Vierhuizen, Oldehove and Winsum

An ancient, open wierden landscape. Middag-Humsterland National Landscape has been used by people for more than 2500 years. To see winding ditches and lowlands are tidal channels, a natural drainage system that made life easier here. Undeveloped wierden, but also villages or the occasional house stand on the elevations that used to offer protection against the rising water. They are legally protected, because the cultural-historical and landscape value of the area is unprecedented. Be surprised by the beautiful farms that dominate the Frisian landscape. The oldest and most characteristic type, the head-neck-trunk farm, is a sight to behold, but the stelp farm is also beautiful. The somewhat plump, but very strong black Friesian horses gallop along in the meadows of the polders and the black-and-white cows greet you loudly. Many birds find peace in places where forests, reed beds and marshes alternate with the grassy open spaces. Bittern and bearded man skim across the plain, while thousands of geese and ducks seek refuge in the water or along the banks. Middag-Humster National Landscape is a true bird paradise! When you start the bike ride, you set course for Oldehove. The small town has less than 2,000 inhabitants and in the village is the beautiful old tower mill De Leeuw from 1855. The mill replaced an octagonal upper porter in 1789 that stood southwest of the church. In 1972 the mill was sold to the then municipality of Oldehove and in 1974 the mill was restored. This restoration took two years. In'78 the mill was put back into use for its original function; grind and peel. In the summer of 2010, the mill was out of operation for a short time to repair the inner bars. Minor repairs were carried out in 2011. Ezinge is such a village, built on an artificial (residential) hills (called terp in Friesland and wierde in Groningen) and is the main village of the former peninsula Middag, which is now called Reitdiep. Ezinge was best known for the excavations that were done here in the 1920s. Remains of farms and outbuildings have been found dating from 600 BC to the fifth century AD. You cycle to the Allersmaborg, which is built in a meander of the Reitdiep between Ezinge and Aduarderzijl. The oldest part of this deposit is the fifteenth century stone house, but the first settlement probably dates from up to three centuries earlier. In the sixteenth century, a wing was added, giving the deposit an L-shape, and in the seventeenth century, canals were constructed, canals were constructed, and a drawbridge was built. The Dovecote was founded in the mid-eighteenth century, but acquired a neo-Gothic style in the course of the nineteenth century. In the twentieth century, in 1976-1977, the deposit was completely restored. In the wierde village of Garnwerd you can see another tower mill. De Meeuw was built in 1851 to replace a burnt-out mill. The mill underwent several restorations in the twentieth century, during which the octagonal flour mill was stripped of its husks. The grinding mill can be visited on Sunday afternoon. The last sight you see during your bike ride is also a windmill. The Zwaluw was built in 1885. Its predecessor dates back to 1831, but this mill was destroyed by a fire in 1858. After that fire, Enne Wiebes Kamphuis, baker and miller, had a new peeling and flour mill built almost immediately. In the summer of 2010, the windmill's hood was completely removed and then repaired on the ground. The mill was not used again until April 26, 2012.