Geopad 107-Amersfoort Leusderkwartier

Anyone wishing to obtain a representative picture of the geomorphological conditions, structure, and architecture of the Amersfoort Leusder district is advised to follow the route described below. The six-kilometer route starts and ends at the NS train station Amersfoort.
This means that the (northern) eastern part of the Berg district will also be traversed. A path has been chosen that is attractive and does not require a large detour.

The eight digits and five small letters refer to the sections in which the locations indicated by them have been described.

1. To reach the Leusder district via a route that is both attractive and not too long, we first let you walk a while approximately southwards. Therefore, diagonally to the right of the station, we first enter the both shady and prestigious Queen Wilhelmina Avenue.
However, after just a few dozen meters, the route turns left to take us over the Prinses Marielaan to Utrechtse Weg. This means encountering the oldest part of the villa area built on the Amersfoort Berg. After reaching the Utrechtse Weg, this is followed diagonally to the right uphill for a while. However, at the second intersection, a left turn must be made.

2. The gently curved Van Maerlantlaan takes us to Vondellaan, which we cross. Behind a long, gently rising lawn, the neo-Gothic Sint Ansfriduskerk then draws attention. The Jacob Catslaan offers the opportunity to view the building up close. Just before the church, however, the route turns left to gradually lead us over the Tollens-, Van Marnix-, and Brederolaan towards the
Leusder district. This means that both right and left turns must be made in quick succession.

3. At the end of the Brederolaan, we arrive at the greatly widened old Kapelweg, where our route turns right. On the opposite side of the old road, the Javastraat offers the chance to traverse an architecturally interesting flower village from the 1930s. Although it is still formally located in the Berg district, we can already taste the atmosphere that is characteristic of the Leusder district.
We follow the Javastraat to the T-junction with Sumatrastraat, which takes us via a sharp turn to Leusderweg. There, the Geo Path turns right to show us the greenery of the Borneopleins in a circle. Some benches provide the opportunity to rest briefly before we begin exploring the actual Leusder district.

4. On the opposite side of the roundabout, our walk through the Leusder district begins on the rather short Pasteurstraat, at the end of which we turn left at a Y-junction. The Jan van der Heijdenstraat then takes us to the northwest corner of the Nimmerdor estate.

For a closer acquaintance with the undeveloped accessible part of the Nimmerdor estate, we must now turn right into the forest.
The sections dedicated to the nature-rich area differ in that they are not numbered but "spelled out."

Anyone who does not feel like walking the route through Nimmerdor can skip the spelled-out sections and continue their way through the residential area of the Leusder district.

a. In the woods, we are immediately confronted with the more imposing sand ridges of the Nimmerdor estate. They dominate a zone along the northwestern edge of the forest. The ridges are probably quite old dunes that were still somewhat exposed to the
wind erosion in historical times. We now initially walk diagonally to the right over a part of the ridge system. After several hundred meters, the path drops down to the cycle route that traverses Nimmerdor. This route leads us with a gentle curve to an intersection where a picnic area has been set up to the left, and one can take a break on a bench.

b. At the intersection, our Geo Path turns to the right. We will then be accompanied for a while by one of the earth walls that are characteristic of that part of Nimmerdor, whose geometric structure has been preserved. Along the way, we soon cross a wide avenue. After the avenue, our route runs almost under a ridge that is animated by a ditch-like depression. In the meantime, we can hear the connection of the Rondweg Zuid to the A 28 highway approaching. However, a winding forest path on the left soon offers the opportunity to avoid confrontation with the heavily trafficked road. The winding path takes us to a wide long sight avenue, where we turn left.
c. Soon after, the Geo Path crosses an artificial mound, which, shortly after it has been erected, has indeed some sand trapping effects, particularly on the sides. This interests us so much that we want to walk along the mound for a while. Immediately behind the mound, there is a path that also offers us the chance to turn right. We follow this path to a T-junction, where the hiking route takes us left to a rectangular open terrain. Today, it is mostly a picnic area with a play area. To the right, a planted artificial sand ridge hides a pond for frogs that was dug in spring 2010.
To the left of the open terrain, the long sight avenue that we entered shortly before beckons us. There, the cycle path that crosses Nimmerdor welcomes us again.

d. We now cross the sight avenue to follow a path that runs parallel to the cycle route. The path runs along both a small playground and several walls of the still geometrically structured park part. As we proceed, we return to the small picnic area that we got to know shortly after the beginning of our walk in the forest.

e. The plan is to follow a more or less winding forest path to the right behind the fairly open terrain. This path gradually leads us to the top of a dune ridge, which we then descend at the steep northern flank. At the bottom of the flank, an intersection offers the opportunity to turn diagonally left. A straight path then brings us back to the sand ridge that we climbed at the beginning of our forest walk. On this ridge, we finally turn left to return to the spot where we entered Nimmerdor.

The walk through Nimmerdor confronted us with both the geometric structure and the relief of the old forest park.

5. After Nimmerdor, the Geo Path takes a northern course to eventually bring us back to the Berg district and the Amersfoort train station. Initially, we walk through the wide and straight Stephensonstraat, which shows us early single-family houses from the interwar period. Characteristic of them are large roof sections that start low on the sides of the semi-detached houses. A bit further on, the Stephensonstraat is flanked by short rows with similar architecture.
The Stephensonstraat ends at a semi-circular square, from where we follow Daltonstraat to the left. A little further on, we see to the left a fire lane-like remnant of an old country road known as Monnikenpad.

6. Just behind this old path, our route turns right shortly before a monumental church (built on the Leusderweg). Marconistraat then gives us the opportunity to get to know the intimate heart of a flower village from the early 1930s closer. To do this, we go through a gate to the right into Wattstraat. A little further on, it is then exited through another gate to return to Marconistraat via Röntgenstraat to the left. However, this is nearly immediately exchanged to Van Rootselaarstraat to the right, at the end of which a T-junction shows us the Woestijgerweg that originated from an old country road.

7. There, we are surprised by the fascinating architecture of a quite old flower village through which the Geo Path winds. Initially, we turn left and then explore a stretch of Frans Halsstraat to the right. After that, we turn left again. The Miereveldstraat also shows us a designed courtyard. There are several benches from which one can also study and experience the architecture of the flower village. The Miereveldstraat brings us back to the Woestijgerweg, where the Leusderweg is crossed for the second time at the beginning.

8. We are then again in the Berg district, where we now see early examples of social housing. The Geo Path then winds successively through Westerstraat, Nicasiusdwarsstraat, and Nicasiusstraat. The latter brings us to a T-junction with Utrechtse Weg, which we briefly follow to the right before returning to the station via Berkenweg shortly before the goods train track to Leusden. The Berkenweg leads us past several rows of business houses built around 1900, of which numbers 6 to 16 will be the most architecturally fascinating. To the right of the street, some modern office buildings have been standing for a long time on land that is lowered several meters.

Through the walk, we got to know both some parts of the hilly Berg district as well as the lower-lying Leusder district adjacent to the east. In addition, we were able to make an additional detour through the old forest park of the Nimmerdor estate.