Cycling along the church games of North Drenthe

A wonderful cycling route in the north of Drenthe, through a wooded area, interspersed with vast farmland. You cycle through beautiful old green villages that used to belong to the so-called dingspil or Noorderveld jurisdiction. A thing-pillar was of old divided into church games; church congregations. The villages of Norg and Vries are old churches.

Horse Markets
In Norg, the Romano Gothic Saint Margaret's Church from the 13th century still occupies a prominent place. The beautiful church with the saddle roof, so characteristic of this region, is located in the middle of the Brink. They were built in the 19th century for the large horse markets. These markets are still organized four times a year, often in combination with another event.

Parish
Outside Norg you first cycle a few kilometers through the dense canopy of the forest area of Langeloërduinen and Oosterduinen. After that you mainly cycle through farmland with lovely quiet roads. Just past the town of Zeijen, you have to pay attention so that you don't miss the Tjasker Meestersveen. This funny little mill was used to dry a peat bog for the extraction of peat. The larger village of Vries is also an old church which you will now recognize by the clearly present Saint Boniface Church. In the church you will find a beautiful original baptismal font from the 13th century! The town of Yde has gained great fame because of the'girl of Yde\\\'. On May 12, 1897, a fairly complete body of a girl was found in the peat between Vries and Yde. This so-called'bog body\\\' is thousands of years old.

National Landscape Drentsche Aa
Between Vries and Yde you take a detour through the National Landscape Drentsche Aa. This is named after the Aa, one of the few streams in the Netherlands whose course has not been affected by human hands. The landscape in this area is nice and small, with meandering streams, bushes, heathland and fields. You will find picturesque villages with Saxon farms. In 2002, together with the Limburg Geuldal, the area was declared the most beautiful landscape in the Netherlands.