Round Veluwezoom Landal Coldenhove, Posbank, Dieren, Eerbeek

KP 63 Unholy Forests
The'Unholy Forests\\\', it stimulates your imagination of a vast wild forest where highwaymen are hiding. That is partly true, it is one of the oldest forest areas on the Veluwe, where in the past oak trees were selectively felled for timber or for tanneries. Another explanation for the name that is more common is that'unholy\\\' or'on-saelig\\\' is a corruption of wretched. That the poor soil would only be suitable for forestry and not for agriculture.

CP 25
Stop 1: Pavilion de Posbank
At Paviljoen de Posbank you can enjoy a snack and a drink.
Stop 2: Famous bank and panorama
Here you will find the bank after which this place is named: the Pos bank, located at a height of 90 metres. It was founded in honor of the silver jubilee of GJ Pos, as chairman of the ANWB, in 1918. From this place you can see as far as 20 km in clear weather!

KP 66
Stop 1 parking lot De Driesprong
There are a few picnic benches here with a view from the Zijpenberg.
Stop 2 De Zijpenberg
The name comes from 'seep', and that is not a lie: a little further on there is a natural spring and there the water literally seeps out of the ground. The view from the Zijpenberg is phenomenal. There is also a bench. It is often busier here than at the Driesprong.
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KP 69 Sheepfold
Stop 1 Nature Observation Point Herikhuizen
From the observation post you can see an old, partly demolished farm. The ruin has been made suitable for numerous plant and animal species. Here you will see wall snapdragons, different types of owls and bats. During harvest time, badgers and Icelandic horses roam the orchard in search of (over)ripe fruit.
Stop 2 Viewpoint Heuvense Bergen
From this beautiful spot, which some call'Belvédère\\\' or'Heuvense Bergen\\\', you can see for miles. On the other side you can see Pavilion De Posbank. In August the heath hills turn purple, but it is beautiful here in every season.
Stop 3 Sheepfold
Veluwe heath sheep from the Rhedense Schaapskudde live in this black wooden stable with a thatched roof. The sheep are the 'lawn mowers' of the heathland that lies behind this. They keep the heathland open. The sheepfold dates from about 1870 and is still in use as a livery stable. There is straw on the bottom. The sheep graze during the day and are in the stable at night. That's where they leave their manure. The mixture of straw and sheep droppings is used, just as in the past, to fertilize fields on the poor sandy soil.

KP 53 Veluwezoom Visitor Center
Here you can find information about the area, gifts, routes, activities, etc. Under the same roof you will find a brasserie and a tourist office with bicycle rental. There is also plenty to do nearby. On the right is an IVN educational garden that is freely accessible. In the summer it is buzzing with insects and you can see a grass snake swimming in the pond. On the other side you will find a playground, orchard with picnic benches and a lovely terrace. Various walking routes start at the visitor center.

KP 25 porter's house Rhederoord
In 1911, bank director Mr. Nicolaas Johannes Hendrikus van Hasselt the somewhat neglected country estate of Rhederoord. He hired landscape architect Leonard Anthony Springer and architect Johan Wilhelm Hanrath to thoroughly renovate and beautify the park and buildings. Springer and Hanrath work together more often and coordinate the plans for the garden and buildings. Because they were in the way of the beautiful views, they had the outbuildings around the country house demolished and new staff housing built on the edges. Two gatehouses even appear, one at each entrance.
The former gatehouse marks the western entrance to the country estate. The house is a good example of the new historicist style, characteristic of the work of architect Hanrath. The facades are brickwork in Flemish bond. The roof is covered with braised Tuile-du-Nord tiles. The house is elegant because of its windows with panes, the shutters, the profiled gutters and the curved pediments above the dormers.
Hanrath designs several service residences at Rhederoord at the same time. Elements that he uses in this and the other homes are a mantelpiece with green glazed tiles and an originally green staircase with characteristic 'Hanrath' heart motifs in the balusters and with a ball at the end.

KP 83 Middachten Castle
Middachten Castle is in the top 100 of UNESCO monuments in the Netherlands. Originally, Middachten was a fortified house, with thick walls so that the residents could feel safe. The castle got its current appearance at the end of the 17th century. What is striking is the sandstone facade at the front with the coat of arms, carried by an elephant. The most famous residents were perhaps the Bentinck family. Writer Hella Haasse wrote about Countess Charlotte Sophie van Aldenburg Bentinck in'Mrs. Bentinck\\\'. The castle used to have extensive lands. You can still recognize some buildings by their color scheme: red/white. Just notice the shutters of nearby farms or the half-timbered structure of the old post office in De Steeg (Hoofdstraat 21).
The famous gardens of Versailles (Louis XIV) were a source of inspiration for Middachten's. Following the French example, they were given neatly trimmed hedges, trees pruned into geometric shapes, straight avenues and reflective canals. Later adjustments followed the fashion of the English landscape garden. With rolling lawns and more naturally growing bushes in them. You can visit the gardens - with orangery, rose garden and herb garden - in the summer, or during the Christmas market and the Christmas light festival.

