Hell's Highway 210 km

Westerly winds to Arnhem - 210 km

The 210 km (130 miles) route is effectively double the distance operation Garden had planned. The start is in Leopoldsburg (Bourg-Léopold, Belgium) where Horrocks' XXX Corps was stationed, and ends on the Airboneplein in Arnhem. The route differs to HH 180 and HH 195 right from the start in its exit of Belgium and crossing into the Netherlands.

The route passes along main points of interest of Operation Market Garden. From the city centre of Leopoldsburg, it takes the rider over Joe's Bridge, but crosses the border at a more eastern point (not the original border crossing as used by XXX Corps) to make use of a beautiful forest bike path in near Borkel en Schaft. It meets up with the main Hell's Highway before the town of Valkenswaard. The route continues to Eindhoven, Best, Son, Sint-Oedenrode, and then deviates in the direction of 's-Hertongenbosch towards the misdrop at Heeswijk-Dinther. It meets up again around Veghel (does not go through), goes to Mill and then onto the J.S. Thompson Bridge at Grave. After the bridge, it makes a sharp right eastwards along the northern banks of the Maas river (great with a westerly wind!!!) towards Heumen. The crossing of the Waal is made more westerly than Nijmegen (so not the original crossing), to finally approach Arnhem from the western banks.

Please note: this route is recommended in the summer months when days are longer. Attempting this ride in September will result in missing POI's due to rushing it to get in before evening falls. An alternative is to break it up into 2 days.

101st Airborne landing zone south of Eindhoven.

Sherman Firelfy tank. The start in Leopoldsburg.

Route details

Route length: 210 kilometres / 130 miles

Elevation gain: 199 metres

Grading: A moderate cyclist should be able to enjoy this route. However, the average speed is slowed down due to landmark visits. Expect a minimum of 10 hours in the saddle, excluding breaks. Including lunch and stops, this can take up to 14-15 hours.

Downloads

Belgian-Dutch border marker. Number 181 out of 388.

Market Garden Hell's Highway Borkel Schaft

Cycling along the forest routes near Borkel en Schaft @ 35 km.

Route markers & cues

Below is an indication of the main points of interest you will find exactly along the route. The indicated km is a fairly accurate indication, but can vary a little. Especially if you deviate from the route. That is why most POI's also are also hyperlinked and state a town name. There are many POI's on this route. Stopping at each one will probably make the trip take too long. Therefore, you will have to be a little selective. The ones marked with a ★ are recommended. This website was made with Google Sites; external hyperlinks are checked for malware destinations by Google and therefore might take a fraction longer to load.

009.3 > German Military Cemetery, Lommel

019.7 > Joe’s Bridge, Lommel |SoundCloud Audio ▶️ ★

019.8 > Route leaves Hell's Highway

030.6 > BE/NL Border

037.9 > Victorie Brug; The first of many Market Garden bridges.
The Irish Guards 1st Battalion, The Dorsetshire Regiment, reached it on September 17, 1944 at 16.30.

037.6 > Route rejoins Hell's Highway

039.6 > LRM#105, Valkenswaard | SoundCloud Audio ▶️

049.5 > LRM#108, Eindhoven |SoundCloud Audio ▶️
049.5 > Eindhoven | SoundCloud Audio ▶️ The Sept 19, 1944 bombing
049.5 > Eindhoven | SoundCloud Audio ▶️ A paratrooper in Eindhoven
049.5 > Eindhoven | SoundCloud Audio ▶️ Snipers & guns