Tour along the merged municipalities of Alphen aan den Rijn

Tour of new Alphen aan den Rijn
Cycle past all the merged municipalities of Alphen aan den Rijn: Alphen aan den Rijn, Koudekerk aan den Rijn, Hazerswoude-Rijndijk, Hazerswoude-Dorp, Benthuizen, Boskoop, Zwammerdam and Aarlanderveen. A nice circle, which you can shorten yourself using the junctions.

Past mills, monuments and polders
You depart from Avifauna towards Koudekerk aan den Rijn, a village that originated in the 12th century, with the monumental church as one of the oldest buildings. Then you cycle towards Hazerswoude-Rijndijk. You cycle along polders and water. Hazerswoude-Dorp is another nice village with a historic center. Monumental buildings include the old town hall (architect Jan Dekker), the old reformed church and a number of mills, including Korenmolen Nieuw Leven. Haven't had enough of windmills yet? Then visit Molen de Haas in Benthuizen. The shop with delicious bread, cookie and cake mixes is open on Fridays and Saturdays. Via junctions 3 and 5 you arrive in the village known for its tree nurseries: Boskoop. The Plantarium, the international trade fair for tree nurseries, takes place here every August and attracts people from all over the world. Via Zwammerdam (I wrote a piece about this village last month) you cycle to Aarlanderveen. The meadow landscape around Aarlanderveen, like many places in the Groene Hart, is very rich in birds. You will spot godwits, redshanks and lapwings. And to stay with the mills for a moment: Aarlanderveen is home to the only operating mill corridor in the world.