Bakkum Estate and the North Holland Dune Reserve

The beautiful Bakkum Estate is the oldest part of the North Holland Dune Reserve: this is where it all began. Take it with you on a lovely long walk through this reserve with its special nature.

Bakkum Estate
Along the edge of Castricum you walk to the old Bakkum Estate, from which the North Holland Dune Reserve originated. You see straight lanes and Scots pines that were planted around 1860. In the thirties a dune lake was created here as a work creation project, to dig up sand for the construction of a viaduct. It was given the appropriate name Meertje van Vogelenzang: many birds can be found here, such as the kingfisher and bittern.

North Holland Dune Reserve
On the Zeeweg you will shortly pass the Visitors Centre De Hoep - here you will learn everything about the nature of the North Holland Dune Reserve. The variety of plants and animals is a rarity in Europe. The nature reserve runs from Wijk aan Zee to Bergen, an elongated strip of about 20 kilometres with a width of 2.5 kilometres.