Nederland - Laren, Zuiderheide

The Zuiderheide is one of the heathland areas in Het Gooi; an area centred on the spur of the so called Utrechtse Heuvelrug (Utrecht Hill Ridge). The height differences in the area were created 120,000 years ago during the penultimate ice age. There are several ca. 4,000-year-old prehistoric burial mounds on the Zuiderheide, which protrude above the heathland like clearly recognisable green domes.

The southernmost part of the heathland - near Theehuis 't Bluk - consists of shifting sand, in fact a Dutch 'desert'. The sand that lies here was once brought by the polar storms of the last ice age.

After being pleasantly surprised by the beauty of the area last year, this year we visited especially for the blooming heather fields. And partly due to the wet spring, the Zuiderheide was also purple as purple can be !!