Goes, Wemeldinge and Hansweert

This cycling route of almost forty kilometers leads you through Zuid-Beveland (Zeeland), through a lovely, atmospheric landscape full of winding creeks with rolling banks and beautiful reed collars. In the swampy, rural area you cycle past characteristic farms and through fields and orchards. No wild nature in Zuid-Beveland, but neatly landscaped polders with tight arable land that is used for agriculture and fruit growing. On the peninsula between the Oosterschelde and Westerschelde, the battle against the rising water has been won and the fertile land is gratefully cultivated. In the third and fourth centuries, this part of Zeeland did not yet exist and the area was under water, but from the Middle Ages the area was reclaimed piece by piece and the population living there can make an excellent living from agriculture and fishing. In 1530 during the St. Felix Flood and in 1570 during the All Saints Flood, the water reclaimed a large part of the land, but the most famous flood in Dutch history is undoubtedly the Flood of 1953. The eastern part of Zuid-Beveland was flooded. to stand. The peninsula has benefited greatly from the construction of the Delta Works, which made Central Zeeland more accessible to the rest of the Netherlands. The route starts at Profile Goes. Before you set off, you can have your bicycle checked by the bicycle specialist, so that you can be assured that you will not be faced with any unpleasant surprises along the way. Upon presentation of your bicycle discount pass, you will receive a 10 euro discount on maintenance and minor repairs that need to be done on your bicycle. You have found your way through the polder for almost ten kilometers when two beautiful windmills appear. They are close to each other in the village of Wemeldringe. De Hoop flour mill was built in 1866 by a miller's assistant who worked on the predecessor of the other mill (Aeolus). The mill was in operation until 1968. Plans were then made to convert the mill into a home, but these plans were also dropped. Nowadays, the white round stone mill with two pairs of grinding stones still grinds grain on a voluntary basis. The other mill is the Aeolus, a grist and peel mill that was built in 1869. This tower mill was the answer to the construction of De Hoop and, in order to surpass this mill, it is higher and larger than that mill. The mill has three pairs of grinding stones and a peeling stone. The rods are the oldest rods still in use in the Netherlands and date from 1871. The mill is named after a Greek wind god and it is therefore not difficult to guess that the mill derived its power to turn and grind from this element. Nowadays, the Aeolus is occasionally put into operation by a volunteer miller. After cycling more than seventeen kilometers, you will pass the Fruit Growing Museum in Kapelle, where you can discover the history of fruit and fruit growing. After a visit to the museum, you set course for the last sight of the tour: the Kloetinge mill. It is a round, brick mill that was built in 1704 and stands on an elevation. According to Zeeland tradition, it has been given a white color. The flour mill was extensively restored in 1979 and 1998.