Witweg: A long walk along the “Kromme Rijn”

A long walk along the “Kromme Rijn” (Crooked Rhine)

Dutch Rail offers walks from one station to another. The walk I was interested in is no longer part of their programme, but can be found on other websites for walkers. This particular walk follows an old branch of the river Rhine, going from Wijk bij Duurstede through Utrecht all the way in fact to Katwijk where it joins the North Sea. In Utrecht its name changes into Leidse Rijn (Leyden Rhine) or Oude Rijn, the Old Rhine.

The walk starts at Utrecht station, a very central point. It takes some time to get through the dreadful shopping mall into the attractive heart of Utrecht, but once there it is a joy walking along the canals, especially the Oude Gracht, in fact the channelised part of the Kromme Rijn through Utrecht. Utrecht is very picturesque and lively. It has many interesting specialist shops, so although tempting, it wasn’t why I went to Utrecht and I succeeded to ignore them. Once out of the centre the walk continues along the Rhine. From here on one follows a footpath which was once used to tow the barges, the usual way of transport in former days for people as well as cargo. The barges were either towed by horses, or sometimes even by men.

Kromme Rijn

Views of the tow path

Along this river are still at least four old mansions or “castles”, summer houses for the rich, surrounded by large estates, parklands and woods. They are now either museums or used for venues (weddings, concerts). It is a most attractive walk along the meandering river. But I can very well imagine why Dutch Rail no longer has it on offer. This beautiful area is just a small strip which is almost strangled by motorways, as is Utrecht, which is bursting out of its seams. I had to cross at least three main motorways or circular roads before I entered this attractive landscape: no houses, no building sites, no stadium and no residential estates. Nevertheless, the noise of the motorways was never far off during this 15 kilometre walk. There are plans of widening one of those roads which would dissect the area and swallow up another part of it yet again. No wonder there are lots of protests.

Nieuw-Amelisweerd

The first mansion and estate is Nieuw-Amelisweerd, followed by Oud-Amelisweerd.

Some very beautiful homes have access to the river

Once I left the urbanisations behind me and had negotiated the underpasses of the three main through roads and motorways, it was a most enjoyable walk, Holland as it used to be. On one side there was the clear flowing water of the river, there were the castles or mansions and the woods and fields, on the other side there were picturesque farms with brightly coloured wooden shutters, gardens full of blowsy blue and pink hydrangeas, meadows with cows, and orchards inviting passersby to pick their own cherries. As well as warnings on a lot of oak trees that they are infested by processionary caterpillars!

Farms

Billowing clouds and blue skies

Inviting, but too late in the day....

Beautiful pastels

I had a lovely break in the former stables of Oud-Amelisweerd, frequented by many walkers. It is called the Field Kitchen, but offers very trendy food: eco friendly, fresh and out of the ordinary. The stables also house a visitor centre. Unfortunately I had no time to go into the former castle, now a museum. Apparently it has beautiful Chinese wall paper.

Oud-Amelisweerd

The "Field Kitchen",the former stables.

Inside the Field Kitchen

Unusual combination of a savoury Danish pastry, with cheese, olives and watercress

Near the next mansion, Rhijnauwen, in fact a castle or a fortified stone house surrounded by a moat, is a pancake house with lawns on the river bank. The main house was used for a wedding, the guests and bride enjoying the sun out of the wind. The groom as well perhaps, but grooms don’t stand out as much as brides in their white trailing bridal dresses.

The teashop and pancake house

Rhijnauwen, the main house

Below: the gatehouse

The walk ended in Bunnik, where I was supposed to take a train back home via Utrecht. However, no trains for a full week from this station! The notice board was so small, that I did not discover it till some time had gone by and trains had passed through the station without stopping. There were busses instead, but no indication of where the bus stop was supposed to be. I had to ask a passer-by who pointed me in the right direction. I just missed the bus and had to wait a full 30 minutes for the next one along a very bare and unpleasant busy road. Once in Utrecht, there were no trains from Utrecht to Leiden, so I had to make a detour via The Hague. And there the train was slightly delayed because of some mechanical problem. All in all, a trip which by car would have taken less than an hour, took me 2.5 hours! Thank you Dutch Rail. They announce all this by saying: we will be able to offer you even better service in future! Doing this in the height of the holiday season, offering special outings in the meantime whereas many trains do not run for a week, seems rather strange to put it mildly.

Just a few more pictures of the landscape:

Wild flowers and common water lilies

Two beautiful beech trees

Cattle, geese and ducks

A farmhouse along the river

However, I felt quite happy I had done this walk before this beautiful part is also swallowed up by houses and industrial estates. The weather was ideal for walking: not very warm, a lot of wind but in spite of threatening clouds dry with white billowing cumulus clouds, blue skies and lots of sunshine.