Amsterdam Cycle Route 2:
Spaarndam/Velserbroek, dikes, heritage, and suburban landscape

Non-tourist cycle routes around Amsterdam. This route follows the mediaeval coastline and sea dike of the IJ estuary, through the mediaeval settlements of Spaarnwoude and Spaarndam. The reclaimed estuary is now threatened by suburban expansion from the Haarlem side, and port expansion in Amsterdam. 4 hours: 34 km and then return by hydrofoil along the North Sea Canal for € 3.50. Revised January 2008.

Dit is geen recreatieve fietsroute, en geen zinvolle tijdsbesteding voor autochtone Nederlanders. Zij worden verwezen naar de fietsroutes van bijvoorbeeld de ANWB.

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Recommended maps: the best map of landscape and structure of the Amsterdam region is the ANWB/VVV Topografische Fietskaart Amsterdam / Noord-Holland Noord, map 13 in this series, at scale 1:50 000. The map costs € 10, but these are probably the best cycling maps in the world. For historic comparisons see the Topografische Dienst reproduction of the 1854 military map, sheet 25. Aspects of the landscape in Routes 1, 2 and 3 are explained by the simplified geological map of the Haarlem area, available from NITG-TNO. There are two specialised map shops in Amsterdam: Pied à Terre / van Wijngaarden (Overtoom 135-137), and A la Carte (Utrechtsestraat 110/112).

start at the Westermarkt in Amsterdam, between the tram stop and the Westerkerk church. Cross the bridge over the Prinsengracht, on into the Rozengracht. The name 'gracht' means this was originally a canal - it was filled in during the 19th century.

at the end of Rozengracht, go straight on past the fire station, and over the Singelgracht canal into De Clercqstraat.

A singel is originally the moat outside the city walls: in the 19th century most city walls were demolished, and the singels became desirable residential areas for the professional classes. On the map, the curves in the Amsterdam Singelgracht indicate the location of the former bastions.

at Bilderdijkstraat cross tram line 3, a circular route along the late 19th century quarters of Amsterdam. Continue along de Clercqstraat, it curves to the right, and crosses (by a lifting bridge) the main barge canal through Amsterdam.

go straight on (tram line route). 300 m after the bridge, the tram line divides: again go straight on, along Jan Evertsenstraat. This is an area of high immigrant population, with many urban renewal projects.

cross the Admiralengracht, a broad canal with what is still low-income housing - although it is being gentrified. So is the architecturally interesting Vespuccistraat, the 3rd side street right, after the bridge.

continue to Mercatorplein - a renovated 1920's square, the showpiece of local urban renewal. The area has a reputation for high crime among immigrant youth, although this is largely a statistical phenomenon, and you will not see any plundering mobs

at the traffic lights, turn right along Hoofdweg. The street is lined with 1920's housing with an imposing facade, now gentrifying.

at the next traffic lights, turn left, along the Jan van Galen straat. After a few side streets, you pass the boundary of the pre-war housing: everything beyond here was built after the Second World War, and the architecture and planning styles change sharply. The website of the Amsterdams Historisch Museum has an animated map of the growth of the city from 1000 to 2000.

cross the ring motorway A10: the area around the junction is being redeveloped. There are plans to put the A10 in tunnel through this area.

go straight on, and pass under the viaducts of the ring rail and ring metro lines, at the metro station Jan Van Galenstraat. Tram 13 now runs in the central reservation.

continue along Burgemeester Röell straat, the axis of the first of the post-war extensions of Amsterdam, built from the early 1950's on. Together they are called the westelijke tuinsteden, or 'western garden cities', but they do not have the low-rise houses of the original English model. There are 1960's slab blocks on the left, but most of the rest is 1950's terraces and 5-storey blocks (without lift, of course).

The westelijke tuinsteden were built for an ethnically homogeneous, working-class population (with schools and hospitals separated by religion and political party). They are the architecture of an idealised 1950's Netherlands, where the family was the unquestioned basic social unit. The family housing is once again inhabited by families, but now they are largely Moroccan. However, in the last few years a mass demolition programme has started - cynically named Parkstad, park city. Unlike previous urban clearance policies, there is no structural or housing management reason: the housing is not empty or abandoned. The openly stated goal - apparently a new trend in European urban planning - is to force most low-income families out of the area, by replacing existing housing with expensive private-sector apartments. In effect, social cleansing. And ethnic cleansing - as in the United States, gentrification 'whitens' an area. In 2004 the Balkenende government introduced legislation, specifically excluding the poor from designated urban areas.

at the roundabout, go straight on, still on Burgemeester Röell straat, with the tram line.

