Netherlands Inland Waterways – Uithoorn to Alphen a/d Rijn

Locking down at Tolhuissluizen

Monday 23rd June

As our friends would be leaving the next day, we had hoped to get to Gouda today.

The plan was to continue down the Amstel
River till Tolhuissluize, through the Aarkanaal, passing  Alphen a/d Rijn, into the Gouwe river and on to Gouda.

Old windmill converted to house – on the Drecht

Got going shortly after 9 am.

Leisurely passage down the Amstel, passing through tiny town of Vrouenakker with of course, a bridge, and into the lock – Tolhuissluizen.

Here is where things changed.

The lockie told us that one of the bridges on the
Aarkanaal was broken and shut for repair for the next few days.

Little town of Woubrug

A check of the charts showed we could go a longer way round via a narrow channel called the Drecht, across the Brassermeer, via the Weering channel, through Woubrug and through Alphen a/d Rin.

A lot more bridges and one fixed bridge with only 4 metres clearance which would mean lowing radar arch and canopies again.

Thank goodness for the extra crew!

Albert Schweitzerbrug – Alphen a/d Rijn

The Drecht was again a very scenic route, with a speed limit of 6 km/hr. Spotted a house that had originally been the base section of an old windmill.

The Brassermeer was a wide expanse of water with several marinas dotted around, and some
surprisingly large motor yachts moored there.

Probably as Brassermeer is located on the so called ‘mast-up’ route through the Netherlands.

Alphen a/d Rijn

(The mast-up route is shown on the Netherlands Waterway Planning Chart and indicates the most suitable way for large yachts and boats to go from the North Sea in the south near Rotterdam right to the north coast near Germany.)

We made up some time here as the speed limit was 12 km/hr

After passing through Woubrug we arrived at Alphen a/d Rijn and moored up at a public mooring spot just on the edge of the town.

Swaensewijkbrug in Alphen a/d Rijn

Alphen a/d Rijn was a relatively modern town as can be seen from the bridges and buildings.

We now decided to overnight here, as to press on to Gouda would mean arriving late afternoon and maybe not find a mooring.

From a passing boater point of view, it was a bit disappointing.

Bicycle park near station at Alphen a/d Rijn

There were a number of places one could tie up but only during the day.

There was just the one place where you could overnight, with only enough room for 3 boats.

Luckily, we got the last spot.

And no facilities of any kind were offered.

On the plus side though, it was a good mooring, quite pretty and close to a pub.

Moored near the pub in Alphen a/d Rijn

When we arrived, the pub was busy getting ready for the Holland vs Chile football match that evening.

After a quick walk around the town we joined the local fans and had several beers, wine, and a bite while watching the game.

Statistics:
Distance:                      24 kms.
BB (Beweeg Brugge) : 5
Fixed Bridges:              2
Locks:                          1
Time:                            4 hrs

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