Terrace route Mussel Aa and Bourtange

Your cycling route starts just outside Stadskanaal. In the nineteenth century, the canal after which the city is named was one of the busiest shipping routes in the Netherlands. On the other side of Mussel you will discover the stream valley of the babbling Mussel Aa, an idyllic spot. The characteristic Groningen farms are also present, you can see them in picturesque Smeerling, among other places. Grab a terrace here at Gasterij Natural Smeerling! At Hotel Bourtange you can enjoy a nice lunch on the pleasant garden terrace a little further away. A little later you can experience the old history of Bourtange, because this fortified village looks about the same as it did in 1742. William of Orange had the fortress built in the sixteenth century to liberate Groningen from Spanish hands.