Along the great Mills of Leiden – NL

In Holland we have got some great Mills!!

And often they are situated on the greatest spots!!

In Leiden you can cycle a tour that leads you along the most prettiest ones and the oldest ones. And there are many of them in and near Leiden!

Cycling along the Mills of Leiden

Voor de Nederlandse versie Langs de Mooiste Molens van Leiden – NL

It’s not a short tour. You can easily be at it the whole day and that is the reason we didn’t  finished the whole tour. I was cycling with my aunt who is 75+ years old and with all the wind she thought after about 6 mills it was oke. I didn’t mind cycling back to Oegstgeest at all!

My aunt lives in Oegstgeest and that is a small village near Leiden. The first mill we saw was in Oegstgeest near the shoppingmail De Lange Voort. Molens van Leiden

This is a wooden Hollow Post Mill on a stone foot. It is situated north of the old village and in the former polder Oudenhof. The hollow post mill dates back to 1783. It has a prominent place in the park and it looks beautiful! I think when you come back when the trees are green you can get a beautiful shot without the apartments in the back 🙂

Kikkermolen - Leiden

 Kikkermolen between Oegstgeest and Leiden.

The Kikkermolen is a hollow post mill situated along the Oegstgeesterweg in Leiden. The mill dates back to 1752 and is build to drain the Kikkerpolder. It replaced the mill that burned down in 1747.

 

We saw a lot of great mills and even talked with a miller that worked voluntairily at the Kikkermolen. He was busy painting the fabric that covers the mills wings to catch more wind. It needed to be waterresistant again. He told us with passion about his mill and what he was doing.

Some mills will be running at windy days. Great to withness that!!

The Kikkermolen in full operation

Once there were 19 mills on the ramparts of Leiden. Leiden was surrounded by these mills and entering the city the first thing you saw were those mills. Those mills were wooden standard mills, you can recongize them on the tapered body with a rectangular mill house on top. In the 18th century these wooden mills were replaced by higher mills made of stone. The mills of Leiden were not only used to grind the corn they also were used for the famous textile industy of Leiden.

Molens van Leiden

Along the way you cycle on beautiful paths and old brigdes. This one was in Leiderdorp. Molens van Leiden

The Rodenburgermill.

People live in this mill so you can not enter it.Molens van Leiden

Stevenhofjesmill, Veenwateringweg – Leiden

This one is also tenanted. What a Great Idea!!

Living inside of an Old Mill!!IMG_20160423_230537

Molens van Leiden

On the background you see the Mill called ‘De Herder’. It is the sawmill of Leiden. De Herder is only open for tourists every other year on Millday of Leiden. Every odd numbered year.

De Route & Information

A couple of years ago they made this route. You need to read along the way and be precise but it works out great. The route goes through the city, the villages and through the Dutch landscape! What else do you want on a day out? You see a couple of villages surrounding Leiden en see a part of the city of Leiden. You can download this route. My aunt and I had a book with the description and along with google maps we found our way 🙂

The exact route that my aunt had was a bit different of the one I could find online and this one takes you to even more windmills in the ares! The route is 35 km and do take in mind that you are gone for the day! You can find this one on the internet if you search on: “Molenroute Leiden en Kagerplassen”. Or go straight to the website of Top Route Netwerk.

I really liked cycling through this part of Holland. It is totally different from the part of Holland where I live. When you go for it make sure to take something to drink and to eat with you. Most places you cycle don’t have facilities where you can eat or drink and you don’t want to go off the route and search for it.

Molens van Leiden

Tea House De Leidsehout

After we stopped the route and went back we went to Tea House De Leidsehout to drink some fresh Mint Tea. You can sit in this park and enjoy the view with a lot of animals. The Tea House is situated on the cityborders of Leiden and Oegstgeest.

Molens van Leiden

Such a cute view during my fresh Mint TeaThe Dutch Mills Route

If you liked this post please share it so others can enjoy it too!!

4 Comments