Along the water near Heinkenszand

A beautiful route through the Zak van Zuid-Beveland. The region is known for its beautiful flower dikes, dikes around polders, and former tidal creeks where wildflowers flourish. Many flower dikes can be visited by bike. Experience the summery scents and colors of agrimony, potato field, or wild marjoram. Your route starts near Borsele. Soon you'll pass a beautiful windmill, Hoop en Verwachting (Hope and Expectation). This windmill was built on the spot by Jacobus Huijsman, the municipal carpenter/millwright of the Municipality of Goes, after the post mill was blown down in a storm on February 27, 1714. The Municipality of Goes owned the Borssele polder from 1616 and, from the design phase, allowed for the construction of a corn mill. In "De Hoop en Verwachting" (The Hope and Expectation), parts of the fallen post mill were used in its construction in 1714, including sections of skewers and sawn-up (square-rigged) wooden rods. A little further on, you'll come across another remarkable historical site. The British war grave in Driewegen (municipality of Borsele) contains the remains of a fallen soldier. A white natural stone headstone with a raised emblem and a cross has been placed at the grave. A little further on, you'll pass through Nisse. Especially around this village, you'll find many beautiful flower dikes, where around twenty endangered plant species can be found, such as the woolly thistle, the rough carnation, and wild marjoram. The abundance of flowers attracts butterflies such as the orange sand butterfly, the common blue, and the cowslip. Bees, hoverflies, beetles, and grasshoppers are also numerous in summer. The insects are a delicacy for the little owl and the kestrel. The dikes bear witness to the long struggle against the water. Through successive periods of land reclamation and flooding, a system of inner dikes formed. Between the dikes, gullies (wells) recall old breaches. A short climb and you'll pass the sheepfold, where you should definitely stop. The Schaapskooi sheep farm has been designated a guide of the National Landscape; here you'll find all the information about the Zak van Zuid-Beveland. But the history lesson isn't over yet. In front of the entrance to the Zeeland Liberation Museum in Nieuwdorp, lie the propeller and two guns as a tribute to the crew of the Feathered Injun. Be sure to stop by the museum, which takes you back to World War II, when Allied soldiers of various nationalities fought the German occupiers in Zeeland. The museum offers a tour of important events during World War II. The exhibition begins in the basement of the museum with a moving film. The museum route then extends over three floors, taking you step by step through the liberation of Zeeland. The museum also focuses on the Zeeland Battalion. This consisted largely of war volunteers who, after the liberation of Zeeland, wanted to fight for the liberation of the Netherlands and Western Europe. After World War II, the battalion was deployed to the Dutch East Indies. An educational journey, full of culture and nature!