Western Islands: the shipyard archipelago
Working boatyards, a white wooden drawbridge, and the sand-market houses on the Zandhoek. Walked and written by the editor.

1. Bickerseiland
The first of the three man-made islands, dug in the 1620s for shipping and still half-industrial. Walk the *Bickersgracht*: working boatyards, hauled-out hulls, a houseboat row that means it. The city's noise drops away here.

2. Drieharingenbrug
A white double wooden drawbridge for foot traffic only, rebuilt in 1983 to the 1625 design — the narrowest in the city, two abreast at most. Cross it slowly onto *Prinseneiland*; the crossing is the point.

3. Prinseneiland
The middle island and the quiet heart of the walk: brick *pakhuizen* — old warehouses — converted to studios and homes, their hoist beams kept. Wander the lanes; there's no wrong turn on an island this size.

4. Galgenstraat
'Gallows Street', named for the grim view it once had across the IJ to the Volewijk, where the executed were strung up for the city to see. One dry line of history; then walk on. The street is lovely now, which is the joke.

5. Zandhoek
On *Realeneiland*, a short quay of 17th-century houses named for the sand market once held here, each with its own gable stone. The prettiest single row in the islands — read the carved stones as you pass.

6. De Gouden Reael
The corner café-restaurant on the Zandhoek, named for the gold coin carved on its old gable. Stop for a drink at the water before you loop back toward Centraal; the view down the Westerdok is the reward.

Western Islands: the shipyard archipelago