Drenthe sheepfolds and sand villages

Thatched roofs and thatched farms In the old Drenthe sand villages such as Odoorn Exloo and Valthe you can still see all kinds of elements from the old agricultural settlements that originated here in the Middle Ages. Several places even still have a real sheepfold in the middle of the village from where the original Drenthe herd leaves for the heath every day. On the dry, higher sandy soils of central Drenthe, the first settlements originated in the Middle Ages, while the surrounding marshy peat areas remained uninhabited for centuries. These sand villages all had the same structure, much of which can still be seen in the current places. One or more thatched roofs were located in the centre. These were shared fields on which the farmers mainly grew grains. Around them stood several large wooden farms, originally covered with straw. Right on the edge of the village was the brink, a field with grass and large oak trees, the wood of which could be used for a new farm or, for example, a sheepfold. After a tree was cut down, a new one was immediately planted. Because agriculture on the dry sandy soils was very difficult, the farmers mainly kept cows and sheep. The cows grazed on lower areas around a stream and the sheep on the heath. The animals not only gave the farmers wool, milk and meat, but also fertile manure. The sheep flocks returned to the sheepfold in the evening and the next day the farmers collected the droppings left behind and spread them over the fields on the es so that they became more fertile. In this way, the sheep played a key role in the agricultural development of the Drenthe sand villages. Nowadays, several places still have their own sheep flock, sometimes with a sheepfold in the middle of the village, such as in the tourist places Exloo and Orvelte. In the summer months, one of the shepherds takes the animals to the heathlands every day, where they keep the landscape open by grazing alone. There are two official Drenthe sheep breeds, the somewhat larger Schoonebeeker heath sheep that has a long coat in various colours with a hairy structure and the much more slender Drentse Heideschaap with a woolly tail and usually greyish white coat. The rams have formidable looking large twisted horns. This breed already roamed here 4000 years before Christ and is therefore the oldest sheep breed on the mainland of Western Europe. The purpose of the herds has changed considerably. It is now mainly about maintaining the breeds and managing nature reserves. In addition, the herded herds guided by shepherds have a great cultural-historical value. Keeping the sheep flocks in Drenthe is even part of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of the Netherlands. On this route you cycle through various old sand villages you visit two active sheepfolds you see if you are lucky free-roaming sheep in the nature reserves along the way and you experience the primeval nature of Drenthe. Tip if you want to see even more old thatched farms and sheepfolds then cycle from junction 59 in De Kiel to the Open Air Museum Ellert and Brammert at Tramstraat 73 in Schoonoord. There you will find, among other things, a replica of an old sod hut and thatched old farms. There is also a small old sheepfold that is used by deer. In the middle area there is a larger sheepfold with a small herd that is not accessible. This Premium cycling route has been put together by our editor Wieger Favier.