Burgh-Haamstede, Renesse and Scharendijke

Sea, beach, dunes, wind, nature, space and openness: Schouwen-Duiveland has it all. Beautiful views over the water alternate with the flat, wide inland, characteristic villages and friendly hamlets. You make your way through the dunes and look out over the sea. Listening to the surf or the silence that reigns in the wide inland, you will completely relax. You will not only get your money's worth in terms of nature, because Schouwen-Duiveland also has beautiful historical buildings. The round, stone, white-painted windmill from 1847 looks charming thanks to all the greenery in the vicinity. Nowadays, there is a pancake house at the mill and the flour that is ground by the mill is processed into the traditional pancakes. The flour is also sold in the shop at the mill. In 2003, a saw frame was installed at the mill, giving it a combined function as a corn and saw mill. For a fee, you can visit an exhibition about the mill in the Graanhalm. You leave the mill behind and cycle to't Huys Grol. Grol, which means green, is one of the many typical country estates that used to be built along the inner dune edge of North and South Holland and Zeeland. These second homes were usually only inhabited in the winter by merchants, who usually earned their money by trading in colonial goods. The history of't Huys Grol dates back to 1599.'t Huys Grol is one of the few country estates in this area that is still privately inhabited. The small estate is also operated as a guesthouse and is a national monument. The beautiful Slot Moermond is located on the eponymous, 45-hectare estate that is a protected nature reserve. The castle originally dates from the thirteenth century. In 1953, the castle was seriously damaged by weather conditions and the flood disaster. In 2011 and 2012, the damaged walls of the moat, among other things, were restored. Nowadays, the castle and the estate are made available for private occasions such as parties, business meetings and weddings, but the grounds with a wide driveway and a beautiful moat are also open to the public. You arrive in Scharendijke and leave the dunes behind you for good. You cycle to the De Lelie mill, a small ground-sailer that was built in 1868. There is a restaurant next to it. In 2008, part of the restaurant was demolished and the overgrowth of trees around the mill was cut down so that it could turn again. Since then, the mill has been in use again and is now one of the most frequently turning mills in Zeeland. The pancakes and bread that are available at the mill are baked from home-ground flour. The mill house is inhabited by the miller. The last mill you see during your tour is't Hert. This ground-sailer, which had a predecessor in the form of a post mill on the same spot, was placed in 1748 to grind grain. Until 1971, the mill was only used as a wind farm and in the very last years before the mill's demise, only animal feed was ground. In May 1996, after a period of decline, the mill turned for the last time, until a large-scale restoration began. Just before you return to the hotel, you come to Slot Haamstede. This is an old castle that has its origins in the thirteenth century. In 1525, the castle was almost completely destroyed by a fire, which meant that the castle had to be rebuilt. The current fortress was therefore mainly built in the sixteenth century. In 1973, the castle was last restored and in 1981 it came into the hands of the Vereniging Natuurmonumenten. The estate that belongs to the castle contains the only deciduous forest in Schouwen-Duivenland.