Zeddam, Ulft and Varsseveld

The Achterhoek is an excellent cycling area and has a lot to offer recreational cyclists. The landscape is often described as a bocage landscape because of the rapidly changing environments. Forests, meadows, small villages and a castle here and there are elements that determine the changing image, just as if the sets are changed quickly on a large stage. The rolling landscape offers you beautiful views between the trees and beautiful views, with the bonus that fields and lovely villages alternate nicely. One of the remnants from the history of the village of Vredeveld is the De Engel tower mill from 1850. In 1936, the contents of the mill, including grinding stones, blades and upper shaft, were sold because the then owner was affected by the economic crisis in the years 30 (literally) saw no more bread in the windmill company. In 1957, the mill hull became a monument and in 1967 the municipality bought the remainder to enable possible restoration of the mill. Ultimately, it was not until 1976 that the mill was festively reopened on May 22. The route leads past the Slangenburg estate with its associated castle. The similarity with the royal palace Huis ten Bosch in The Hague is striking: in Huis Ten Bosch the wife of the stadtholder had paintings painted on the walls to honor her husband; Frederik Johan van Baer decorated Slangenburg Castle with paintings of his wife, whom he lost to an illness. From the U-shaped castle, as we know it today, Van Baer built the ancestral manor, which only consisted of the western tower and adjacent structure. In addition to being an artistic painter, Mr. van Baer was also a good agricultural economist. For example, he bought the Doetinchemse Heide from the city of Doetinchem and built a lane system there that still exists today. Just before you return to Zeddam you pass the Braamtse Molen, a thatched ground sailor from 1932 and owned by the same family since 1872. From a distance, this top porter still looks photogenic, but when you get closer, unfortunately the decay is visible.