Tour of Schouwen-Duiveland

Schouwen-Duiveland is home to some gems of natural areas and cultural-historical treasures. You will discover them with this route. And of course you will also enjoy the terraces and beautiful Zeeland villages along the way.

The first few kilometres are a great way to loosen up your legs as you drive east from Renesse. Along the banks of the North Sea and the Grevelingenmeer you drive to Brouwershaven, the old town that enjoys the status of a protected cityscape within the former ramparts. On the city wall you can see De Haan, a former corn mill from 1724. At the market is the Town Hall, a monument whose history dates back to the fourteenth century.

On the south coast of Schouwen-Duiveland, around the village of Serooskerke, there are two beautiful nature reserves. First, you cycle along the edges of the Prunje, the oldest polder on the island. In the seventeenth century, this marshy wilderness was a true bird paradise. In the period that followed, however, the area was drained. After the flood disaster of 1953, farmers even brought it into cultivation. However, with the 'Plan Tureluur', the Prunje has been returned to nature. In spring and autumn, thousands of redshanks, black-tailed godwits, geese and plovers rest here. The area is a breeding ground for avocets, large terns and terns. Bird lovers can have a great time here: along the Delingsdijk and the Inlaagweg is the bird boulevard of Zeeland.

On the other side of Serooskerke you drive through Schelpenhoek, a creek area that arose from one of the largest dike breaches during the flood disaster. Schelpenhoek is also rich in birds, more than sixty species breed there, such as nightingales, great spotted woodpeckers and owls. A little further on you pass the Plompe Toren, the last remnant of the Schouwen village of Koudekerke that disappeared into the waves at the end of the sixteenth century. At the top of the tower you have a beautiful view of the Oosterschelde National Park.

The old village of Burgh was created around a ring rampart castle. This castle was intended to provide protection against the Normans who made the region unsafe at the end of the ninth century. A footpath leads you from Kerkstraat to the castle. The inner courtyard has been raised and the earthen wall, including the wooden palisades, has been partially restored. A reconstruction of an entrance gate has also been made. It gives you a wonderful impression of what the castle must have looked like ten centuries ago!