the Dunes of AWL

We start at junction 80 Noordwijkerhout, a village of more than 16,000 inhabitants. From Zandvoort we go into the dunes beyond the coastline of the North Sea towards Noordwijkerhout. We cycle along the Amsterdam Waterlijdingduinen. The dune area is designed for the extraction of drinking water for the city of Amsterdam; Fifty million cubic meters of drinking water flows through this 3,400-hectare area every year. Water has been extracted since 1853, making it the oldest water extraction area in the Netherlands. The dune area is a protected natural monument and registered with the European Commission as a habitat directive area. It is therefore protected according to European regulations. Peace, space and nature are the main characteristics of this area. The Amsterdam Water Supply Dunes have the largest fallow deer population in the Netherlands per hectare. It is estimated that there are approximately 1000 fallow deer roaming around. Fallow deer have not been hunted for a number of years and their numbers have increased considerably. The large numbers of fallow deer are a major crowd puller. After our cycle tour through the dune area, we cycle again along the beautiful fields to return to Noordwijkerhout, where we started the tour.