Utrechtse Heuvelrug, Netherlands: An Afternoon in the Woods of Kaapse Bossen

Summer has been extended in the Netherlands, but this past week, even though temperatures were still good, I could feel that autumn has finally ushered in. Today, as we drove to our favourite supermarket for our weekly food shopping, we passed by streets with fallen leaves on the ground. Leaves that have turned orange and brown.

Ah, autumn indeed has officially begun today =)

Autumn you know is my favourite season. It still is, although in the last few years I have developed a serious crush on summer. Our autumn weekends are spent walking in the forest. It has been a tradition for the Dutchman and moi to take long walks and then after have tea and pancakes or apple tart in a cafÃ© restaurant in the middle of the woods.

Dutchman just reminded me last week that itâ€™s that time of the year again. Next weekend, I told him, as we have other plans this weekend. This also reminds me that I havenâ€™t posted our last walk in the woods last year.

It was a Sunday, the 1st of November when we had this walk in the Kaapse Bossen nearby Doorn in the Utrechtse Heuvelrug. I am not sure anymore if we did this route before. We have been to the Kaapse Bossen many times and I have stopped keeping track. I may have to check my old blog entries to find out.

We started off near Landgoed Zonheuvel and as we walked deeper into the woods, we somehow got lost â€” well on purpose really â€” but then we found ourselves crossing a road to have tea and pancakes and applestrudel at Bosrestaurant Sandenburg. This was a very nice break from all the walking, we enjoyed it very much. Dutchman said the pancakes were very tasty. The applestrudel was warm and the ice cream melted wonderfully with the pastry.

After the treat, we went back into the forest passing by one of the famous attractions, the Uitzichttoren de Kaap, as we searched for the trail back to where we parked the car. We were mindful of the time as we did not want to walk in the dark. It happened to us before and it was quite stressful. Never again.

So what about you? Do you like walking in the woods as well?

The Kaapse Bossen (Kaapse Forest) with the Uitzichttoren de Kaap (Lookout platform) in the middle. The nearest town is Doorn.

I bought these rubber boots in Luxembourg and I am still very happy with them. I like wearing them when we walk in the woods because some trails can get muddy.

There are many people walking in the woods as well. Most are middle aged couples. Sometimes we bumped into a family with their dogs in tow.

Dutchman loves taking pictures as well =). He has a good eye and many great pictures I have posted in this blog were his. This one is candid.

Here at Kaapse Bossen you can find many thin pine trees.

Posing for the Dutchman here. He liked the sunrays shining through the trees so he shot a few pictures. We were somewhat lost here but we did not care. The forest is not big enough to really get lost anyway.

You will really never get lost in the Kaapse Bossen because in every 500 metres you walk, you see a signboard, a landmark or a walking trail signpost.

I like this picture. Mysterious.

Bosrestaurant Sandenburg in the Kaapse Bossen in Doorn.

Pancakes with apple and raisins… and applestrudel with ice cream and whipped cream. This was quite heavy so I made a light salad for our evening’s dinner later at home.