Leusden, Amersfoort and Hooglanderveen

Cycling through Amersfoort means cycling through a real garrison town. Despite all the hustle and bustle, the city center with its many canals has retained an authentic medieval character. The municipality has approximately 150,000 inhabitants, making it the second city in Utrecht and the fifteenth in the Netherlands. It is therefore not surprising that Amersfoort fulfills an important economic function for Utrecht.

When you cycle back to Leusden, you will also pass Stoutenburg Castle. The name means 'Proud castle' and the castle was built in 1888. There were many predecessors on this site previously, the first of which was built by Willem van Amersfoort in 1252. In the twentieth century the castle became neglected. It was bought in 1948 by the Franciscan Friars Minor, who turned it into a monastery. At the end of 1990 they left the monastery, which was then used for the community of the Franciscan Environmental Project.

Back at the hotel you can have a nice dinner in the restaurant. In the evening you can explore the pleasant Leusden before crawling between the sheets to rest. The next day, route 117352 awaits you, which takes you past the most beautiful spots of Scherpenzeel, Leusden and Driebergen and cycles through the Utrechtse Heuvelrug National Park.