Hierden, Doornspijk and Nunspeet

It is wonderfully quiet cycling in the protected nature park De Veluwe. With an area of more than 91,200 hectares, it will come as no surprise that this is the largest lowland area in Europe. The Doornspijkse Heide and Boswachterij Nunspeet are areas that are located in this huge park. Spruces and jagged oaks sway in the wind along rolling paths. The fragrant heathland and rustling forests provide a safe home for many animals. You will find puddles on the wet heath, where the growth of the purple-red sundew paints a pleasant picture. Rhododendrons and other beautiful plants are reflected in the water, where peace seekers come to their heart's content. The bushes are full of birds and if you look closely you can sometimes see wild boar burrowing tracks along the paths. Scrambling along the trees, they search for shallow pools to use as mud pits. On the other side of Nunspeet are the Randmeren. Unique plants such as pondweed and ringweed, for which a protection zone has even been established, prevent algal blooms in the shallow waters. Water birds, such as the little swan and the pochard, also find these plants very tasty. The Veluwerandmeren are such an important habitat for water birds that they too have been assigned a protected zone here. You used to find bream in the waters, but the territory of this fish has been taken by the perch and the roach. The presence of pike and eel is also stimulated. The lakes have an enchanting appeal to all kinds of activities in and around the water: canoeists, swimmers, skaters, sailors, surfers, pleasure boaters... almost every kind of water recreation can be found here. You can park your car for free at Teuni\\\'s Tea Garden. It is the ideal place to review your route while enjoying a cup of coffee or tea with homemade cakes. You have a beautiful panoramic view over the meadows, so that you look forward to the other beautiful things you are going to see. Show your bicycle discount card at checkout for a 10% discount on your bill. One kilometer from the tea garden is De Essenburgh. Presumably a predecessor stood on the site of the castle, but no excavations have ever been made to support the writings that mention this. The castle was built by order of Johan Coolwagen. He wanted to acquire a place within the Ridderschap van Veluwe with this prestigious status symbol, but when this failed he had to sell the castle to his creditors. The Essenburgh then saw many owners come and go, until finally the Norbertines started using it as a monastery. Today, conferences, seminars, company presentations and other events such as weddings are organized in the castle. You continue cycling and pass De Duif belt mill, which was built in 1886. Before the ground for the construction of this mill was thrown up, as is the case with belt mills, there were already two other mills on this site: a standard mill that was demolished in 1818 and a mill that was struck by lightning in 1886. It burned down completely, but just a week later construction began on the current mill, which was completed within six weeks. A café has now been set up at the bottom of the mill. Along the route is also one of the most beautiful country houses of the eighteenth century: Estate and Huize Klarenbeek. On the estate there is a beautiful house, two service buildings, a (former) coach house, surrounded by a large garden in English landscape style. A bridge gives access to the estate, of which the house has been given the status of a national monument. You cycle about fifteen kilometers through nature, which will continue to surprise and delight you. Then you arrive at windmill De Maagd in the small village of Hulshorst. This octagonal tower mill dates from 1894. The mill ground corn and was restored as a national monument in 1960, but it fell into disrepair again due to standstill. In 1988, the mill was again thoroughly restored, during which the Virgin was made ready to grind again. To prevent the mill from deteriorating again, it is now professionally ground grain again with 2 pairs of grinding stones. When you come back to Teuni\\\'s Thee Garden, you can of course enjoy the afterglow with a small snack. Before you go home, the bicycle discount pass entitles you to the 10% discount again.