Soest, Eemdijk and Huizen

As part of Boswachterij De Vuursche, you can expect a beautiful old-fashioned landscape in the De Stulp sub-area. Staatsbosbeheer is trying to return nature here to its original state, resulting in an open and closed area. A 59 hectare heathland is surrounded by beautiful forests, which are increasingly a mixture of deciduous and coniferous trees. Various plants grow on the bottom, making the sea of trees feel like a primeval forest. There is sufficient water available, which attracts many animals. Deer eat the young leaves of the bushes and the squirrel builds up supplies in the forests. Badgers and foxes hunt small prey animals. The buzzard, tree beam, tree piper, woodlark, stonechat, gray shrike, crow and royal raven rule the treetops and in the water of the fluff lake grebes and little grebes swim, while the viviparous lizard prowls around the shore. The beautiful towns near the nature reserve are fun to explore. Laren, which you can cycle to via Eemdijk and Blaricum, is expanding rapidly. The town is named after a 'man'; an open space in the forest and that is a place that appeals to the imagination. It is therefore not surprising that Laren is one of the oldest inhabited places in the Gooi. The very first people lived here around 2500 BC and in 1085 the bishop of Utrecht founded the Sint Janskerkhof. Although it was initially a farming village, Laren has grown into a commuter village, where many people living in Utrecht seek refuge. The route starts at Profile Soest. Here you get a 10 euro discount on maintenance and repairs with your bicycle discount pass, so this is a perfect time to subject your bicycle to a little maintenance before you start the route or when you return to the parking lot. When you come near Baarn during the second half of the cycle tour, you will see Drakenburg. This was a knight's court town and a castle built around the fourteenth century. The castle existed until the beginning of the nineteenth century and was inhabited for a long time by its namesakes, the Lords of Drakenburg. The castle has been extensively renovated over the years. Nowadays, new buildings have been placed within the nationally monumental canal remnant. This contains a remnant of the old coach house.