Wandelnetwerk Noord-Holland

The Fort bij Hoofddorp is part of the Defence Line of Amsterdam and was built at the end of the 19th century to defend the capital. From the fort, they guarded the flood sluice in the Hoofdvaart. The nearby Windmill De Eersteling was the first grain mill of the Haarlemmermeer. It stands there rather incongruously in the line of fire. When it was moved here in 1977, the defence line was only there for historical purposes. A recreational function was added and the top of the Geniedijk (military dike) was opened to walkers. Walkers sometimes have to share their path with sheep or cows. The railway line from Aalsmeer to Haarlem was located behind the dike until 1935.

• The Geniedijk Route (green) from starting point Fort bij Hoofddorp leads past the Geniedijk, the Wandelbos walking forest, orchards, a petting zoo and young green spaces developed to compensate for the development of Schiphol airport. Wandelbos Hoofddorp was a job creation project from the crisis years before the Second World War. There is an owl roosting site and a heron colony, where spoonbills sometimes also occupy the nests. The contrast with the Groene Carré and the Buitenschot land art park on the northeast beach of Hoofddorp is great, with a view of the metropolitan landscape.

• The Green Neighbourhood Route (orange) gives an impression of the urban developments in Hoofddorp since the 1970s. At that time, the town had about 9,000 inhabitants and now has about ten times as many. The route leads through the neighbourhoods of Pax (1970s), Bornholm and Overbos (1980s), Toolenburg (1990s) and Tudorpark (started in 2014 and not yet completed).