Amsterdamse Waterleidingduinen

The Amsterdam water supply dunes cover about thirty-four square kilometres between Zandvoort and Noordwijk and have supplied Amsterdam's drinking water since 1853, when river water began to be infiltrated into the sand here and drawn off filtered - the channels and basins are part of the landscape and are the reason the area was never built on. It is walking-only: no bicycles, no dogs, no vehicles, entry by day ticket at set gates, which keeps it quieter than any comparable Dutch dune. The fallow deer are the thing people come for. A population introduced in the twentieth century grew without predators to several thousand, tame enough to approach closely, and the resulting grazing pressure and welfare argument led to a culling programme that has been fought in the Dutch courts and remains contested. Numbers are now lower and the vegetation is recovering.

What you actually see

• Fallow deer at close range - habituated animals grazing the open dune.
• Infiltration channels - water works running through the landscape since 1853.
• Walking only - no bicycles or dogs, entry by day ticket at set gates.
• Thirty-four square kilometres - one of the largest dune reserves in the country.

When to go

April to October; autumn for the deer rut. A day.

Honest expectations

A day ticket is required and there is no cycling or dog access. The deer management programme is genuinely contested and visitors may encounter culling closures. Distances are long and the sand is tiring.

Nearby

Zandvoort beach is west; Keukenhof and the bulb fields are south-east.