Construction work, early 2008. You can probably use the footpath on the other side of the road: if not, follow the yellow diversion signs, and then turn back to the Burgemeester Röell straat

the housing is so typical of 1950's urban planning, that it could be an architectural museum. Interest in the 1950's suburbs is reviving, so it might yet be saved from demolition.

continue to the terminal loop of tram line 13. Go to the corner of the 16-storey grey-brick tower, and then go along the cycle path, past the Blokker shop and the Vomar supermarket. Along the path is a line of new apartment blocks.

They are built on the site of a planned tangential motorway. The infill development is the first step in the 'regeneration' of the 1950's suburbs here. Most of the people in the surrounding blocks can not afford the new apartments, but in the next 15 years their homes will be cleared for equally expensive housing.

at the end of the cycle path, turn right - past the new school, 't Koggeschip - and then left, along Jacob Cabeliau straat.

at the traffic lights, cross the main Amsterdam-Haarlem road, toward the port area (cycle sign for Spaarnwoude)

after 1 km turn left, just before the first building, De Graaf Plafonds. Follow the cycle sign for Spaarnwoude.

cycle on past a light industry / warehouse area: the grassed area between the cycle path and the buildings is a pipeline corridor. 1 km on, pass the newest and last buildings of the industrial zone. Behind them, earthworks for the future A5 motorway extension - the successor to the tangential motorway plans of the 1950's.

at the end of the straight section, the cycle path curves left, then right. The building on the right here is a pumping station, the channel was planned as port access for inland shipping, but the link canal southward was never built. Continue toward the village of Halfweg, with the silos of the former CSM sugar-beet refinery.

don't go down the narrow path into the housing: stay on the cycle path on the dike (and say hello to the small black cat, if it is still sitting in the middle of the path).

turn right onto the wooden footbridge (sign for Spaarnwoude), and then left at the end of the bridge. Pass a channel lined with houseboats: visible left are the road and rail bridges at Halfweg, and the chimney of the former steam pumping station.

turn left, along the access road for the houseboats: follow the LF20b sign. Pass a metal wall (flood defence). The former sugar factory is then on your left: the silos are under conversion to offices.

at the end of this road, turn toward the rail crossing, and then right, follow the LF20b sign. (Don't cross the rail line). Pass a few older houses, part of the village of Halfweg.

after 500 m, the landscape opens up: you are on the mediaeval sea dike of the IJ estuary. The land on the right was all reclaimed from the estuary in 1875: the coastal dunes and the IJmuiden steelworks are visible ahead. The metal objects on a concrete base (left) are gun mounts, part of a 1927 anti-aircraft battery.

go straight on along the dike: about 1 km further, stop beside the bridge over the small canal (right). Near the corner is a stone pillar, one of the old dike markers.

The mediaeval dike is irregular, following the contour of the old estuary shore. The land on the left is mediaeval reclamation, former peat bog, now about 2 m under sea level. The dike road is about 3 m above sea level. The grassed areas in the park (right) are the original estuary floor, 3 to 4 m below sea level. Beside the dike is an intermediate canal, with a separate water level. It was built during the reclamation: separate intermediate drainage is necessary in a multiple-polder system.

continue along the dike. The intermediate canal curves away, and between it and the main dike are former outer meadows. Low outer dikes were built in estuaries and rivers, to enclose summer pastures. No houses were built there, because the land was usually flooded in winter. The outer dike lost its function when the estuary was reclaimed in 1875.

further on, the low outer dike is visible 400 m to the right. The pasture land is still called De Uiterdijken, the 'outer-dike lands' - about 1 m below mean sea level. Behind it is the reclaimed farmland of the 1870's, and the line of trees marking the dike of the North Sea Canal. You can not see this ship canal from here, but you can see any ships passing through it. The giant red cranes are at the new Ceres container terminal.

pass (left) a small lake or pond, about 50 m wide and 150 m long. It is a dike breach lake - at a point where the sea broke through in the past. Stop at the corner of the rural road, leading to a small cluster of farm buildings on the right. There is a sign with a map of the old dikes here: this is the start of the Inlaag polder.

turn right towards the farm buildings, toward the cranes. 5 m before the first house, pass the remains of the low outer dike. 10 m further is the intermediate drainage canal.

