Walking below sea level

Walking through a forest that is four meters below sea level? It is possible in Het Hollandse Hout, a nature reserve of about 900 hectares near Lelystad. The trees seem old, but were only planted in the 1970s after the reclamation of Flevoland. You mainly walk under poplars here: fast growers that do well on the nutritious clay soil of the former Zuiderzee. There are also willows, alders, oaks and beech, which makes the Hollandse Hout one of the few deciduous forests in our country. Yet this forest is also used for wood production. Along the path are felled trunks or you can see the stumps of sawn trees. This management gives other trees more space for their natural development, but shrubs also grow in which foxes, deer and other animals like to hide. If you step along the western edge of the forest, you have a view of the adjacent Oostvaardersplassen. There are several picnic benches to enjoy the new wilderness. Who knows, you might even see a bald eagle flying overhead.