Lovely Tour of Leekstermeer Nature Monuments

Your cycling route starts at the Van der Valk Hotel Groningen - Hoogkerk, a nice spot for a cup of coffee. You'll take a scenic bike ride to the hamlet of Peizermade. 'Made' means meadow or grassland, the pastureland near Peize. This used to be a very wet area that often flooded. You can still see water: you cross the Gouw river and follow the Peizerdiep canal for a long distance. Around the Leekstermeer lake, you'll walk through rugged lowland peatlands in the valley between the higher sandy soils of Drenthe and the clay soils of Groningen. This is the Onlanden, with expansive grasslands, but also copses and hedgerows. Along the way, you'll discover the Dutch Grain Museum and the National Carriage Museum.