The brick building with arched windows, is a pumping station, the source of the canal (built 1879). Stop to look at the concrete exit channel (right). There is a blue enamel water-level gauge, and the top of the scale is 0 - mean sea level. The water level is usually 50 or 60 cm lower. All the components of the ex-estuary landscape are visible here: the main sea dike, the outer pastures, the remains of the low outer dike, the intermediate canal, and its retaining dike. All the land toward the container cranes is the former estuary bed, about 2 m lower.

cycle on past the run-down farm buildings, the port area is now on your right. About 300 m after the farm, the relict mediaeval dike is beside the road (on the right). It is not very high here, it has not been maintained for centuries. Further on you can see the outer face of the dike at several places, about 1,50 m high.

The Inlaag polder is a promontory in the former estuary, and its dikes were vulnerable, so a higher cut-off dike was built across the neck of the promontory. The lakes on the right are artificial, landscaping for the golf course. However, they are in a natural depression - the promontory is enclosed by a meander in the ancient channel of the IJ river, once a main channel of the Rhine. The land outside the dike is visibly lower: this is one of the few places where you can see the slope of the former sea-bed. Until the 1960's this was all farm land. Now it is threatened by further expansion of the port zone. In 2004, the Balkenende government abandoned the 'national buffer zones' - which prevented cities from growing into a single conurbation. As far as they are concerned, the landscape between Amsterdam and Haarlem is 'available for development'.

the road cuts through the old dike: continue in the direction IJmuiden. The dike is now on the left of the road. The small church spire, just visible behind the trees on the right, is at the village of Ruigoord - originally an island in the estuary.

After the reclamation of the IJ polders, Ruigoord was surrounded by land (there are several 'dry islands' in the Netherlands, the best known is the World Heritage Site Schokland). A village of about 600 people grew on the former island. During the economic boom years of the 1960's, the surrounding polder was designated for port expansion, and pumped full of sand - isolating the village once again. Empty houses were squatted by artists from Amsterdam: then came the oil crisis. For the next 25 years, the village was left as it was, as a sort of 'hippy artists village' in a sandy waste. Then, in the economic boom of the late 1990's, port expansion once again became a political priority. See the Ruigoord website. Now the village is facing 'a fate worse than demolition'. It will be turned into a feature landscape item, to attract investors to the new port zone, Afrikahaven.

pass two farms: the road bends and the container cranes are now behind you. About 50 m after the bend, pass the tip of the promontory of the Inlaag polder. Again you can see that the land of the former estuary slopes away to the left. At this point in 1850, you would have seen about 6 km of tidal water, extending toward Beverwijk.

continue along Ringweg, past more working farms. You have now turned back in the direction of Haarlem, its telecom tower and cathedral spire are visible ahead. After the farm Ringweg 8-10, there is a new lake, an example of new nature. The land, so carefully reclaimed in the 1870's, has been filled with water again. However, the result is not very 'natural', since there is an electricity pylon in the middle of the new lake. On clear days, the control tower of Schiphol airport is visible (right), about 14 km to the south.

before the motorway turn left, following the sign Spaarnwoude. Pass two bunkers on the left: built in 1943, as part of a German radio or radar site.

turn right through the underpass tunnel. Cycle up to the dike road, and go straight on across the road, direction Spaarnwoude.

at the next sign, turn right toward the church. The hamlet Spaarnwoude is a relict of early mediaeval settlement, although none of the present farm buildings are very old. Go through the gate, into the walled enclosure around the church.

The church tower dates from around 1300, a church existed in 1063, the village itself around 1000. The churchyard is artificially raised, partly as a refuge against flooding. But look south from the church door: you can see that the ground is slightly raised here anyway. This is the reason for the location of Spaarnwoude: a strandwal or relict coastal dune aligned SSW - NNE. The extra 2 metres (and sandy soil) meant the site was much more habitable than the surrounding peat bog. In general the coastal dunes, and the relict dune ridges, determined the early mediaeval settlement pattern in the region: a relict dune runs under the centre of Haarlem. The Spaarnwoude strandwal is the furthest inland - south-east of here, it was peat bog all the way to Utrecht.

leave the churchyard and continue along the cycle path, to the right of the church. Pass behind the whitewashed farmhouse and the cattle shed, toward the village of Spaarndam. The Haarlem telecom tower and cathedral are now on the left: closer to the path is a windmill.

