Keep walking to the NP De Weerribben

This strenuous walk of more than thirty kilometers takes you around and through the Weerribben National Park. No matter how pristine and natural the environment looks, every square meter here has been made by human hands. Over three centuries, the inhabitants excavated the peat to make peat. For example, the landscape changed into a swampy swamp area where you see a beautiful mix of trees, endless reed beds and water, lots and lots of water. On the edge of the national park you can walk for a few kilometers along the Steenwijk-Ossenzijl Canal. You see many canals and ditches in the landscape. Almost all of them end up on the Kalenbergergracht, the wide waterway that was the traffic artery of the Weerribben for centuries. Especially when the route takes you through the Weerribben you experience that almost deafening silence. You mainly hear nature here: the wind rustling through the reeds, the singing of reed warblers and reed warblers. And if you hear a splash in the water, it could be a duck, but also an otter: several pairs live in the Weerribben. In the spring, however, the many birds ensure a bustle of activity, although this will sound like music to the ears of most nature lovers. In addition to nature, you will also become acquainted with the cultural history of the area during this walk. You pass through small towns such as Ossenzijl, Baarlo, Kalenberg and, yes, the Netherlands. If you walk along the Hoogeweg, you will see several monumental nineteenth-century farms, such as the former dyer's house Marten en Jikke at number 2. At the end of the nineteenth century, smallholder farmers lived here who earned money in the winter by cutting reed or digging trees. peat. Mill de Wicher is also located on this road. This spider mill from 1982 drains the surrounding area. The mill is a replacement for a similar mill that was demolished here in 1943.