Kinderdijk Windmills near Rotterdam

When I think of Holland two main things come to mind. These are cycling and windmills. So when we had decided that Holland would be our next destination to visit I knew we had to go visit a windmill! Even better is that if you do go to visit the Kinderdijk Windmills, you get to see 19!

Kinderdijk Windmills With Kids

Some Information

Originally there were 20 windmills. However, now there are just 19 windmills. They were built as the area was prone to flooding. So the people in the area decided to build the windmills to get rid of the excess water. The windmills are built on large bits of land surrounded by dikes. The remaining dry land is called polder. The windmills would pump water from one section to the next, which then the next lot of windmills would do the same. Nearly all the windmills have people living in them, which is really cool! Having people living in them meant the land could be kept dry and livable all year round.

One of the empty ones is one that you can go inside (Museum Windmill Nederwaard). The Hoek family use to live there with 13 children. When you go inside you really wonder how they managed it! Big K loved exploring the windmill and really liked learning about how the family lived.

The other windmill is called Museum Windmill Blokweer. This windmill is still working and has been turned into a museum which you can explore the downstairs only.

There is also a visitors centre where you can watch a film; we didn’t see this as we were time-restricted but is a must if you are there for more than a couple of hours. In 1868 the windmills received help from two pumping stations (The Wisboom pumping station) which now do all the work.

Getting There

You can easily get here from Rotterdam by car or by ferry boat. If you check out their main website you can easily find the best way for you to get there

Prices

We paid 7.50 euros per adult. Big K was about 5.50 euros as he was over 4 years old. You can walk around the area and windmills for free. However, if you wish to go inside then you need to buy a ticket. Also available are tickets for getting a hopper boat to the windmills so you don’t have to walk. This is slightly more money, but I wanted to walk around and explore (just watch out for bikes!).

Child Friendly?

Yes very child friendly, apart from climbing up inside the windmill. Even us adults found climbing up and down the ladders a bit scary! There are also some steps that lead up to the visitors centre. Apart from that everything is tarmac or path and okay for pushchairs.

Overall

A great place to learn about the windmills and the history behind them (I always thought the windmills were used for milling). It is also a great photo opportunity that you should not miss! I really wish we could have spent more time there as we could easily have spent a few more hours there exploring.

Have you ever been to the Kinderdijk Windmills?