Nederland: natuur en landschap

Hoog Buurlo is a agricultural enclave amidst heathland, woods and beech avenues. Field farming, keeping sheep and chopping oak (tannic acid from oak bark was used in the tannery) provided the necessary income. Hoog Buurlo is most probably the smallest hamlet of the Netherlands, with two former farmhouses, two sheepfolds, just a couple of residents and over a hundred sheep. The name (Hoog) Buurlo appears already in the 9th century and is a combination of "bur" (small house) and "lo" (forest). The hamlet is well known for its sheepfold and herd. It attracts many visitors, especially in spring when lambs are born.

Grove of trees on the golf course of the Veluwse Golf Club. PiP's: During winter (and snow) no golf players but children using their sleds.

The Groene Poeltje (Little Green Puddle) is situated just outside the village of Hoog Soeren in a small valley of a hill named Pomphul . The valley with the puddle has probably already had an attraction and significance for the inhabitants of this elevated part of the Veluwe in prehistoric times. The nearby burial mounds in prove that people lived here from an early age. Due to the high altitude of Hoog Soeren, obtaining sufficient drinking water was often a problem in the past. Around 1800 a pump was installed in the valley of Pomphul. When in summer the rain barrels and wells in Hoog Soeren were dry, the villagers had to fetch water from Groene Poeltje with a barrel on a barrow. The trip with the heavy barrow back up to the village was quite a job. In 1927 the village became its own water piping. Since the 17th century, however, a water pipe made of lead, wooden and earthenware pipes ran from Pomphul to the gardens of Het Loo Palace . The construction of this 13-kilometer long pipeline was commissioned by king Willem III. The difference in height of about 30 meters caused an enormous water pressure. The final result were 20 fountains, each 4 meters high and one fountain 13 meters high; the highest spouting fountain in Europe !!

The Aardhuispark is a fenced-off part of Kroondomein Het Loo (The Loo Royal Estate). It is situated - as the name suggests - around Het Aardhuis . The park offers a mixture of open landscape with a wildlife meadow, lanes with old beech and oak trees and water pools. A three-kilometre walking route has been marked out in the park. This route also leads to a hideout for wildlife spotting. During my last visit, I saw a group of 15 to 20 deer grazing and resting there (PiP1).

Dekema State: drive way from the Dekemawei to the mansion with lime trees pruned like a candelabrum. (De oprijlaan met gecandelaberde linden, ook wel 'zwarte singel' genoemd'.)

The Singer Laren sculpture garden is designed by Piet Oudolf, a well-known Dutch garden architect. The garden contains sculptures by contemporary Dutch artists, all of them on the theme of the relationship between culture and nature. The Singer Laren sculpture garden is accessible free of charge.

Beekbergerwoud: a 'new' nature reserve, restored on the location of the last Dutch primeval forest, which was cut down in 1871.

The Engbertsdijksvenen owes its name to the Engberts farming family. The area used to consist of a four to seven meter thick layer of peat that was formed around 10,000 years ago. The original peat bog was about 180,000 hectares in size. Peat extraction started relatively late and was a small-scale operation until the 19th century. Farmers used the peat for their own needs, for instance to stoke their stoves. At the beginning of the 20th century, the peat extraction of the Engbertsdijksvenen was done on a large scale and lasted until the middle of the last century. From 1953, Staatsbosbeheer (a Dutch government organization for forestry and the management of nature reserves) bought land in the Engbertsdijksvenen . Peat was last excavated in 1984. The area covers an area of 1,000 ha. A small core of peat of about 17 ha still has its original thickness. Only 25 hectares of "living" raised bog remain in the Netherlands. The Engbertsdijksvenen has been given a protected status in several respects. The Staatsnatuurmonument (National natural monument) has also been designated a Natura 2000 area. It is therefore part of a European network of high-quality nature reserves. It is an international wetland and the largest and most important raised bog area in Western Europe.

Gelderland - Veluwe - Kootwijkerzand: shifting sand dunes nearby Kootwijk.

