Benthuizen, Bodegraven and Waddinxveen

Grassy meadows, surrounded by ditches. Narrow, elongated plots seem to go on indefinitely and are interrupted only by the occasional narrow road, a canal, a lake or a puddle. Sailboats are visible on the waters like dots on the horizon, and if you look further, you will see the skyline of surrounding cities sticking out above the peat meadow area. National Landscape Het Groene Hart is the largest of the twenty Dutch landscapes and is particularly situated in the Randstad, surrounded by busy cities. Meadow birds that are endangered in the Netherlands, the black-tailed godwit, the lapwing and the oystercatcher, find peace and space to breed here. You will find Profile Hans Janssen at the start and end point of the route in Benthuizen. Before you start the tour, it's a good idea to bring your bike in here for a thorough check. After a service and repair of any defects, you will receive a 10 euro discount with the bicycle discount pass and you can safely set off. The cycle route leads you past two beautiful windmills. The first is a round stone tower mill called De Haas. The mill still serves as a corn mill and was built in 1772. The mill was decommissioned in 1956 and fell into disrepair. In 1974 the mill was placed on the monument list and this allowed the mill to be restored with a government subsidy. The mill was completely restored in 1985 and now runs on a voluntary basis. The mill can be visited on Saturdays and it is possible to buy flour in the shop. The second mill is a national monument and is called Nieuw Leven. This seesaw mill is located in the heart of Hazerswoude-Dorp and dates from the seventeenth century. Originally it was a polder mill, which moved to its current location in 1815 or 1816. Here it served as a corn mill. There were once three couples of grinding stones in the mill, of which two are still standing. One of these couples is driven by an electric motor, but these grinding stones are no longer suitable for grinding.