, which can lower the irritation level between several cyclists a bit. You'll also find a tapping point for water here.
Just before Katwijk, we eventually turn right again to take back the edge of Meijendel. Our intention is to be as unaffected as possible by the urban affair here. With the loop past Wassenaar and then crossing via Leidschendam, that works out pretty well!
Along the new climb?
Before Leidschendam, we dive into the polder and in the distance we can discern the skeleton of Snowworld in Zoetermeer. How nice it would be if a climb of some 70 metres could be realised here! Until then, we have to make do with the landscaped polders. Here, too, the cycle paths are very fine and spacious, and you can ram your pedals nicely. Along Stompwijk's Molendriegang, it's off towards Zoetermeer.
Bite through
After Zoetermeer, it is a lot of twisting and turning. We did our best to avoid all possible urban agglomerations but, as with a coalition, sometimes you have to compromise. It is well-nigh impossible to get back to the Nieuwe Waterweg without an urban thoroughfare. We do take in the Ackerijkse plassen as a nature highlight, but via a street in Delft we head for Maassluis. There you also have to overcome a few roundabouts, but soon you are riding wonderfully free, along the water.
Back towards Hoek van Holland again
The last stretch along the waterway takes some pounding. There is actually always wind here. By the sea, the wind is always a bit stronger than inland. So in the end, on arrival in the Port of 'de Hoek', you have a round of 116 kilometres. Enough for a good formation meeting, exchanging views and looking for commonalities. Perhaps we will give the new cabinet the Komoot link. Then we can convince them that The Hague is also a Cyclingdestination.
