The extensive peat meadows of the Zaan region

Mill De Held Joshua
The walk starts in the village of Koog aan de Zaan, which is sandwiched between Zaandam and Zaandijk. From the station you walk towards the Zaan River, which you follow in a southerly direction. This will automatically take you to Zaandam, where you can admire the De Held Jozua mill on the west side of the railway line. As a national monument, this beam sawyer can be visited by appointment. At the end of the Westerwindpad, a visit to the De Fronik local farm is worthwhile. Then you walk over the old Noorder IJ and Zeedijk to Nauerna and further along the water of the canal to Westzaan. Along the way you will see typical peat meadow landscapes with grazing cows and meadow birds.

Paper mill the Schoolmaster
There was once a time when the best paper came from the Zaan region. De Schoolmeester is the only mill in the world where wind-made paper is still produced today. The first Zaanse paper mills only made blue and gray paper. White paper was only added later. The Schoolmaster also does not produce white paper. Take a look at this mill if you want to see how this paper is made.