Around Willemsoord

The bike tour starts in one of the former free colonies, the Overijssel village of Willemsoord. A bit of history: in 1818 the Society of Benevolence was founded by General Johannes van den Bosch who wanted to help the poor families after the French rule. Van den Bosch purchased wasteland in Drenthe and Overijssel to establish three free colonies where underprivileged families from the west of the Netherlands were given the opportunity to build a new life. The settlers were given a house with one hectare of land and the colony had facilities such as health care, religious education and school education. Thanks to the contributions of quite a few reasonably well-to-do Dutch people, the living conditions of those lower classes could be improved considerably.

The House of Orange was interested in the plans. The crown prince of Orange, later King Willem II, gave Willemsoord its name. Willem paid for the construction of the school and teacher's house; the costs amounted to 1400 guilders for the realization of both buildings. Willemsoord was founded in 1820 and built according to a strict street plan. The colonies died out after World War II. The Willemsoord Activities Foundation has been established as a modern continuation of it. This foundation is involved in organizing all kinds of social and cultural work and has a strong connecting role within the community.

Via beautiful country roads, the route then continues to the next historical place, at least, the former residence of an important historical figure. Pieter Stuyvesant is the most famous inhabitant that Peperga has ever had. He was director-general of New Netherland when New Amsterdam was the largest city. After his reign, the city was handed over to the English and renamed New York. Near the overpass over the highway is a monument to this historical figure: a boulder on which is mounted the model of the ship on which he reached America.

In the town of De Blesse you cannot miss the De Mars flour mill. This can be seen from afar in the flat and low country. From De Blesse you go through a beautiful polder area, the Catspolder, to the Linde valley. The river De Linde lies in a valley formed by a glacier tongue and is a connection between the Weerribben-Wieden National Park and the Rottige Meente nature reserve. It flows through former low moorland and therefore has blue grasslands along the banks and a special vegetation of various orchid species. The cycle route grazes the De Weerribben National Park, a beautiful water area with extensive water sports options. If you want to go through this on your own later, it's definitely worth it.

Close to Paasloo is De Tonmolen, a unique example and one of a kind in the Netherlands. The barrel mill was originally built in 1899. It was designed by a farmer who developed the type for draining his land that was regularly flooded. He could not build another type of windmill with blades because he had to remove too many trees. The original barrel mill operated for more than 50 years, but was lost in a storm in 1952. In 2002, on the initiative of the IJsselham Molenstichting, a replica was made. The mill is now used to demonstrate its operation. On your way back to Willemsoord you pass beautiful Overijssel farms and you go over wonderfully quiet rural roads.

It remains amazing how quiet this corner of Overijssel is, not yet discovered by mass tourism. A wonderful trip to completely relax.