Mill tour between Nieuw Lekkerkerk and Kinderdijk

On a beautiful spring day, April 7, 2019, we walked through a water-rich area and along the famous Dutch windmills of Kinderdijk, a complex of 19 mills in the Alblasserwaard, a region in South Holland.

These are not grain mills, but drainage mills that were meant to improve the drainage of the Alblasserwaard. Mills have been present in Kinderdijk since the 15th century, but the current mills are mostly from 1738 and 1740. Since 1997, they have been on the UNESCO World Heritage list. The two rows of mills are best observed on foot (or by bike).

Because it can get quite busy at the mills in Kinderdijk, we parked near the cemetery in Nieuw Lekkerland. This departure point also allows you to enjoy a terrace about halfway through the walk in Kinderdijk and visit the Visitor Center.

Nieuw-Lekkerland is a residential village south of the river Lek. On the other side of the Lek lies Lekkerkerk, which became known in 1980 due to a toxic scandal: 300 new homes turned out to be built on highly contaminated land.

Along the southern edge of Nieuw-Lekkerland runs a Tiendweg. Originally, a Tiendweg was a peat bank, parallel to the nearby river where peat extraction began. The Tiendweg in Lekkerland is now a car-free, paved path that is heavily cycled and walked. The Floris V walking path (LAW 1-3) also follows the Tiendweg here.

The paved Tiendweg becomes an unpaved footpath after two kilometers, past the buildings of Nieuw-Lekkerland, where we encountered almost no one. This brings us to the "Boezem van de Overwaard." In a "boezem," polder water is stored before it is discharged into a river via a lock, pump, or a row of polder mills.

Turning right over a boardwalk and a wooden bridge, we walk onto the Boezemkade. According to our map, the "Adrie de Gelder Birdwatching Hut" should be here, but we didn't see it.... We reach the Kleine or Lage Molen from 1761, the first on our trek. The Lage mill pumped water from the polder to the low boezem. Three hundred meters further, we pass the Hoge Molen from 1740, which pumped the water to the high boezem. Neither of the mills is open for visiting.

The path Boezemkade meets the Lekdijk, but we do not climb up to the traffic road on top of the dike. There is indeed a walkable bike path there, but it runs along the rather busy road. On a dry day, it is much more pleasant and quieter to walk along the base of the dike through the grass. The grass path leads to the bus parking lot, from where a newly paved path leads to the visitor center of the mill complex.

First, we step over to Molenstraat for a terrace. Along the way, we pass one of the modern pumping stations that currently regulate the water levels in Kinderdijk. The pump features an Archimedes screw, which is clearly visible from the outside. The site with 18th-century historic mills has become a tourist attraction. The visitor center provides the necessary background information. You can buy tickets with a discount in advance at https://www.kinderdijk.nl/

The two rows of windmills are located on either side of an approximately 150m wide 'canal,' formed by the two high boezems of Overwaard and Nederwaard. They are actually two parallel waterways: south the Nieuwe Waterschap and north the Groote- or Achterwaterschap, separated by the Middelkade. From the visitor center, we walk on that Middelkade, a bike and walking path, from which the mills can be well observed. After about 500m, there is a little bridge to the right, leading to the Nederwaard mill no. 2, which is also open for viewing.

The mills of Kinderdijk were built to pump water from the low-lying polder. They are almost all ground sailors (the blades skim right along the ground). At the bottom of each mill is a scoop wheel that lifts the water, often with a height difference of 140 centimeters. Here in the Alblasserwaard, the mills move the water in two stages. The water is first pumped from the polder into a low boezem water and then into a high boezem water, which drains in Kinderdijk into the river Lek.

After our visit to mill no. 2, we return to the Middelkade, which we continue to follow to the right for another 1.7 km, and as usual: the further you go, the quieter it becomes... We take the second bridge after mill no. 2 and follow the bank of the Nieuwe Waterschap to the left. After 350m, the path turns right towards Alblasserdam, but we continue straight along the bank, past a heavy metal gate into a grazing area and continue to follow the white-red markings of the LAW, the Floris V walking path.

The Nieuwe Waterschap turns south further on, while behind the Middelkade, the Groote- or Achterwaterschap runs straight east. We follow the bank of the Nieuwe Waterschap, with the white Kortlandse mill (from 1890) on the other side. A short climb up the dike to the bridge, cross the Nieuwe Waterschap, briefly go left towards the mill, and then take the narrow paved Kerkweg slightly to the right (so do not go all the way to the mill).

The Kerkweg brings us back to the approximately 50m wide Groote- or Achterwaterschap. Cross the bridge and immediately take the footpath to the right, along the water. Here we walk very calmly, with only the company of cows in the lush meadows below us to the left of the dike. After more than one and a half kilometers, we reach a utility building and the Molenweg turns left along a little waterway to the Elzenweg. Cross and shortly thereafter go left into the Hondenbos.
We cross through the little forest and return to the Tiendweg in Nieuw-Lekkerland and soon back to our parking spot near the cemetery.

Practical:
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We made this walk in early April 2019. Up to past the Kinderdijkse Molengang, the - usually paved - paths are well to very well passable. The last few kilometers are mostly unpaved and may become a bit more difficult to navigate after a wetter period. With a little assistance, a wheelchair or stroller will usually be able to go along.