Wanderings: Leiden & Haarlem

July 23, 2026

Bike paths heading north go through a large urban forest in Den Haag (Haagse Bos). The park is also home to the Bosch Palace, one the Dutch Royal family's residences. Being a longer cycling day, we opted for a fairly direct route toward Haarlem, using bike paths flanking a relatively busy road. Approaching Leiden, we followed canals to the city center, past railroad crossings and drawbridges.

Home to a University since 1575, Leiden was a town as early as the Roman era. Dissenting from the official English Church, a group of English Puritans moved to Leiden in the early 1600s. Fearing their children were becoming too Dutch, these Pilgrims set out for the New World on the Mayflower in 1620, founding Plymouth Colony on the coast of New England. The lovely main square had a large bike parking area, so we stopped for lunch.

Towns are frequent here in the most populous province of the Netherlands as we pedaled north past fields, flower farms, and canals, much of the ride below sea level. A farmstand south of Heemstede (1) had tasty fresh cherries, various farm animals (including emu), and two dogs who loved to play tug of war with their toys (2). A steady stream of locals stopped in for shopping (3).

Arrived in Haarlem via another urban forest. Home for the night was a former prison recently converted into a hotel (4). About 33 miles on the bikes today.

(1) We had just entered North Holland province. So far on this trip, we had been in South Holland province. While the Netherlands is sometimes called "Holland," the name is more accurately associated only with the western part of the country.

(2) 'Did you win?" asked the shopkeep. She also asked how long we had taken to cycle from Den Haag. My response of "I don't know. Should I include the time we spent having cake and coffee at Leiden?" made her realize we were not in a hurry or tracking our speed.

(3) One woman bought a pack of cookies, jars of milk and yogurt and a bottle of local beer to bring home for dinner. "The 12% alcohol beer helps me sleep all night."

(4) Checking in, we were assigned room 42. "My favorite number," I said. "Wow, really?" said the man checking us in. "No," I replied. A young woman walking by behind the counter said to her colleague: "It's just too easy with you." She later enquired where we has cycled from today. When told Den Haag, she assumed we had electric bikes. "No, we pedaled." "Very sporty" came her reply.

Duck family at Haagse Bos

Through the urban forest

Bosch Castle in Haagse Bos

Tony neighborhood north of Den Haag

School zone marker

Sheep pasture south of Leiden

Canal near Leiden

On the path in Leiden

Leiden Gate

Large bike parking area in Leiden. The Mayflower hotel is in background.

The Plymouth (Mass.) Pilgrims sojourned at Leiden before leaving for the New World.

In Leiden

Heading North

Late-season tulip blooms south of Lissse

Purple & White Blooms outside Lisse

Canal boat appears to be in the middle of a cow pasture

Maggie & Maddie at the farm stand near Heemstede liked to play tug of war; they usually won.

Rolling through Heemstede

Under the bridge at Haarlem

Amsterdamse Poort (Amsterdam Gate), Haarlem

The Panopticon former prison is now a hotel. The introductory video emphasizes the cost saving of needing only two guards to watch all the prisoners in the circular facility.