Discover Winterswijk and the surrounding area

National Landscape Winterswijk is a natural region in the Gelderse Achterhoek. Here you cycle through a semi-open bocage landscape of avenues and meandering streams in narrow valleys. Here and there you see wooded banks and authentic Saxon farms. Please note: you will only pass Winterswijk at the end of your route, the rest you will drive through the quiet countryside! In this sparsely populated region you automatically switch back and relax completely. A unique experience in our otherwise busy country.

The route also leads you through a number of small forests. One of them is Knownelle south of Winterswijk, an old deciduous forest that, together with nineteen other nature areas, forms the Winterswijk National Landscape. You can see alder, ash and oak here. The Boven-Slinge meanders through Knownelle, where the kingfisher lives, among other things. The great yellow wagtail and the middle spotted woodpecker are also found in this forest.

In addition to Saxon farms and mansions, there are still a few beautiful old mills on your route. Just outside Winterswijk you soon pass De Oliemölle, a former double watermill on the course of the Boven-Slinge. In these old mills, corn was ground and oil was pressed. The history of the mills probably goes back to the fourteenth century. At the end of 2014, the water mill was bought by an entrepreneur who wants to establish apartments in it.

Towards the end of the route, on the edge of Winterswijk, you will pass Molen de Bataaf, a corn mill dating from 1801. The shareholders of this mill were so-called scholtenboeren, a group of gentlemen farmers from the Winterswijk area. In the late Middle Ages, a'scholt\\\' was a manager who managed a large farm in East Gelderland and neighboring Westphalia on behalf of the nobility. After 1600, these scholten managed to strengthen their position in the absence of the noble lord. From the end of the nineteenth century, many Scholten farmers even converted their farms into small castles or villas.

You start and end this route at Recreation Park Het Winkel near Winterswijk. You will experience the comfortable outdoor life at this beautifully situated and hospitable campsite. Het Winkel has many facilities, so that you can enjoy a carefree holiday here as an adult and a child. People who go on a bike ride can also visit the campsite, they can enjoy a drink and culinary snack in the coffee bar or restaurant. Those who want to spend the night here can pitch their tent or pitch their caravan or motorhome at Het Winkel. You can also book a chalet or - if you go glamping - a luxuriously furnished Vacanstudio. You can also drive route 211542 from this beautiful location.