Starting point Abbenes
Routes from this starting point
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Jan Pieter Heije Route (red)
Unpaved path (partly) - 4.21km
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Island Route (purple)
Unpaved path (partly) - 5.62km
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Hoofdvaart Route (blue)
Unpaved path (partly) No dogs allowed - 7.47km
Prior to the land reclamation of the Haarlemmermeer, Abbenes (wet headland of the abbot of Noordwijkerhout) was a sickle-shaped island. The contours are still recognizable. The Hoofdvaart canal cuts through the village where the island was at its most narrow, at the only bend in the canal between the Lynden and Leeghwater pumping stations. Amsterdam native Dr Jan Pieter Heije was a famous benefactor in the young village of polder workers and peat cutters. In addition to being an employer and local landlord, Heije was a folk song writer (‘Een karretje op de zandweg reed’), politician, advocate of the poor and promoter of public health.
- The Jan Pieter Heije Route (red) starts at Abbenes and leads past the monumental tomb of Dr Heije, the groves on the southern tip of the former island and along the quiet side of the Hoofdvaart.
- The Island Route (purple) goes around the former island, clearly higher than the surroundings in several places. At the most southerly point, on the edge of groves, you walk along the Kagertocht. This is what remains of the Huigsloot, once a wide waterway between Abbenes and the island of Huigslootpolder.