With Manure and Fork Route

Above the Reitdiep stretches one of the oldest cultural landscapes in the Netherlands. The area has been inhabited since 600 BC. The inhabitants shaped the landscape to their will. To literally keep their heads above water, they built mounds. The most important buildings, the churches, were built on the highest point. They still tower high above the rest of the villages. From the free car park you cycle to Borg Verhildersum. The borg consists of a beautiful building and beautiful fields on which, among other things, a worker's house can be seen. A beautiful, symmetrical garden has been laid out around the borg, whose first history dates back to the fourteenth century. In it you can see a coach house, a treasure house and a garden arbour. That garden arbour was once a tram house in Haren, but was given a suitable new purpose here. Figurative, abstract female figures decorate the garden, while flowers and plants grow in the borders. There is also a special part of the garden where herbs are grown. Canals have been constructed around the manor and the sculpture garden, and you can walk around the outer canal, because there is a footpath there. This leads past a dovecote. In 2013, a museum was established in the manor, but there is also a shop and a tea room. The building is decorated in nineteenth-century style. Every year in August, the 'historical days' are celebrated here, focusing on life between 1850 and 1950. In Zuurdijk, you will then see the windmill De Zwaluw. The mill was built in 1858 and was used as a corn and hulling mill. The mill fell into serious disrepair in the second half of the 20th century. The Vereniging De Hollandse Molen became the owner in 1974 and had the mill restored in 1976. The mill then turned occasionally again, but fell into disrepair again quite quickly. During a second restoration, the wing system was adjusted, and finally, during the third restoration, the cap was repaired. The mill has been in use again since 26 April 2012. There are no fixed opening hours for the Zwaluw. You continue your bike ride and pass through the terp village of Oldehove, which has approximately 1600 inhabitants. A beautiful sight in this village is the Ludgerus Church, a church from the thirteenth century and a tower from the 15th century. The village also has two octagonal smock mills, Aeolus (1846) and De Leeuw (1855). Behind the Ludgerus Church, there is another war memorial that is definitely worth seeing. Via the pleasant hustle and bustle of the marina and camping Roodehaan, you will come across another smock mill in Mensingeweer. This mill, called Hollands Welvaart, is a smock mill built in 1855. It was used as a corn and hulling mill. The mill was privately owned until 1969. The last private owner sold the mill to the then municipality of Leens for the symbolic sum of 1 guilder. The mill was completely restored in early 2001. It was given new hoods, new sails and an almost completely new platform. From Easter to October, Hollands Welvaart is open every Sunday from 10:00 to 17:00, but it can also be visited by appointment. The last sight you will come across is a church from the thirteenth century. Until 1975,'t Marnehoes was used as a Dutch Reformed Church. Since its restoration in 1985, the church has been used as a cultural centre. A stage has been installed and the interior has been added, but weddings and occasional funerals are still held there. T Marnehoes is often praised for its good acoustics and is therefore a popular location for performances and parties.