Soest, Eemdijk and Huizen

As part of Boswachterij De Vuursche, you can expect a beautiful old-fashioned landscape in the Stulp sub-area. Staatsbosbeheer is trying to restore nature to its original state here, resulting in an open and closed area. A 59-hectare heathland is surrounded by beautiful forests, which are increasingly becoming a mixture of deciduous and coniferous trees. Various plants grow on the ground, making the sea of trees feel like a primeval forest. There is sufficient water, which attracts many animals. Deer eat the young leaves of the shrubs and the squirrel stores its supplies in the forests. Badgers and foxes hunt small prey. The buzzard, tree beam, tree piper, wood lark, stonechat, shrike, crow and royal raven rule the treetops and grebes and little grebes swim in the water of the pluismeer, while the viviparous lizard scurries around the bank. The beautiful villages near the nature reserve are fun to explore. Laren, among others, which you cycle to via Eemdijk and Blaricum, is expanding rapidly. The town is named after a'laar\\\'; 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 who live in Utrecht seek their salvation. The route starts at Profile Soest. Here you get a 10 euro discount on maintenance and repairs with your bicycle discount card, so this is a perfect moment to subject your bike to a minor maintenance service before you start the route or when you return to the car park. When you get close to Baarn during the second half of the cycle tour, you will see Drakenburg. This was a knight's manor and a castle that was 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. Over the years, the castle has been renovated a lot. Nowadays, new buildings have been placed within the national monument canal remnant. A remnant of the old coach house has been incorporated into this.