Castle route: round Zutphen and Lochem

Long ago old Hanseatic towns sprang up along the IJssel. Zutphen grew in the Hanseatic period by transporting herring, butter and beer over the IJssel to the Rhine. The skippers brought back wine, but the timber trade also flourished. Striking towers and stately merchant houses determine the street scene. Just past junction 43 you can take a detour to a park-like estate with a stately country house: De Voorst. The seventeenth-century country house is also called the Versailles of the Achterhoek because of its appearance. It was designed by the architects of Paleis het Loo. After a cup of coffee at Beleefboerderij de Kleine Carrousel and a visit to lovely Lochem, you cycle back via Huis Het Velde, which is connected to De Voorst via a park forest.