Car puzzle tour of spring forts

Last winter we participated in a fun car puzzle tour along the Nieuwe Hollandse Waterlinie on behalf of Visit Utrecht Region. This car puzzle tour was from Puzzeluitje. Unfortunately it was very foggy the day the puzzle tour was planned. Therefore, the pictures did not turn out as nice as we would have liked. In the May vacations, I (Sonja) did the same car puzzle tour again, this time with my family. Our twelve-year-old son was given the task of solving the puzzles and I was in charge of navigation. Whether that went better this time than the previous one you can read in this blog.

Good idea for the May vacation

I was really sorry that last time we hardly saw anything of the beautiful forts of the Nieuwe Hollandse Waterlinies. So when we were looking for something fun to do during the May vacation, I immediately thought of this puzzle tour. Sonlieflief was a bit reluctant at first, because the starting point is in Gorinchem. That’s a 50-minute drive away. But once we arrived at the starting point, he liked it. The starting point is in fact Bagijnenwal parking lot in Gorinchem. The car puzzle ride goes from Gorinchem to Vianen. In between you encounter all kinds of impressive forts that belong to the New Dutch Waterline. But once we set out, we got stuck already….

Closed dike

Of course, an organizer of car puzzle tours cannot take road works into account. Unfortunately, the long dike that leads past Slot Loevestein, among other places, was closed due to major maintenance. Has to be done of course, but unfortunate. So our start was a bit adventurous, because we wanted to follow the same route as much as possible. So again we could not see Slot Loevestein from the dike, although last time it was because of fog. In fact, we weren’t even aware then that the castle was there! Anyway. We left with sunshine, so we had that in the pocket. And so we drove to the first fort: Fort Vuren.

Fort Vuren

Fort Vuren is really a beautiful fort. Huge too! Unfortunately, as in December, this fort was also closed. We did the car puzzle tour on a Tuesday and a lot is closed then. So check the site in advance to see if certain locations are open. Normally you can enjoy lunch here and even stay overnight! You can also come here for parties and celebrations. Quite a cool location to throw a party! If you walk a little further you can see Slot Loevestein from the water. This castle is famous for the spectacular escape of Hugo de Groot in his book chest. The castle was then a prison. But it is also haunted! You can read more about that in our free e-book about haunted places in the Netherlands.

Lots of bunkers

Along the way you really come across a lot of bunkers. Small bunkers in meadows. And you pass by and sometimes even through very small villages. At least the navigation went a lot better than last time (sorry Ester, haha) because we didn’t take a single wrong turn. Fortunately there were no roadblocks on the way so we could enjoy the scenery. And our son was able to continue working on the puzzles, although we regularly missed one. But that’s not a disaster.

Lunch somewhere?

At one point we got quite hungry. It had already been lunchtime and I could remember from the car puzzle drive in December that we had stopped at Fort Everdingen for coffee and apple pie. So I wasn’t worried, because I knew what was coming. But I was wrong. Because the eatery at Fort Everdingen is only open Friday through Sunday. However, we were able to take a quick look around the fort’s grounds. Very impressive! Luckily we had some cookies for the road, so we could still eat something. Tip: take something to eat and drink with you.

By ferry across

Part of the car puzzle tour was a ferry crossing. Super fun! We didn’t do that crossing in December because the weather was really nasty and then we decided to drive around. So you can do that if you don’t feel up to crossing the water with your car. By the way, the ferry crossing is at Culemborg. We were the fourth car in line and were fortunately allowed to board. By the way, we didn’t have to wait long, the ferry actually goes back and forth constantly. A ferry crossing costs only € 1.50 with a passenger car (bring cash!) and is really fun to do once.

The last stop

Like last time, the last stop was Fort WKU. During the winter months, this fort is closed, but now it was a different story. Besides the fact that the fort is very interesting to explore, you can do all kinds of fun activities there. Canoeing, for example, but you can also bike and hike beautifully in the area. We were super happy because the teahouse was open! We all immediately ordered some drinks and a slice of apple pie. Some of the people who work there are mentally disabled and it is really so touching. What a nice atmosphere there is! You can also camp on the nature campsite. Really an experience! Fort WKU was a nice ending to our car puzzle tour.

If you have the opportunity, it is really fun to do a car puzzle tour like this sometime. Do you enjoy doing a road trip but prefer to leave out the puzzles? Then be sure to read this blog.

Credits photos: www.canva.com

This blog was created editorially. Would you like to be kept up to date with our blogs and win promotions? Then sign up for our newslettertoday or follow us on Facebook and Instagram.