Cycling through the tulip fields around Lisse

Keukenhof is a designed garden. The tulips are planted in beds, every path is planned and the flowers stay inside the park. The production fields outside Lisse are different: long rows grown by bulb farmers beside roads, houses and drainage canals.

Driving past them would have been too quick, and walking would have limited the distance. A bicycle was the useful middle option. I could cover the main 15-kilometre loop and still stop for photographs without blocking a narrow road.

The route combines the blue and purple Keukenhof cycle routes. Coloured signs mark the loop during the spring season, and the ride itself is free.

The first field I passed was mostly one colour. A few minutes later there were several rows of red, yellow and pink. That kept happening throughout the ride because each grower plants different varieties and uses a different schedule.

Not every field was full of tulips. Some had daffodils or hyacinths, some were still green and others had already been cut. These are working farms growing bulbs, so the flowers are removed when the crop needs it rather than kept for visitors.

That is also why one old route photograph cannot show exactly what will be blooming on a particular day. The current Bollenstreek flower map is the useful check before leaving.

The large fields beside the route are private farms. I stopped at the edge of the public road and took photographs from there. No fence does not mean that visitors can walk between the rows.

Stepping into a field can damage flowers, bulbs and the soil used by the grower. Flowers should never be picked. This rule applies to the production fields even when other people are already standing inside them.

For a photograph inside the flowers, the correct option is a visitor attraction or show garden such as Tulip Experience Amsterdam, The Tulip Barn or De Tulperij. These places have areas planted for visitors and photographers.