Limes and Lines Weekend Tour

(126.0 km)

On this bike ride through the Grebbe Line and the New Dutch Waterline, you’ll pass through forests, heathlands and polders. The route includes three major rivers – the Nederrijn, Lek and Kromme Rijn – as well as three museums that take a closer look at the lines. Take your pick!

Three Weekend Tours
Go on a journey of discovery across a distinctive military landscape and cycle through up …

On this bike ride through the Grebbe Line and the New Dutch Waterline, you’ll pass through forests, heathlands and polders. The route includes three major rivers – the Nederrijn, Lek and Kromme Rijn – as well as three museums that take a closer look at the lines. Take your pick!

Three Weekend Tours
Go on a journey of discovery across a distinctive military landscape and cycle through up to five defence lines and 2,000 years of military history. During three weekend tours ranging from 100 to 125 kilometres that largely run through the Province of Utrecht, you’ll enjoy a mix of stunning natural scenery, robust fortresses, wide rivers and beautiful terraces. The tours run along marked cycling routes and are therefore easy to follow. You’ll pedal through a charming backdrop of waterways, greenery and fortified towns that tell the story of days gone by. After relaxing and refreshing with a tasty beer at one of the forts, you’ll continue cycling along fortresses, dykes, sluices, canals, casemates, group shelters and large green areas that could be flooded on command: an ingenious system that used to protect the Netherlands against enemy troops. You can also enjoy the three weekend tours during the week, of course. Hop on your bike and explore these traditional Dutch defence lines. 

Utrecht’s defence lines
Dive into the unique story of the Roman limes, the Old Dutch Waterline, the Grebbe Line and the Dutch Water Defence Lines (made up of the New Dutch Waterline and the Defence Line of Amsterdam). The weekend tours tell the story of 2,000 years of military history. You’ll immerse yourself in our centuries-long battle against the enemy, in which water played a leading role. Nowhere in the world are water managers as creative as in the Netherlands, where a large part of the country lies below sea level. Dykes, dams and sluices keep our feet dry, but they also come in handy when flooding a piece of land to create an obstacle for the enemy: too deep to wade through, too shallow to sail. And so our unique military defence lines took shape over the centuries with forts, sluices, strategic landscape and natural features.

Sights on this route

Starting point: Knooppunt 97
Sint Andriesstraat
3811 PE Amersfoort
Navigate to starting point
78
63
1

Asschatterkeerkade

Hagenouwselaan 0 0
3831 JP Leusden
Asschatterkeerkade
08
82
86
87
84
2

Post van Lambalgen

3931 PK Woudenberg
Post van Lambalgen
81
22
23
99
3

Grebbe Line Visitor's Centre

Buursteeg 2
3927EJ Renswoude
Grebbe Line Visitor's Centre
4

Fort at the Buursteeg

Buursteeg 1
3927 EH Renswoude
Fort at the Buursteeg
58
59
81
45
25
27
26
11
31
5

Hoornwerk aan de Grebbe

3911 VK Rhenen
Hoornwerk aan de Grebbe
32
6

Grebbeberg Military Cemetery

Grebbeweg 123
3911 AV Rhenen
Grebbeberg Military Cemetery
52
36
37
40
41
42
65
17
7

Wijk bij Duurstede

Wijk bij Duurstede
Wijk bij Duurstede
15
14
55
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52
51
18
8

Fort Honswijk

Fort Honswijk
Lekdijk 58
3998 NJ Schalkwijk
Fort Honswijk
9

Gedekte gemeenschapsweg

Achterdijk
Schalkwijk
Gedekte gemeenschapsweg
14
03
15
06
10

Plofsluis

Plofsluis 0 0
3439 LS Nieuwegein
Plofsluis
32
33
36
35
98
39
11

Castellum Fectio

Marsdijk
Bunnik
Castellum Fectio
12

The Waterline Museum

Waterliniemuseum Fort bij Vechten
Achterdijk 12
3981 HE Bunnik
The Waterline Museum
40
41
44
87
86
85
50
53
55
13

Nationaal Militair Museum

Verlengde Paltzerweg 1
3768 MX Soest
Nationaal Militair Museum
56
57
58
60
End point: Knooppunt 97
Sint Andriesstraat
3811 PE Amersfoort
Navigate to endpoint
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