The Ring - Knooppunt Ridderkerk
Introduction - Visit 2002 with Ben - Discovery in 1998
2002 visit and Ben's courageous climb
Since my discovery of this place in 1998 I've been attracted to it. It's one of those places where you can find "wild" nature in the middle of civilization. Simply because no one cares about this place and because no one ever visits it. I can prove that. In 1998 I left a note inside one of the girders, with the address of my website. Now, in 2002 it's dusty and bleached, but still undisturbed. Just like on all my previous visits.
Wild nature - Everyone just speeds by ...
No one sees you here - Now imagine that the girders are hollow and that you can climb to the other side ...
And that's exactly what Ben did - Without any protection above a 10m drop - And the concrete is very, very smooth ...
To get under the fly-over you have to follow the
bicycle path, and go south from the Van
Brienenoordbridge. When you're under the fly-over you
have to cross a mud-field and climb up a steep slope in
full view of the passing cars. This will lead you to this
peaceful spot. It is possible to climb into the concrete girders. They're hollow and high enough to sit in. Theoretically it would be possible to crawl through to the next pylon. But you would cross the highway at a height of 10 meters or more. One slip and you would fall through the slit in the bottom. And there is no way to place protection. I've been thinking about this possibility a long time ..... 2002 note: But as you've seen above Ben did it without any protection. But he says that he was a bit afraid while doing it. |
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© 1999 Petr Kazil - Updated 27 November 1999, July 2002