Rozendaal, Rheden and Velp

Five thousand hectares of nature reserve extends around Rheden, Arnhem and Rozendaal. It is therefore no wonder that the hilly area of Veluwezoom National Park is diverse: forest, heathland and some sand drifts offer a varied range of flora and fauna. Heather, common heath, gorse and broom are often found on the heathlands and in the old forests bracken grow between the pedunculate oaks and birches, but you will also find the bilberry or the lingonberry. If the trees are on richer loess soils, you will also see beech, oak, Norway spruce, larch and sweet chestnut trees rising high towards the sky. Sometimes these giants are up to forty meters high! The route starts at Postillion Hotel Arnhem. This beautiful hotel is located on the highway and is therefore very easy to reach. The hotel has a number of luxurious rooms that are fully equipped. There is also a restaurant where you can have a delicious lunch before you start, or an extensive dinner upon your return. We recommend an overnight stay so that you can use our package with route 136600. The first stop on the route is listening point L39: Farm in No Man's Land of the Liberation Route. In the autumn of 1944, also known as the front period, Groesbeek was liberated after massive American airborne landings during Market Garden, but the Germans hit back with fierce counter-attacks. The population is evacuated in October. Some citizens like the Janssen brothers cannot leave. Their house is literally on the front line on the Wylerbaan in Groesbeek. At the field boulder that marks the listening spot you can listen to an incredible story about a true history. Then you cycle to Rosendael Castle. The huge medieval keep with walls four meters thick is the visible part of the castle. During research in 1985, wall remains were even found in the castle pond, indicating that the complex must have been even larger in its heyday. An eighteenth-century residential complex was built on the tower. Part of the country house and gardens are freely accessible to the public. Then you cycle past the beautiful old sheepfold of Rheden. Today, the sheepfold no longer functions as a manure production company, but is reminiscent of the time when sheep still roamed freely on the heathland of the Veluwezoom National Park. The sheep spent the night in the sheepfold, where the next day manure could be made from the droppings the sheep left in the fold. With the invention of fertilizer, this is no longer necessary today. A good distance further you will pass Biljoen Castle. This is a moated castle made of brick that was easy to defend. The castle was built around 1530 and was originally the residence for the Duke of Gelre. Due to financial problems, he sold the castle to the steward. The castle has always remained privately inhabited and now has a beautiful landscape park that is freely accessible.