About the seabed

Description

Start at the car park in the middle of the village and turn right at the roundabout.

Here is the artwork 'a flight of seagulls' on a ducat. Artist Jan Kip created this sculpture from bronze and wood. The work of art stands on a ducky calf, which can still be found in the canals and waterways of the Noordoostpolder .

At the Polderpad you cycle straight ahead. It is also a lovely place to take a break. Here, between the funny works of art, you have beautiful views over the fields towards Emmeloord. A little further on, along the Polderpad, you see the historic swinging basin, where the cargo ships that used to transport locally grown agricultural products could turn, which could not be done elsewhere in the narrow canals.

At the swinging basin, continue straight ahead. After the water (Espelervaart), turn left. Here you cycle past Pumping Station Steven Rippen, which regulates the water level in this part of the Noordoostpolder .

At the Pilotenweg turn left. Pilotenweg and Vliegtuigweg are named after the 29 aircraft that crashed in the Noordoostpolder during WWII. A little further on, you cycle past an obelisk that commemorates and marks another plane crash: August Willem Hamming crashed here in 1950 while in the service of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, researching the usability of planes in combating plant diseases in agriculture and horticulture.

Turn left a little further down Tollebekerweg. Look around carefully, as you will now pass a typical Langgevel farm. This is a rectangular farm type where the front house, stable and barn are built together and all doors are placed in the long gables. These farms here are nicknamed 'Zeeland farms'. They were mainly for the many farmers from Zeeland who came to the Noordoostpolder after WWII and the flood disaster.

After the Espelervaart canal, turn right at the T-junction towards Emmeloord. Look carefully at the driveways of the farms you cycle past. Characteristic of every farmyard entrance in the Noordoostpolder are the concrete posts with a letter-number combination, e.g. T 114. That was the unique number of the plot. On a limited number of farmyards, we still find the complete set of 2 low (sham) posts and 3 high vapour posts.

Continue cycling along the Oude Espelerweg towards and through Emmeloord. Hidden among the new buildings around Emmeloord, we find another farm from the 'first hour' here. The first series of farms built in the NOP were intended for the farmers who would 'mine and cultivate' the Polder. That is why we still call these farms Culture or Clearing Farms.

Cross Banterweg and turn left on the other side, where you cycle for about ten metres before turning right to cycle into the forest via the cycle path. In the forest, after a while you come to a cycle roundabout, where you go straight ahead and then turn left. You now cycle past the free-to-visit Food Forest: a forest for education for young and old, for the production of ecological food, for walking and enjoying nature.

Follow the cycle path along the N351 to cross the A6. You also cycle across the Lemstervaart canal. This canal runs from Emmeloord to Lemmer and empties into the IJsselmeer. Immediately afterwards, cycle under the road via the small tunnel and turn left at the crossroads onto Friesepad. In the distance looms a 'mountain', the old rubbish tip. Park your bike here and follow the path up the hill. A nice place to pause and enjoy the view.

Back on your bike, turn right after the 'hill', past the water. At the car park there is an information board about this area, the Wellerwaard. If you feel like and have time for a cup of coffee, a nice lunch or other refreshment, get off here at restaurant Bij Ons in de Wellerwaard.

Follow the path just to the right of the water, past the new housing estate. After the small bridge, turn right on the winding path. You are now in the Burchttocht area, owned by the water board and intended to collect excess water in case of extreme rainfall. You can see orchids, butterflies, dragonflies, birds and frog pools here, among other things.

Turn diagonally left onto Kuinderweg and turn right at Oosterringweg. A little later, turn left onto Lindeweg. You will now pass a fine example of post-war architecture only seen in the Noordoostpolder : the shock concrete barn.

From Lindeweg, turn diagonally right at Kuinderweg and then sharp left at the roundabout into the Kuinder forest. You cycle past the Burch of Kuinre here. The illustrious Lords of Kuinre built the castle at a strategic location near Kuinre. From here, they undertook raids on the Zuiderzee and controlled shipping to the Hanseatic cities.

Now follow the path to the right over a small bridge through the forest, you eventually come out on Hopweg, which you turn left onto. A little further on the right side of the Hopweg, you pass the Old Harbour of Kuinre. Kuinre, which today lies in Overijssel, was a thriving trading town in the Middle Ages. The reclamation of the Noordoostpolder in 1942 brought a definitive end to Kuinre as a port town.

Cycle a little further along Hopweg. To the left of the road you can see a weir in the water. The resulting current makes the water very oxygen-rich. The meadow damselfly, a beautiful dragonfly, needs this to reproduce. You see lots of dragonflies here especially from May to August.

After the weir, cycle further along Hopweg and turn left towards Natuurkampeerterrein de Veenkuil. Then cycle through the forest until you reach Schoterweg, where you turn left. To the left of the road you can see the remains of the shipwreck 'Queen Anne', with a vista panel and information boards next to it. Step off for a moment to read them.

After the wreck, turn right onto Schoterpad. At Ruttenseweg, then turn left to cross the A6. Then quickly turn left again, onto Lemsterweg. Stop for a moment on the bridge over the canal. You have beautiful views here. On one side, the vastness of the fields, on the other, a beautiful, wide hedge of trees.

Turn right at the junction with Veneweg. To the right of the road you will see Boerderij Langeveld, a cultural farm with a thatched roof. Just after WWII, roof tiles were scarce and thatch was plentiful in the polder. A little further on, turn into the Venepad and further on at the T-junction turn right towards Rutten. Right next to Polenweg you pass an unloading wharf with a swinging basin, where agricultural products used to be transferred from cart or lorry to a barge for further transport.

Continue left along the Wrakkenweg and then turn right at the Wrakkenpad. Cycling through the Flevoland countryside, you will sometimes come across a blue and white pole with a red ship. A marker of a tragedy that took place here centuries ago. So too here.

At the end of the Wrakkenpad, turn left. You are now at the Rotterdamse Hoek nature reserve. The name of this area refers to the bombing of Rotterdam during World War II: The story goes that the city's debris was used to reinforce the dike. In the distance on the dike is a lighthouse in memory. 'Corner' refers to a kink in the dike around the Noordoostpolder. A vista panel next to the lighthouse provides further explanation of this location.

Cycle along Westermeerweg for a while and then turn left, onto the Onderduikerspad. At the end of the Onderduikerspad, turn right towards Espel and you will be back at your starting point.