Het Oude Loo

Ascension Day

Ascension Day has always been a day for outings. It is spring time, everything is blossoming, cows’ parsley frame paths and ditches like Golden Age lace collars or cuffs. That beauty makes up for the unpleasant smell of those flowers. Fruit trees might still be blossoming, the branches hidden in a cloud of petals, the rhododendrons and azaleas are only beautiful at this time of the year with their riot of clashing and vibrant colours. It is a time for billowing clouds in an intensely blue sky, warm sunshine and sudden showers with lightning and hail stones. Somehow or other colours seem brighter, the sky more intensely blue. This year we have had a very cold spring so far, and the bulb fields are still blocks of vivid colour, mostly red, orange, pink and yellow, the dominant colour of the tulips, the last of the bulbs to flower. There are experiments with dark purple tulips almost looking black. But most attractive is the intense red of Japanese lacquer boxes.

    As most churches are still closed for their members and they only stream services, in spite of Ascension Day, there is no impediment to go out early and enjoy the day.

Fresh young leaves

Wonderful beech trees

One other aspect of spring is the enormous difference in shades of green, the new translucent light yellow green leaves of the beech trees, the bronze of the poplars, the light purple of the red beeches, a variety of colours which changes quickly into a more uniform green once spring turns into summer. Tree branches are still visible, framing the young leaves. 

The entrance gates to the Oude Loo

Art least twice a year I walk in the park and woodland area behind Het Loo, a palace in Apeldoorn, a wooded part of Holland. The palace is usually open to the public, but has been closed for some time now due to restoration work. Apart from this palace, there is a castle in those grounds, Het Oude Loo (the Od Loo). This is a real 15^th century castle, surrounded by a moat, and not open to the public except in April and May. This is because of the rhododendrons, which are supposed to be in bloom in April and May. 

 

The back of the castle

White rhododendrons

The gazebo on the lake

Since I had never been there at that time, I decided on the spur of the moment to drive to Apeldoorn and have a look. I hadn’t a clue of its location, as it is well hidden from the rest of the parkland and woods. So it was a surprise to see a gate I had never seen before which gave access to the castle with its surrounding gardens and lake.  I had picked up a friend on my way East, who had been a bit hesitant as the weather forecast was very unfavourable. But we had a beautiful warm and mostly sunny day!
The castle is amazing, and is still used as a holiday home for the Royals. It wouldn’t be a bad place to write a book, secluded and quiet, except for the birdsong which we were surrounded with.

Behind the waterfall

The maze

We thoroughly enjoyed seeing the castle and its grounds, including the maze. Unfortunately, spring having been far too cold so far, the rhododendrons were not in full bloom yet, except for the white ones and the occasional purple or pink one. Perhaps there is still time to go again and see the grounds before the castle closes its gates for the public on May 31.
After enjoying this with many families, we set out for our walk through the parkland, the lakes populated by Egyptian geese, loudly and noisily chasing each other, the small canals with the clear water from the many springs lazily trickling through them between the steep banks, and the many wooden bridges crossing the narrow canals.

A small waterfall on the estate between two lakes, flanked by lions

Below: on eof he many canals  fed by a spring

A few of the bridges across the canals

All in all, we had a marvellous day. Unfortunately, the tearoom and its terrace were closed, and so we decided to find a place to have something to drink as we were really parched. In the end we found a place in Hoog Soeren, a beautiful small and rural village loved by cyclists and tourists. There are lots of cafes and restaurants here, but all the sitting areas were full. Because of Corona no customers are allowed inside the restaurants and cafes, and outside seating was limited. But we were given two seats under a blossoming apple tree, festooned with lampoons, our table being an apple crate, quite romantic! It was a bit cold not sitting in the sun. But at least we enjoyed something to drink and some nice things to eat with it.
We left around 6, closing time for all the restaurants and cafes under the corona restrictions. When I entered my street, the first drops of rain came down, quickly changing into a downpour. But I was safely home, having enjoyed a walk of 13.5 kms on a glorious and sunny day out.