Haarlem, Zandvoort and De Zilk

Zandvoort is bustling! The town, which today lives on tourism and is known for its Formula 1 circuit and wonderful beaches, was already known in 1100. In the centuries that followed, the village lived mainly from fishing, until the first bathhouse was opened in 1828. Potato cultivation also emerged during this period. Tourism boomed when a station was built in Zandvoort in 1881 and an electric tram connection with Haarlem was also built at the end of the nineteenth century. You can not only enjoy the sea, but there are also dozens of bulb fields in the area. The area is one of the most colorful regions in the world. Between and behind the broad sand ridges and extensive dunes, strips of green meadows and bulb fields alternate. The colorful spring and summer seasons are ushered in with the blooming of crocuses in late March. The beautiful colors of different types of tulips, daffodils and hyacinths then quickly continue, while in late summer gladioli, dahlias, carnations and asters provide a second beautiful sea of various colors. You cycle around the Amsterdamse Waterleidingduinen, an area of 3400 hectares through which fifty million cubic meters of drinking water flows annually. The area has the largest fallow deer population in the Netherlands per hectare; that amounts to about 2000 fallow deer! When you have followed the coastal strip and cycle inland again, past the bulb fields, you will see the Groenendaalse Molen. We cannot say with certainty how old the mill is, but the mill was certainly there as in 1781. A print from this year on which the mill is depicted is proof of this. The smock mill may have been a folly; in any case, no other function of the Groenendaal mill than offering a nice view is known. What is special about the mill is that it is the only mill in the Netherlands with a double rack. The mill can usually be visited on Sunday afternoons. A mill that clearly had a function is the Unicorn. This paltrok mill is located in Haarlem and is equipped as a sawmill. The mill has a striking appearance; it is covered with wood that has been completely blackened with tar. De Eenhoorn was built in 1776 and this mill is also special: unlike most paltrok mills, this mill has four saw windows. The rear saw window did not function properly and has been converted into a kind of balance window.