The Drenthe of the past

A day of cycling through the best preserved stream and esdorp landscape in Western Europe? Then go to Drenthe. And enjoy the historic atmosphere and tranquility.

The Drentsche Aa
In the Drentsche Aa National Stream and Esdorp Landscape you drive through a backdrop of grasslands, groves, hedgerows, heaths and ash trees. Historical? Yes, because the landscape has hardly changed in 150 years. The Drentsche Aa still meanders through the landscape in its original way. While almost every other area in the Netherlands was being overhauled, people here took the landscape as it lay. It seems like you are driving through a Drenthe open-air museum.

Saxon farms
Not only the landscape exudes the atmosphere of the past: you will also see old Saxon farms, such as in the atmospheric Gasteren and Andere. The route also takes you a bit through the Gieten-Borger Forestry, a wonderfully quiet place. In Gasselte you can take a look at the striking white Church of Our Lady, which originally dates from the mid-thirteenth century. At Restaurant de Wiemel you can enjoy a nice cup of coffee, lunch and dinner.