Fort route across the Land of Altena

A large part of the bike ride through the Land of Altena leads over (car-free) dikes. Seen from the dikes, the land appears flatter than flat. The'broad rivers\\\' that the poet Marsman mentions are today the Boven-Merwede and the Afdamde Maas. The history of the Land of Altena is one of robber knights and land grabs between the lords of Gelre, Brabant and Holland. From the terrace of De Pannenkoekenbakker Woudrichem you can spot all kinds of aquatic animals along the way, even adult beavers. When you leave Woudrichem you will see Slot Loevestein in the distance. In the Eighty Years' War the Spanish occupier took the castle; later William of Orange ordered the Beggar leader Herman de Ruyter to reconquer it.