Apeldoorn, Heerde and Olst

Apeldoorn is the largest city on the Veluwe. The city has developed mainly in the past century and has never had city rights. Together with Deventer and Zutphen, Apeldoorn is part of the Stedendriehoek. The city has a beautiful green character due to the many city parks that have been created there. If you look around you, you will notice that there are relatively few high-rise buildings compared to other cities. The Apeldoorn house structure, with many monumental and detached homes, is characteristic of the city where the tax authorities and the Land Registry established their head offices in the 1960s, thus putting Apeldoorn on the map. The route starts at Profile Janssen. At this store you get a discount of 10 euros on maintenance and repairs with your bicycle discount pass. It is therefore definitely advisable to have your bicycle checked before you start the route and cycle towards the Wenumsemolen, so that you can be sure that you are going out on a bicycle that is in optimal condition. The Wenumsemolen is a beautiful overhead watermill just outside Apeldoorn. The mill was used as a flour mill and was built around 1313. However, the current stone mill building dates from 1917. The mill slowly came to a standstill after 1965 due to damage. The mill was subsequently restored in 1980. The mill now grinds animal feed on a voluntary basis and is used for weddings and parties. The mill can be visited every 1st Saturday of the month between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. The Cannenburger Molen is also an overhead water mill. The relatively young mill was built in 1942 and was mainly used as a flour mill. The current mill is a replacement for its burned down predecessor, which was built around 1380. In 1978, a turbine was installed in the mill because the capacity of the water stream was becoming increasingly smaller. This way, despite the decrease in water power, the mill can continue to perform its function properly. You cycle to the next village to view a beautiful octagonal tower mill. This mill can also be visited on Saturdays, so it is nice to get off your bike after 22.5 kilometers to visit the Werklust mill from the inside. The flour mill from 1858 ran on wind power until 1900. A crude oil engine was then installed so that the mill could always run and was no longer dependent on wind power. In 1930 a diesel engine took over, followed by an electric motor in 1950. After this, the mill slowly fell into disrepair, because it increasingly came to a standstill because it became redundant as a mill. The mill was completely restored in 1984 and now runs on a voluntary basis. There is also an octagonal mill in Veessen that you can visit on Saturday if you want to see how grain is ground with a mill. The historic Mölle of Bats was built in 1779 and is decorated with two pairs of millstones. The mill was restored in the autumn of 2000, the year after the miller was murdered. Nowadays, Bats' Mölle runs exclusively on a voluntary basis. You will encounter the last mill of the cycle tour in the second half of the route. Molen Houdt Braef Stant is a tower mill in Welsum, built in 1856. The mill is used as a flour mill and has run on wind power for many years. In 1986 the mill was restored and made ready for milling, after having stood still for a number of years. The mill was fitted with a new roof and new rods in 2011. Since then, the mill has been fully operational again and runs on a voluntary basis.