Hiking in Clingendael in autumn

On a beautiful autumnal Monday, Sonja put on the walking shoes again and went for a walk. This time it was park Clingendael in The Hague! Sonja prefers to walk in the woods in autumn, because then the colors are beautiful. There are mushrooms everywhere and no ticks, processionary caterpillars or other nasty animals. Lovely!

Park Clingendael

The Hague is home to some beautiful stretches of greenery. Think of Meijendel, the Ockenburgse Bos, the Haagse Bos you name it! But don’t forget Park Clingendael. It really is an oasis of peace and quiet in the middle of the big city! Especially in autumn it is a great place to be. You can park your car anywhere in the neighborhood, but remember which entrance you took! You may have to find your car after your walk.

Japanese garden

Every year the Japanese Garden can be visited for 6 weeks in spring and 2 weeks in fall. Unfortunately, we were just a day too late (the Japanese Garden closed on Oct. 27), but that shouldn’t spoil the fun. Better luck next year! We did manage to get a glimpse of the garden by taking a photo over the fence. I’m sure it will be beautiful in the fall….

Beautiful autumn colors

It was a beautiful day and very occasionally the sun even peeked through the dense foliage. The forest has a beautiful color now and if you look closely you can see mushrooms. Unfortunately no beautiful red with white dots found. We looked for them, but they are always very hidden. Unfortunately. The ones we did find were also very beautiful. Some were even high up in the tree!

Nicely disorganized

Forests are most beautiful when they have a natural look. By that I mean that I like it when trees are a bit criss-crossed by each other and that a tree that has had an accident just stays put. That is the case in Clingendael as much as possible. Unless a tree is really in the way (read: you have to perform breakneck maneuvers to continue your way) it is only removed.

The park is also slightly sloping which makes it seem like you are in another part of the Netherlands. And because there were leaves everywhere, it was sometimes difficult to see the path. Because of this, we sometimes ended up in mud, but that was not bad at all.

Bunkers

Most people who have ever been to Clingendael know that there is a bunker in the forest. That is the winter home for bats in the winter. To our surprise, we also came across a second bunker in the forest! This was a smaller bunker, but at least as beautiful. Funny, I never knew that!

Get out and enjoy!

Whether you live near The Hague or not, put on your walking shoes more often and take a nice walk in the fall. Being outside is very good for you. We previously wrote a blog about forest walks in autumn. Maybe there is a forest near you!

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