A Windmill! A Windmill!

cycle up to the dike road, turn left toward Spaarndam. 80 m after the turn, a small plaque (right) indicates that this was once a quayside on the IJ estuary. The building on the left is the Rijnlandshuis (built 1641), used by the officials in charge of the dike maintenance and drainage. The gardens of the houses below were once tidal water - a remnant of the brick quayside is visible from the footpath.

cross the lifting bridge into the village core of Spaarndam, passing over the lock which gives access to the Spaarne river. Here there is still some open water on the right, originally the wide estuary. Spaarndam was a fishing village at a strategic location: the dike of the south IJ bank crosses the Spaarne, and a sea lock was built for shipping to Haarlem.

pass right a cycle shop/garage, and after it on the left a small statue: the legendary Hans Brinker, the little boy who put his finger in the dike. In fact the 'legend' is a late 19th century romantic fake, written in the United States.

after the statue, on the left, you look down into the late-mediaeval harbour basin surrounded by picturesque (and gentrified) houses and cafes. One cafe dates from 1571. The road crosses an older and smaller lock, giving access to the harbour.

50 m further, cross another bridge (built over flood gates), then the remains of yet another small lock - filled in and grassed over.

after the last houses, use the separate cycle path. The large 'dike', about 30 m after the start of the cycle path, has concrete access doors: it is not a dike but part of a complex of bunkers which now comes into view. These are not World War II bunkers, but built in the First World War, against a possible English invasion of Germany through Holland. Most of the fortifications around Spaarndam are older: they form the Positie van Spaarndam, part of the complex defences of Amsterdam built between 1880 and the end of the First World War.

continue along the cycle path at field level: across the fields is the northern edge of Haarlem. After 400 m, stop at a cluster of trees with a small brick building (a pumping station). Go up the steps right of the path. Cross the dike-top road, into the access road at the other side (at the sign Rondje Haarlem), towards new housing development visible 1 km ahead.

pass more bunkers on the right: hidden behind the trees is the northern fort, the Fort Benoorden Spaarndam - completed in 1901. Go toward the car park of the 'recreational lake' Westbroekplas.

continue along the cycle path, which curves in a large arc around the lake, towards the development. This is Velserbroek, a VINEX location, typical of the large planned housing developments intended to accommodate urban growth.

VINEX is the abbreviation for the Fourth Policy Document on Spatial Planing Appendix (VIerde Nota ruimtelijke ordening EXtra). As the name suggests, this was a temporary measure to meet growth pressures until the Fifth National Spatial Plan. VINEX has come to mean 'bulk suburban housing', and Velserbroek is a perfect example. The Fifth Plan was never approved. After pressure from neoliberal economists and the developers lobby, the Balkenende government abandoned most planning controls in May 2004. The new national spatial policy - not a 'national plan' - allows developers to build housing almost anywhere in the country. Inevitably, low-density sprawl will soon be the standard form of development.

continue along the cycle path, past the newest apartment blocks. At the street name sign 'Grote Buitendijk' turn left, on the cycle path along Dammers boog.

stop at the crossing with Galle Promenade, at the green apartment block: you have now completed a semi-circle around the lake. Turn right onto Galle Promenade, a raised cycle path, and cycle past apartment blocks, on the edge of a small park.

Although the houses along the 'promenade' are the more expensive, this is not an upper-middle-class development. Velserbroek is in social terms a "reverse ghetto": few unemployed, few immigrants. It is part of the Velsen agglomeration, but it is hard to separate that from the Haarlem agglomeration.

at the local shopping centre, step off your bike, and go straight on. An oval stone plaque in the pavement commemorates Velsen's partner city Galle on Sri Lanka, a former Dutch trading post. However the street name is the only non-Dutch element: Velserbroek is a 'white flight' suburb.

at the end of the Galle Promenade, at the Fortis Bank, go toward the building with the round wooden roof section, Het Kruispunt. This is a small church, in fact a 'religious centre' shared by the Catholic Church and the main protestant churches. (If Velserbroek had been built in the 1950's, they would have had large separate churches).

pass to the left of the church, and then turn right, into Lange Maad. This is an older section of Velserbroek, the trees are already half-grown.

after 500 m, at the roundabout, turn left along Grote Buitendijk. This is also 'old land', the former shoreline of the IJ estuary is behind the motorway. 1500 metres north of here is the site of a Roman fort, an outpost on the bank of the ancient IJ channel. The Roman imperial border - limes - is further south, along the line Leiden - Utrecht - Nijmegen.

at the end of this road, turn right, and then left onto Broekeroog. After 100 m turn right into the Hofgeesterweg, between sports fields.

200 m on, there are two gate-posts with the faint inscription Het Huis 't Spyk. The gate, and a low earthen wall, are the only remains of a former country house, with formal garden (laid out circa 1680).

