Cycling along the Lek

This route, starting from VVV Utrecht, takes you through the water-rich area between Utrecht, Nieuwegein and Houten, which includes the New Dutch Waterline (www.hollandsewaterlinie.nl). As soon as you leave Utrecht, you will come across the first buildings of the Waterline. The Lunetten, to the left and right of the Koningsweg, form the innermost and oldest ring of defences of the Waterline around the city. Fort Lunet 1 houses the Fort voor de Democratie, an educational centre (www.fortvandedemocratie.nl). Fort Vechten (www.fortvechten.nl), the National Waterline Centre, is the largest fort of the Waterline after Fort bij Rijnauwen, located in the nearby Amelisweerd Estate. On the remainder of the route, you will find a number of smaller forts: Fort't Hemeltje, Werk aan de Overeindse Weg, Fort Jutphaas and Verdedigingswerk te Vreeswijk. In Fort Jutphaas, the Trouvaille wine tasting is worth a visit, the other forts are closed. There are numerous concrete defences (bunkers) in the area, with the most eye-catching structure being the Plofsluis. This gigantic concrete construction (40x60 m) was intended to close off the Amsterdam-Rhine Canal, which ran underneath it at the time. This was done by letting the bottom of the container, which was filled with rubble, explode. In this way, the water that was needed to inundate (=put under water) the area east of the canal could not flow away into the IJsselmeer. In 1982, the canal had to be widened and because it was too expensive to demolish the enormous plofsluis, the canal was dug around it. This cycle route is offered to you by VVV Utrecht. For more information, visit www.bezoek-utrecht.nl.