KP 2 Hof te Dieren
The Hof te Dieren estate was once an estate with royal allure. Now managed by the Twickel Foundation and a place where award-winning wine comes from. Behind the old garden wall of the former vegetable garden you will also find an attractive nursery, specialized in special perennials.
The estate with medieval hunting lodge came into the hands of the Oranges in the 17th century. Stadtholder-King William III had it converted into his favorite hunting lodge. To be sure of game, the oranges had an extensive game range fenced off. They also built the long, straight Koningslaan between the Hof hunting lodge in Dieren and the Ginkelse heath in Ede.
KP 23 IJssel near Dieren
Animals, village on the IJssel with a view of extensive floodplains on the one hand, and the hilly forests of Veluwezoom on the other. For centuries it remained a small-scale community with a medieval hunting lodge Hof te Dieren, until the village was opened up at the end of the 19th century by the arrival of the railway and the Apeldoorns Canal. Better accessibility generated tourism and attracted businesses. In Dieren-Zuid, the old center of Dieren, this heyday is clearly reflected in several monumental buildings.
Get off your bike at'Aan Het Veer\\\' to enjoy the view over the IJssel.

KP 90 Royal Gazelle and Piet Pelle
Gazelle has been around for more than 125 years. The company was founded in 1892 by Willem Kölling from Dieren, a creative postal administrator who foresaw the ingenuity of the bicycle as a means of transport. Since 1902, the bicycle factory has been located in the monumental building and business park on the Wilhelminaweg in Dieren. The logo and brand name were also born in the same year. Inspired by nature, during a walk through the forests around Dieren and Laag Soeren, Willem suddenly saw a deer crossing the road. The speed and grace with which the animal took off gave him the idea: Gazelle! One of the fastest antelope species.
Since 2015, Gazelle has had a completely renovated factory: The Gazelle Innovation and Production Center. With the longest paint shop in Europe, about 1.6 km! It is the most modern bicycle factory where around 250,000 bicycles are made with great passion every year. The new Gazelle Experience center adjacent to the factory will open its doors in 2022. In the Experience Center, people can test all Gazelle bicycles and e-bikes on a partly covered test track. People can also take a look at the production process via a walkway in the factory. There will also be a unique exhibition that gives Gazelle a glimpse into its past, present and future of cycling.
Many people still remember 'Piet Pelle on his Gazelle'. In the artistic art book, Piet Pelle experienced the most special adventures on his bicycle. The booklet was given by Gazelle dealers as promotional material from the 1930s onwards. Piet Pelle became a household name in the Netherlands and abroad and there has been a statue of him in Dieren since 1997.
You will see the statue on the Wilhelminaweg on the other side of the road, in the bend to the right with the Spankerenseweg.

KP 34 Soerense Broek - IJsselvallei with special nature
After junction 34 you immediately get a nice view of Soerense Broek on the right. Many special plants and animals live in this wet stream valley with moist, sparse grasslands and shrubs. On the north side, the Soerense Beek meanders through the area. From the Broekdijk you can see beautiful landscape images, as if you were cycling through a painting.
Soerense Broek is a nature reserve in development. Flowery thanks to the clean seepage water that comes to the surface here. Characteristic plants such as heather, common cuckoo flower and reed orchid are back. But also the rare gingerbread and the very rare butterwort, an insectivorous plant of swampy heathland.
The clean water also attracts many dragonflies and birds, such as the rare red-backed shrike. The male is easy to recognize by its black mask.

KP 94 Priesnitz - a typical turret
From a distance it looks like a small chapel with a high spire. The wonderful white tower on the Soerense enk was built around 1860 in honor of four water physicians, of whom Priesnitz is one. In the nearby bathhouse one could follow cold water therapy according to their ideas. Another name for the monument is'Torentje van Jut\\\', after its creator Jut van Breukelerwaard.
The Amsterdam banker bought the Laag-Soeren estate in 1848. He suffered from gout, a painful rheumatic disease. When he discovered that cold water treatment offered relief in a German spa, he decided to set up a water healing center in Laag-Soeren:'Bethesda\\\'. He had a water pipe installed from the Soerense Beek. The pure water, with a constant temperature of 10 °C, flowed directly from the springs to his bathhouse. The bathhouse became known as the first health resort in the Netherlands.

This route has been adapted to your own wishes, but largely follows the Gazelle cycle route through Dieren and Veluwezoom of Natuurmonumenten, or in the opposite direction. The text is partly copied from the Natuurmonumenten site.