Route through Beautiful Gaasterland

From the DvhN 20-08-2016 by www.paulstraatsma.nl

A touch of England

Although modest in nature, the Netherlands also has cliffs. They are located on the IJsselmeer coast of Gaasterland and it is a pleasure to cycle there. 

How hard can it be? Today we keep it simple. We go to the beautiful, mysterious Gaasterland, park the car at the first cycling junction sign we see, unload the bike, think of a route on the spot - a provisional one that we can always adjust - and get started. The route doesn't matter today, as long as the goal is clear - and that is it: the cliffs of Gaasterland. I've always wanted to cycle past all three - the one from Oudemirdum, the one from Mirns and the Rodeklif near Warns - because it's always fun, especially in times of the Olympic Games, to come up with your own competition, divide bronze, silver and gold.
A vague memory, that's all we set off with: an old school poster that apparently made an impression and stuck to a rusty nail in the memory. The day before the route, I quickly checked via the internet (cliffs, Gaasterland, school poster: enter) whether the memory is not playing tricks. No, it's true, the Netherlands really has them: cliffs! Okay, admittedly, they don't match Coba da Roca in Portugal, that wild stump in the sea, nor the capricious shapes of Etretat on the Normandy coast, or the White cliffs of Dover so sweetly sung about by Vera Lynn, but they are and remain cliffs, period. Eelke Jelles Eelkema painted them sometime in the 19th century.
We set off, towards the green plain, braving the wind. Tough perennial ryegrass all over the place with a bunch of cows here and there and behind the dike the sails of the boats on the IJsselmeer gliding by. We want to see more of the latter and we can do so at the Seedyk Kiekje, the first place we stop: a small bridge that is not a bridge and hangs in the air halfway along the dike. The viewpoint was commissioned by the farm a little further away, and was co-financed for the development of the countryside, thanks to Brussels.
The first height differences in the landscape appear, we see it and immediately feel it on the bike, we have to work a little more for it and as a reward we get a few fast meters for free. The Hege Gerzen, a somewhat strange place for daytime recreation, let's leave it for what it is, the entrance fee - although only one euro - still prevents you from going past the cash register. We are not looking forward to mini golf today.
There is the Oudemirdumer cliff, or rather: it must be somewhere further along the water. We park the bike at the Minneminnespaad, the path to the Zuiderzee, as the IJsselmeer was still called in the time of Minne Minnes de Vries. The last fisherman from the Oudemirdumer cliff lived in the front part of the house a little further away - anyone who wants can rent it - and made his way to the water every day, with the traps for the eel on his back. The photo on the information board shows his proud posture. Another sign tells about the garden walls (see article earlier in this appendix).
Beautiful, that cliff, a great spot. The beauty is not only in those few meters of height difference, but also in the peace and quiet, the wind that you feel rustling, a touch of England. We walk down, a few meters, that's all it is, as far as possible, because owner Natuurmonumenten is oh so careful with her gem. Unfortunately, no white steep edge, as on the school poster. There is no other option, because high tides and heavy storms that crumble the coast have disappeared with the Zuiderzee.
It should be clear by now. This is the afternoon of sightseeing, leaning the bike against something and then going for a walk. We do this again at the Mirnser cliff, after we have of course made a stop at the Mar en Klif visitor center in Oudemirdum (see box). Also beautiful, the Mirnser cliff, the place is announced from afar by the brightly colored 'kites' that skim through the air behind the dike. Unfortunately, the crowds on the beach and in the water distract from the landscape. So we get back on the bike. If you want, you can take a beautiful walk through the Rijsterbos from here.
The surprise of the trip is in Laaxum, the former mini fishing village with a real harbor and fishermen's houses on the dike. We cycle further, although the fish restaurant invites us for a longer stop. We still have a cliff to go and for that we really have to step up our game - or is it the headwind that does it... Reaklif, the Red Cliff, the place where the Frisians fought the battle of Warns commemorate and cherish their identity - Leaver dea as slaef - a pimple in the landscape. Time to distribute the medals, but we will not venture into bronze, silver and gold, you can decide for yourself. One thing is certain: it is a pleasure to cycle along the coast of Gaasterland. 

Mar and Cliff
Anyone who wants to know more about the history of Gaasterland can visit Mar en Klif, the visitor center of the National Landscape Southwest Fryslân. The visitor center tells the story of the moraine landscape and the ice age that left the relief with the cliffs in Gaasterland. Attention is also paid to the characteristic forests in the area.
Mar and Cliff
Brink 4, Oudemirdum

Route
The tour uses the cycle junction network,
Start: Nijemirdum, cycle junction 24. Cycle successively via 23, 16, 15, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 8, 7, 13, 14, 17, 18, 20, 21, 27, 26, 25, 24.