Vredenburg in the heart of Utrecht has one of the busiest cycleways in the Netherlands. With private cars excluded, it's reserved for buses, bikes and pedestrians and it moves tens of thousands of people every day through the city centre. Less space for cars, more space for people.

I originally started filming Utrecht because of its cycling infrastructure. Looking back over seventeen years of footage, I realised I have documented something much bigger: the transformation of an entire city. Blog, video and playlist:

Vredenburg in the heart of Utrecht has one of the busiest cycleways in the Netherlands. With private cars excluded, it's reserved for buses, bikes and pedestrians and it moves tens of thousands of people every day through the city centre. Less space for cars, more space for people.

After over two weeks of lovely, Smooth Dutch cycle routes coming back to Hackneys cycleways was a stark comparison

Few new additions to my Dutch fridge

Tot Ziens

Cool little shopping trolley that keeps a child entertained whilst you shop

Blimey this country never stops, cycling into Hoek Van Holland this evening to find they've closed the main road outside the Albert Heijn and made it into a bicycle only street. I won't find anything similar in Harwich tomorrow morning!

World Cup ice cream

Some final bitterballen before I cycle to the ferry back to the UK later this evening

Delft when I first visited in 2015 and the same view tonight. Back then the railway had just been moved underground and they were demolishing the old concrete railway viaducts. The city was one huge building site but is much nicer today

Four different days I've taken my bike on a train during this trip, each time spending €8.50 on a bicycle supplement ticket, and not once has my ticket been checked 😠

@rantyhighwayman.bsky.social oh yes

Remove car parking, replace with flowers

Close your streets to motor vehicles, open them to people (and cats)

You can only leave your bike parked for six weeks in this area

The heat is extremely intense in Amsterdam today so I've been making use of the official cooling spots in the city to cool down, one of which has a drag in Amsterdam exhibition

At Workcycles HQ

In Amsterdam graffiti artists come by boat

Busy along with the Amstel river

Dutch weather service issues first ever code red for heat www.dutchnews.nl?p=269614

31c in Amsterdam, the bars are all very busy and the Netherlands final World Cup group game kicks off at 1am tonight, finishing at about 3am when temperature will still be low 20s. Heat wave intensifies tomorrow up to high 30s. Have a feeling tomorrow mornings rush hour will be quieter than usual!

Amsterdam has over 500 of these public water taps, you're never more than a few streets away and I'll be using them a lot today! www.waternet.nl/en/service-a...

Flowers by bike

Only a short 25km ride from Almere to Amsterdam today but in the midday heat it was hard going, tshirt was soaked by the end!

Good to be back in Amsterdam, like a home away from home. Been coming here every year for at least 12 years, sometimes up to six times per year. I know the city inside out and don't need a map to get anywhere!

The plan was to cycle to Almere from Utrecht today but Utrecht was so lovely in the sun I ended up staying all day and got an evening train instead. It's one hell of a city, the only downside is that accommodation is so expensive here!

A bike owned by one of the "keen cyclists" who campaign against LTNs

Getting a lift home after spending all afternoon jumping in the canals

Nearly 23.00, the streetlights have just turned on but it's still largely daylight in Utrecht. Incredible.

Getting a lift home after spending all afternoon jumping in the canals

Utrecht earlier today

I cycled to Efteling, the largest theme park in the Netherlands, last week. Of course they have a huge bike parking area, fully staffed to check your bike in and out but only just seen that to encourage fewer car journeys if you cycle to the theme park 7 times in a year you get a free bike bag.

A reminder to signal

Cycling in a small Dutch town on Sunday morning, everyone else is cycling in a suit or dress, off to church

Every summer when I come to the Netherlands I bring a heat wave with me. Every single year. Today I've spent all day in a theme park, sweating, burning and surrounded by thousands of primary school children on their school trips

Tonight I cycled from the western edge of Tilburg to the station in the centre, 8km on a continuous fast cycle route. Priority at every junction, and just two traffic lights once the route ends near the station. This is what happens when cycling is designed to be the easiest way to get around.

Tonight I cycled from the western edge of Tilburg to the station in the centre, 8km on a continuous fast cycle route. Priority at every junction, and just two traffic lights once the route ends near the station. This is what happens when cycling is designed to be the easiest way to get around.

A map.

Exploring the 12km F58 cycle route between Bergen op Zoom & Roosendaal with @bicycledutch.bsky.social The route shown from 0:35–1:15 isn't part of F58. That section is yet to be built and will be a completely new cycle path alongside the railway youtu.be/Rro3M8CrEmU

Just filled my bottle up from this public water fountain, built in 1864

Bitterballen with @bicycledutch.bsky.social

More cities should have beaches

In Goes they have these signs on entrances to the historic city centre showing what vehicles can enter. At the moment it's bikes only, with motor vehicles and mopeds prohibited

Kibbeling

Here was yesterdays cycle from Ouddorp to Vlissingen, a lovely recreational ride along the coast youtu.be/j_zOsMdzLVQ

The safest way to cycle through a busy roundabout is to bypass it altogether. Design for comfort, and people of all ages will cycle.

Car parking spaces using grass block pavers allow rainwater to soak into the ground and also absorbs heat, keeping surrounding areas cooler and reducing urban heat

Grote toren

Schools in the province of Zeeland are flying flags at half mast following the deaths of three school children in the province last week, who were cycling on a school field trip and hit by a driver who left the carriageway