We simply could not visit the Netherlands and not go and see the iconic windmills.
We stayed at an Aire in Alblasserwaard which cost 17 euros per night and offered a free shuttle bus to and from the windmills.
It is free to walk around the windmills or if you want to go into the museum and a couple of the windmills you can for a fee. We paid a fee to be able to go on the two canal boats so that we could get a really good view of the windmills.
The windmills at Kinderdijk are a group of 19 monumental windmills that are located in the Alblasserwaard polder.
The windmills were built around 1740 to keep water out of the polder. The mills are now listed as national monuments and the entire area is a protected village by UNESCO World Heritage status.
The windmills were built to pump water into a reservoir and to help keep the polders dry. The reservoir could then be let out into the river via locks when needed.
Two of the windmills are still in use but the main water works are now provided by two diesel pumping stations.
A lot of the windmills are now homes and really are a magnificent sight to see.
