Enjoy nature between Assen and Appelscha

On the border of Friesland and Drenthe you will make a bike ride through the beautiful nature. You will also pass through Assen, Appelscha and several peat extraction villages. There is no shortage of sights on your route.

Asserbos
At the starting point on the edge of Ravenswoud you will immediately see a national monument: the iron drawbridge over the Eerste Wijk built at the end of the nineteenth century. Through the Compagnonsbossen you drive to the award-winning lookout tower on the edge of the Fochteloërveen. Further on you come through the Asserbos, a surprisingly quiet baroque city forest.

Hijkerveld
The Hijkerveld is one of the largest heathlands in Drenthe. Large parts of this quiet place were inhabited until the Iron Age. From that period there are still burial mounds, cart tracks and remains of walled ridge fields (also called Celtic fields). On the edge of Hoogersmilde you can see a transmission tower of no less than 303 meters high. In the Frisian village of Appelscha you can still see some beautiful old farms.

Beautiful Fochteloërveen
The Fochteloërveen is considered one of the few and best preserved raised bog areas in the Netherlands. The fact that this area has retained its old character is mainly due to chance and its isolated location on a provincial border. You will experience a wonderful silence here. From the 18-metre-high lookout tower near junction 66 you have a beautiful view of the area. Don't forget your binoculars!