Cycling along the river Linge is enjoying the Dutch landscape at its best while minimizing your travel footprint during your vacation. From the dyke you look down on blossoming orchards in spring. In autumn you can collect free fruit and loads of walnuts from the trees growing on the dike. Take a swim in the river in the summertime. The complete Linge-Route is 70 km long. We followed a 40 km long track from the village Geldermalsen to the city of Gorichem.
Cycling in Holland along the major rivers
In the city of Utrecht, we jumped with our bikes on a train to the riverside in Geldermalsen. Random local residents advised taking the road along the north side of the river. Passing through Geldermalsen we saw a working windmill: the Bouwing. A so-called Belt mill – built on an elevation in the landscape – produces corn. In the center of Geldermalsen, there is a church from the 14th century. To find our way out of Geldermalsen we used Google Maps following directions to the village of Beesd.
Cycling in Holland along the river Linge to Mariënwaard
Biking on the dikes along the river you look down on a landscape with farms and endless orchards on one side and on the other side you see the wetlands along the river. The dike is approximately four meters high. That day the wind was blowing from the southwest so we had a headwind. In fact, we would have preferred to cycle from the west to the east. But the trees usually kept us out of the wind. We took a break and swam in the river. We passed by the beautiful estate Mariënwaard and stopped for a coffee in the village of Beesd with its houses restored in the old style.
Cycling in Holland along the river Linge to Leerdam
We passed the leaning tower of Acquoy and the unique village of Rhenoy. You should see Rhenoy in the blossom season. It is so quiet. The Dutch dike landscape around the major rivers is an undiscovered jewel. This is where you want to go when you’re tired of mass tourism in Amsterdam. It’s oh so quiet, It’s oh so still, you’re all alone and it is so peaceful until you fall in love with the Dutch river landscape. This is Holland at its best; this is where slow rivers pass through an infinite landscape. We stopped at the leaning tower of Acquoy and in the unique village of Rhenoy. You should see Rhenoy in the blossom season. It is so quiet. And then we arrive in Leerdam. This is traditional – since the year 1750 – the heart of the Dutch glass industry. You can learn how to blow glass here and in the Glass Museum you can find everything in the field of old and modern glass.
Cycling in Holland along the river Linge to Gorinchem
Along the river dike, you can spend the night in hotels, B & Bs, and on campsites. Go hiking in nature reserves. Find the tastiest cakes in village bakeries or enjoy a traditional Dutch dish in a village restaurant. The dike does not stop in Gorichem. In Gorichem, the river Linge flows into the Merwede, the largest Dutch river. The most important shipping connection between the port of Rotterdam and Germany. And if you still got the guts keep riding your bicycle; take the south bank of the river Merwede and continue your trip to the nineteen windmills at Kinderdijk.
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