Cycling through the Anna Paulownapolder

The North Sea coast has the most hours of sunshine in the Netherlands. In the North Holland polder you have a good chance to enjoy the wide polder and the bulb fields in beautiful weather.

Dark Dunes
Just below Den Helder you drive along the Mariëndal where low dunes and dune grasslands now grow on the former bulb soil. You cycle into the coniferous forests of the Donkere Duinen. This nature reserve was formed from the remnants of an old Wadden island that grew on the mainland in the sixteenth century through shifting sand. You cycle south through the dunes. From afar you can see Groote Kaap looming, a seventeen meter high red steel lighthouse.

Raft bridge
At't Zand you cross the Noordhollandsch Kanaal via one of the five remaining raft bridges in the Netherlands. You will also pass mill De Leonide from 2002. This mill looks like a traditional sawmill, but has never been in operation.

Old Lock
The village of Oude Sluis is a fine example of the age-old Dutch urge to reclamation. The village was originally located on the foothills of the Zuiderzee. It was a berth for VOC ships that sailed out to sea via the Marsdiep. However, Oude Sluis was cut off from the sea by the construction of the Anna Paulowna polder in 1846. The polder was named after the wife of King Willem II, the Russian Anna Paulowna. The sandy soil turned out to be extremely suitable for bulb cultivation: the municipality of Anna Paulowna is still the largest contiguous bulb area in the world.