Hoge Veluwe and the Hanseatic IJssel

Route description

From Utrecht the A12 (E35) takes you east to Ede, from where it is a short drive to the Otterlo gate of Hoge Veluwe National Park. Inside, the Kröller-Müller Museum and its sculpture garden sit among pine woods, heath and drifting sand; the park charges entry and closes its gates in the evening.

Continue north to Apeldoorn for Paleis Het Loo and its gardens, then east to the IJssel. Deventer and Zutphen were rich Hanseatic trading towns, and both have compact medieval centres with merchant houses and churches; Zutphen’s chained library is a rare survivor.

Follow the IJssel south to the Posbank near Rheden, a heath with the best views in the region and a good place for a walk. Finish near Arnhem at the Open Air Museum, and in the city itself at the John Frost Bridge, the bridge too far of 1944.

The Veluwe has many well-equipped campsites and small farm sites, which makes it an easy first trip in a motorhome. Late August, when the heather flowers, and autumn, when the red deer rut, are the best times; watch for wildlife on forest roads at dusk.