Discover all the elements for a pleasant walk

The western tip of Schouwen-Duiveland is an ideal hiking area. The mix of cultural history, cozy villages and varied nature guarantees a wonderful day out. You walk through Burgh, among other things. This town arose around a ring rampart that was raised at the end of the ninth century against robbery Normans. A footpath leads from the Kerkstraat to the burg. The courtyard has been raised and the earthen wall, including the wooden palisades, has been partially restored. A reconstruction of an entrance gate and a second path across the bridge have also been made. It gives you a wonderful impression of what the castle must have looked like ten centuries ago! In Haamstede you walk over De Ring. At number 2 you can see Slot Haamstede, a national monument from the thirteenth century. In 1525 the castle was almost completely destroyed by a fire, after which the castle was rebuilt in the sixteenth century. The castle was last restored in 1973 and in 1981 it came into the hands of the Vereniging Natuurmonumenten. The walk takes you through the Zeepeduinen and through Boswachterij Westerschouwen. It is wonderfully quiet in the Zeepeduinen. Except for the ever-present wind: sometimes you hear it whisper, but when the clouds in the sky above you flee you know it's going to roar. A herd of about a hundred Shetland ponies grazes between the dune plants to prevent the open plain from becoming overgrown. The beautiful robust horses live here in the wild. Birds such as stonechat, meadow pipit, shelduck and curlew find an excellent breeding ground in this open field. In the adjacent Boswachterij Westerschouwen you can walk through the largest forest in Zeeland. The forest was planted at the beginning of the twentieth century as part of the creation of employment. The coniferous trees also had to capture the sand. In recent years, the coniferous trees have been felled in some places because they extracted a relatively large amount of water from the surrounding dunes. Summer oaks and birches now grow in these places. The closer you approach the North Sea, the stronger the sound of the surf resonates. In Nieuw-Haamstede you will pass the Westerlichttoren, also known as the West Schouwen. This lighthouse dates from 1837 and with its height of 53 meters is one of the largest in the Netherlands. The lighthouse is no longer manned, the radar image is forwarded to the Coast Guard Post Ouddorp.