This is the eastern edge of a cluster of mainly 17th and 18th century country houses around Haarlem: a 1984 report listed 58 examples. (Landgoederen van Zuid-Kennemerland, Stichting NCM, Amsterdam). You are leaving the landscape of reclaimed peat-bog (grassland with drainage ditches). Ahead is an area of older settlement - naturally drained land along the edge of the coastal dunes, with sandy soils.

turn left at the gates (this is also Hofgeesterweg). 600 m on, turn left, following the sign for Velsen-Zuid / IJmuiden.

the road rises: again follow the signs Velsen-Zuid / IJmuiden, and go on over the bridge, over a motorway.

at the end of the bridge, the cycle path switches to the other side of the road. At the cycle sign go right, again toward Velsen-Zuid / IJmuiden.

cross the Haarlem-Alkmaar railway: here it descends into the Velser tunnel under the North Sea Canal. The tunnel was built in 1957, and the rail line re-routed: originally it crossed the canal on a swing bridge further west.

200 m further, turn left at a change in the cultural landscape: the country house Beeckestijn. Go through the gate, and go past the house, into the large grounds. You are not supposed to cycle here, and it will damage the paths.

behind the house is a formal avenue with four statues, leading to an ornamental pool: on either side are typical features of an 18th-century estate.

The geometrical garden nearest the house dates from about 1720, behind the pool is an extension in early landscape style (circa 1770). See the Introduction to Dutch gardens and garden architecture for more on the styles, and the place of Beeckestijn in the development. Note that the soil is now sandy: the beginnings of the dunes, or more accurately, the remains of a former coastline. There are low dune remnants 200 m behind the pool. See the urban structure maps of the dune edge/Haarlem region in 1850 and 2000, on page 5 of Projectenboek Kennemerzoom: Landschap en Cultuurhistorie.

at the pool, there are stone benches to sit and rest.

turn back, leave Beeckestijn by the same gate, and turn left. This is a busy road leading to the main Amsterdam-IJmuiden road.

800 m further, cross the main road, toward the petrol station. Then turn left, following the cycle signs for Beverwijk / Alkmaar / IJmuiden.

200 m further, at the older houses, you reach the village of Oud-Velsen. At Kerkesingel enter the village, through the white-painted gates. This is Kerkplein, the preserved core of the old village of Velsen, built around the 12th century church (Engelmunduskerk). The name 'Felison' is recorded in 722 - the oldest historically recorded settlement in the region.

pass the church and exit the churchyard by another white-painted gate, into Torenstraat. After 30 m go right into Hoofdbuurt straat. Suddenly the village ends: you are on the bank of the North Sea Canal, looking at the power station on the other side.

This must be one of the sharpest landscape transitions in the Netherlands. To the right the ventilation towers of the first motorway tunnel under the canal, to the left the steelworks and docks, and the control tower of the IJmuiden lock complex. The carved stone slab shows the successive canal expansions, which cut into the village. Across the canal you can see a church behind the industry: the road through Oud-Velsen continues there, cut by the Canal. It is the old main road from Haarlem to Alkmaar, a surfaced highway since 1816. From 1897 to 1924 a steam tram also ran along this road, but it never developed into a major urban axis.

turn left along the footpath, and follow it along the old brick wall with buttresses, to the cycle path beside the Canal.

cycle on along the Canal: 1 km further is the landing stage for the ferry to Velsen-Noord, and also for the hydrofoil to Amsterdam. This is the end of the outward section of this route, approx 34 km from start.

you can return by Connexxion hydrofoil to Amsterdam, for € 3,50 , in less than 30 minutes. Bikes are carried free on the rear deck: fix them to the railings. The last ferry is at 19.00 on weekdays, at 17.30 weekends, 18.00 weekends May-September.

The hydrofoil ride is worth the money. After the Velsen industry and the tunnel ventilation towers, there is open farmland on the north bank (left). After the ferry landings at Buitenhuizen, you can see the full extent of the Amsterdam dock basins on the south, the new Afrikahaven basin and the eight-crane Ceres container terminal, and the power station Hemcentrale. The north side around Zaandam is also industry and docks. On the south side you pass the new apartment block Silodam, and approach Centraal Station at a 45-degree angle.

you can also cycle back in under 2 hours, but the whole route is alongside busy main roads. From the ferry landing, follow the signs to Amsterdam. Cycle first along the canal on the cycle path, then alongside the main road to Amsterdam, N202. Go on through the port zone, along the Basis weg, Transformator weg, Spaarndammer dijk, Tasman straat, van Diemen straat, and Westerdoks dijk, to the rear of Centraal Station, the end point of this route.