Bleiswijk, Nieuwerkerk aan den IJssel and Gouda

Like much of the Netherlands, the Bleiswijk area was once a peat area. The drainage canals to the Rotte and the Lange Vaart are silent witnesses to the time when the area was developed. For example, the first farms were built in what would be called Bleiswijk in the twelfth century. Because the towns around Bleiswijk grew after the Middle Ages, the peat near Bleiswijk was further excavated and the village grew due to the employment provided by peat extraction. In the eighteenth century, the peat ponds flooded, causing the population to shrink again and so the reclamation of the Bleiswijk polder began in 1772. After that, greenhouse horticulture quickly emerged. The route leads you from the starting point to the city of Gouda, where Gouda cheese comes from. Gouda has an attractive, historic center with a beautiful canal system and 330 national monuments. The town hall and St. John's Church, both built in the fifteenth century, are some examples of this. At 123 meters, the church building is the longest in the Netherlands and has characteristic roofs. De Waag, which is located behind the town hall on the Markt in Gouda, also has a rich history. The building, which mainly served as a weighing place for Gouda cheeses, was built in 1668. Part of the cycle tour leads through the Eendrachtspolder, which was built on a place that has traditionally always been agricultural land. One of the reasons for constructing the polder was to prevent flooding, but the polder is also used for recreation and (top) sports. Especially at the Zevenhuizerzoom you look out over the water and there are many recreational activities.