Rottemeren route

This route leads around beautiful recreation and nature areas: the Lage and Hoge Bergsche Bos, the Rottemeren and the Eendragtspolder. The Lage Bergsche Bos is a wooded recreation area of 216 hectares, created in 1970. Water and land alternate in the area and Scottish Highlanders graze in part of the forest. A recreational area of over 900 hectares has been created around the Rottemeren, a system of widening the river Rotte. The Rottemeren were created after the reclamation of surrounding polders and the river and its foothills are much higher than the polders due to peat and subsidence. The Eendrachtspolder has been constructed on a site that has traditionally always been agricultural land. Part has been constructed to prevent flooding, but also for recreation and (top) sports. Close to the starting point is the Eendrachtsmolen, the only mill that survived the entire history of Eendragtspolder. This ground sailer was built in 1727 as an upper mill of a mill corridor that no longer exists. Although the mill is still in good condition, it hardly ever grinds. Further along, on one of the extensions of the Rotte, is the windmill Bleiswijkse Droogmakerij A-1 (hull/remainder). This mill was partly demolished in probably 1915 or 1922. When it was still in good condition, this mill had an inclined paddle wheel; its watercourses and other masonry are still recognizable. On the other side of the bank of the same foothill there are more windmills, including Tweemanspolder no. 3 and Tweemanspolder no. 4. Number 3 was built in 1792, number 4 is even 70 years older. In 1953 the entire mill was decommissioned, but in the summer of 2009 an extensive restoration was carried out. The windmill viergang now runs twice a month on Saturdays. You continue the tour past Zevenhuizen and around the Eendragtspolder, until you come across the windmill called'Vier winden\\\' near Terbregseplein. The mill, which was built in 1776, ground grain until 1964. Although it is now out of service, it is still in excellent condition and ready to grind. At the bottom of the mill is a shop where flour products are sold and the mill is usually still running when the shop is open. Cycling deeper into Rotterdam, you will also see the Bergkapel on your route. A church service for a liberal Protestant religious community still takes place here every Sunday morning. You continue cycling in a northerly direction and leave the hustle and bustle of the city behind.