The Gelderse Vallei, a beautiful rural area, bordered by the Utrechtse Heuvelrug and the western foothills of the Veluwe. Very few other places in the Netherlands feature such diversity. Here, sprawling farmlands alternate in perfect harmony with country estates, intimate hamlets, streams, heaths and dikes, which once were part of the Grebbelinie line of defence.

Driving between the Arkemheen polder near Nijkerk from north to south in the direction of Wageningen reveals the most beautiful, virtually unchanged farms, in the most unexpected places. Even though the hectic Randstad conurbation is just around the corner, the booming metropolises in the western part of our country seem light years away from the farmlands in the Vallei. You get the feeling that you are in totally different country-if not world. And yet the distance from Barneveld to Utrecht is a mere 40 kilometre, or a car trip of no more than 30 minutes.

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