Cycling Route The Hague Beach and Parks
For a nice bike ride in nature you don’t have to go far from The Hague city centre. This cycling route The Hague beach and parks is about 12 km. Enroute you see a windmill, glass houses, lots of water and an amazing mix of meadows, forest and dunes.
The place The Hague city was born
When you visit The Hague you most probably see the highlights of the city centre: Peace Palace, Mauritshuis, Palace Noordeinde and the Parliament with its 13th century Hall of Knights – Binnenhof and Ridderzaal –. Now Hall of Knights is an old building, but it is not the oldest in The Hague. If you want to see where the actual history of the city begins and enjoy some good nature head about Southwest. Located about 7 km from the city centre is Loosduinen, a former village and since 1923 a district of The Hague.
The woman who gave birth to 364 children
This cycling route The Hague beach and parks starts at the oldest building of The Hague. When you visit the Dutch parliament the name Floris VI might pop up. This count of Holland was the one who started the construction of the Binnenhof. Many years before that he was in Loosduinen. There he gave orders to construct an abbey. Apart from the church, there's nothing left of the abbey.
The Miracle of Loosduinen attracted many pilgrims to the church. For centuries childless women visited the grave of Margareta of Henneberg. Legend says she gave birth to 364 children in the year 1276. She died the very same year.
Windmill The Hague
Just around the corner is The Hague windmill De Korenaer. It still produces flour. The grain was once kept in the building on the foot of the hill. It used to be the grain shed and now is a museum. The museum tells you how Loosduinen became known as the gardeners’ village, entrance of the vegetable and fruit growing area.
Apple picking in The Hague Park De Uithof
The cycling route The Hague beach and parks goes through multiple green areas with many polder and forest landscapes. From the windmill you cross the bridge over the highway and are surrounded by nature. The Hague park De Uithof is a beautiful green area with meadows, hills, lots of water. It also has one of the oldest orchards of pears, plums and apples. End of August you can pick fruit there. Cycle through the other side of the park to find a wide canal. There is a small road on the other side with a view on the glass houses of Westland. You now pass by the entrance of the largest greenhouse area in the Netherlands.
The Westland entrance: vegetable and fruit growing
The Uithof is connected with another park. Madestein is a great mix of shrubs, different trees that offer shade on warmer days, ponds and canals. From this park you cycle straight into estate Ockenburgh. Now part of the National Park Holland Dunes – Hollandse Duinen- the estate was created in the 17th century by Jacob Westerbaen. This poet was passionate about flowers and plants. Gardener for life, he is seen as the founder of horticulture and fruit growing. Some even call him the very first Westlander.
Cycling route The Hague beach and parks: distance
Follow the cycle path in The Hague park Ockenburgh and you’ll get to the dunes and beach. The cycling route The Hague beach and parks described here is a round of approx. 12 km. When you reach the beach you can either cycle all the way to Hoek van Holland or head towards Scheveningen, the popular The Hague beach. This way you can easily keep cycling for as long as you want. At the end, the distance of this cycle route The Hague beach and parks is all up to you.
How a small café by the harbour became the core of the Vlaggetjesdag Challenge
It wasn't supposed to get all the attention, but somehow it did. A small café by the harbour became the core of the Vlaggetjesdag Scheveningen Challenge. This is how it happened.
Celebration of the Dutch New Herring
The new herring catch of the season calls for a typical Dutch celebration. A typical Dutch celebration calls for a challenge by Verita's Visit. So there we were, me and a bunch of international minded people, at the harbour of Scheveningen with just one mission: find out what Vlaggetjesdag Scheveningen was all about and if it was more than Dutch new herring.
King William and Madonna at Vlaggetjesdag
The participants had no idea what to expect, there were question marks all over their faces when we met at the Scheveningen library. As there was some drizzle outside that was expected to turn into heavy rainfall, we headed inside for a short introduction. The given information could be used during the challenge. King William, Madonna, the painter Mesdag and of course the Dutch herring, also known as Hollandse Nieuwe all dropped by in this introduction.
the go with the flow festival challenge
Exactly at the moment the rain stopped, the participants, now divided in teams, were off to the first location in the Scheveningen harbour where they had to answer a question and complete a creative challenge. Now, finding your way in a local festival is quite a challenge by itself, so at first all teams were a bit lost. By the time they had done two or three challenges they got the hang of it. They somehow realized the best thing to do was to just go with the flow, dive into the festivities and have fun.
Enjoy the local atmosphere and get social with a local
The best thing on local festivals like Vlaggetjesdag Scheveningen is the atmosphere, everyone is relaxed and it's easy to make contact with locals or visitors. Just like in the Leidens Ontzet Treasure Hunt the participants of the Vlaggetjesdag Scheveningen Challenge had to step out of their comfort zone and get social with a local.
Sharing Experiences during Herring & Corenwijn tasting
At the end of the Scheveningen Vlaggetjesdag challenge we all gathered at Restaurant de Dagvisser. In this small café by the harbour we tasted 4 exquisite herring dishes with 4 types of Corenwijn. All teams shared their experiences there. When I asked them why they all had chosen the song 'Het kleine café aan de haven' for one of the challenges they all responded in unison: "Because it was the shortest!"
Small cafe by the harbour of Scheveningen
Athough they were all enjoyed, it was not the Hollandse Nieuwe, the fishers' boats, the stands demonstrating the local crafts or the men and women in traditional clothing, it was a small café by the harbour that became the core of the Vlaggetjesdag Challenge edition 2016.
