Day out at De Vuursche and Westerheide

This cycling route of almost 16 kilometers takes you between Hilversum, Soest and Baarn over the Vuursche and Westerheide. This gently sloping nature reserve was formed during the ice ages. This area has been heavily inhabited throughout history. Many camps, bans, death roads, urn fields and burial mounds characterize the area, which has also been heavily inhabited throughout history.

Drakensteyn castle and estate are located near the municipality of Baarn. The octagonal house, which dates from 1640, was recognized as a knight's court town. The knight who lived in the house had a church and parsonage built in the village of Lage Vuursche, which was founded at that time, as well as a school, a mill and an inn. In 1780 a renovation took place in which the Ionic columns were removed from the house. The castle was owned by the knight's family for more than 150 years, but fell into disrepair in the mid-20th century. In 2006 it was announced that the house would be renovated. The house and estate are not accessible to the public, because it is private property.

When you cycle further, you will see a renovated castle between the forests of Hilversum and Baarn. This is De Hooge Vuursche castle, which opened in 1912. Weddings, presentations and parties are regularly held here. Previously, the castle was used as a hotel-restaurant, but in the years after WWII important conferences were held there. Heineken also owned the castle and used a wing of the building as a safehouse.

When you cycle between Baarn and Hilversum, you will see a hill with special cultural-historical value: a burial mound. In the Bronze Age, people buried their dead in burial mounds. They then put a ring of posts around it to demarcate it. The mounds were raised over human remains, which were stored in a coffin or urn. The function of a burial mound is therefore in principle the same as that of a dolmen.