Fort Uitermeer occupies a prime strategic position in a bend of the river Vecht. If it could speak, it would tell many a tale about how the Vecht valley was formed, the clean waters of the Vechtplassen, the Dutch Water Defence Lines and the Dutch Society for Nature Conservation’s ongoing fight to preserve nature in a time of increasing urbanisation. Fort Uitermeer has a long history. A sconce of that name is said to have been located here even before 1589. Later, the sconce gave way to an earthwork and eventually a bomb-proof tower fort. The fort protected the lock, the ’s-Gravelandse Vaart and the surrounding roads and railway line.