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Your cycle 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 rippling Mussel Aa, an idyllic spot. The characteristic Groningen farms are not lacking either, you can see them in the picturesque Smeerling, for example. Grab a terrace here at Gasterij Natural Smeerling! At Hotel Bourtange you can enjoy a nice lunch a little further down the road on the cozy garden terrace. 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.