Walking through the dunes near Castricum

From Landgoed Duin & Bosch you take a loop walk through the dunes. First you walk through the old Bakkum estate. The oldest pines of the North Holland Dune Reserve grow here. You can still clearly recognize the old estate layout on the straight lanes. In some places there are open flat fields. They are remnants of failed attempts to develop the dune area for agriculture. About halfway through your walk you can make a pit stop at De Oude Keuken. The second part of the route also takes you through the dunes. In this sub-area of the North Holland Dune Reserve you walk through a 150 year old oak forest with a rich undergrowth of herbs and honeysuckle. The forest was originally planted for exploitation as oak coppice, now it is a beautiful nature reserve.