Discover Leiderdorp: Cycle Paths, Polders and Cultural Heritage

Nature and Water

The Gravenpad along Ruigekade is a cycle path more than 2.5 kilometres long and forms part of the regional cycling junction network in Holland Rijnland. Ruigekade is a recreational area for walkers and cyclists, with natural riverside areas and a resting place. This means that a designated cycle connection and a landscape area with various riverside features meet at this location.

Heemtuin Leiderdorp shows visitors examples of almost all the region’s landscapes. In the Boterhuispolder, specially designed information elements tell visitors about the history of the polder. The Boterhuispolder lies within the territories of Leiderdorp and Teylingen. Walking and cycling paths have been laid out there. Other routes that have also been created include canoe routes. Picnic areas and fishing spots have likewise been provided there. The information elements connect the landscape of the Boterhuispolder with its history.

Munnikkenpolder has cycling and walking paths as well as windmills. It also includes a small beach. The polder also has an open connection to the Does. Since 2020, Vadedoplas has officially been designated as bathing water. The bodies of water and riverside features mentioned here therefore stand alongside the paths and historic structures of the polder landscape.

Cycling and Walking

The W4 cycling route passes through the W4 area near Leiderdorp, Zoeterwoude and Leiden. The two cycling routes mentioned are different lengths: the Gravenpad is more than 2.5 kilometres long, while the W4 cycling route is 29 kilometres long in total. The W4 cycling route can be shortened at three turning points.

The Achthovenroute starts in Leiderdorp and is a circular walking route. It is also a seasonal, signposted nature walk. Its characteristics as a circular route and as a seasonally signposted nature walk belong to the same route. Leiderdorp’s art app enables visitors to take a walk or cycle tour along the town’s works of art.

Culture and History

Information boards about cultural heritage stand along Hoofdstraat. They make local history visible to walkers and cyclists. The boards refer to the Oude Rijn as a UNESCO World Heritage Site as part of the Lower Germanic Limes. They also refer to the world’s first steel aqueduct and to a church building that was established after the Doleantie of 1886. The boards therefore contain information about river history, engineering construction and a historic church building.

The collection of the Leiderdorps Museum comprises more than 7,000 objects. The collection can be viewed online. The digital access covers the entire collection mentioned.

At the corner of Rob Noépad and Hoofdstraat stands a descendant of the Anne Frank tree. This descendant is a living memorial. It helps commemorate Anne Frank and other victims of the Second World War. The location at the corner of Rob Noépad and Hoofdstraat forms part of this memorial site.

Visitors can use a QR code to view a digital reconstruction of Huis ter Does on their smartphones. Visible remains of the original complex of Huis ter Does have survived. These include part of the garden wall and the former moat. The digital reconstruction and the surviving remains therefore refer to the same historic complex.

To the higher-level travel overview: Leiderdorp.