Kootwijkerzand is a drifting sand area on the Veluwe in the Dutch province of Gelderland. With an area of 700 ha is the largest shifting sand area in Western Europe. It is part of the Kootwijk forestry reserve. Around 2500 BC, people already lived on the Kootwijkerzand . A flint arrowhead and some pottery remains from around 1700 BC have been found. In the second century AD, a few farms were built and from 700 AD one can speak of a village. In the Middle Ages, iron ore was collected and processed. For this purpose, forest was cut down on a large scale for the production of charcoal. The sandy soil was exposed and started to shift. As a result, the village disappeared under the sand in the 11th century. Management measures are necessary to keep the sand of the Kootwijkerzand moving. Otherwise algae, mosses, lichens and higher plants will cover the sand. The sand is still really drifting. In strong winds, the loose sand blows away in certain places, and comes back down a bit further on. As a result, the terrain changes shape again and again, forming new sand dunes. On the open sandy plain, the temperature can rise to 40 degrees Celsius, while the night temperature can also drop below 0 degrees in summer . The area is often called “the Dutch Sahara”.

Kootwijkerzand is a drifting sand area on the Veluwe in the Dutch province of Gelderland. With an area of 700 ha is the largest shifting sand area in Western Europe. It is part of the Kootwijk forestry reserve. During our last visit on a cold clear day in December 2021 the landscape and the trees were partly covered (in the shade) with hoarfrost, which made a particularly charming and moody scene. Especially as during our walk we were just the two of us and didn't encounter any other people in this amazing drifting sand area.

Blooming heath at the ‘Kootwijkse Veld’, nearby Stroe, a settlement at the edge of the Veluwe.

The Zuiderheide is one of the heathland areas in Het Gooi ; an area centred on the spur of the so called Utrechtse Heuvelrug (Utrecht Hill Ridge). The height differences in the area were created 120,000 years ago during the penultimate ice age. There are several ca. 4,000-year-old prehistoric burial mounds on the Zuiderheide , which protrude above the heathland like clearly recognisable green domes. The southernmost part of the heathland - near Theehuis 't Bluk - consists of shifting sand, in fact a Dutch 'desert'. The sand that lies here was once brought by the polar storms of the last ice age. After being pleasantly surprised by the beauty of the area last year, this year we visited especially for the blooming heather fields. And partly due to the wet spring, the Zuiderheide was also purple as purple can be !!

The hondsroos (dog rose) is quite common in the Netherlands. I came across a lot of them during a walk in the National Park Lauwersmeer. Its flowers - blooming in June and July - are usually pale pink, but can vary between a deep pink and white. They are 4 - 6 centimeters in diameter with five petals. The name hondsroos refers to ancient Greek medicine when the plant was used against hondsdolheid (= rabies).

Waterfall of Loenen, one of the highest of the Netherlands. This waterfall in the so called ‘Vrijenbergspreng’ has a fall of 10 metres (in two steps). As a matter of fact there is a second waterfall downstream with four steps and about 15 metres high.

Mantingerveld consists of four small nature reserves, which are reduced to one large continuous area through activities of Natuurmonumenten (a Dutch society for nature conservation). The original landscape of the province of Drenthe with heathland, raised moors and fens must be restored over time. Mantingerzand - one of the four reserves - lies somewhat higher and that made it uneconomical to cultivate the area in the past centuries. On maps from the beginning of the 17th century, the area is already clearly distinguishable; it has hardly changed since then. Mantingerzand is an area with shifting sand hills with countless juniper bushes on it. The reserve with juniper berries was acquired by Natuurmonumenten in 1920; one of the first purchases of the organisation in the province of Drenthe. On the edge of the reserve are numerous old crooked oaks, which held the drifting sand. The oldest tree in the Mantingerzand is a pine, which has probably been here since 1840.

The gardens of the Muiderslot (Muiden Castle) are located next to the castle and are often 'forgotten' by visitors. I can recommend to take a look in the gardens; a lovely place to enjoy and relax. The gardens of Muiderslot were first designed and created in the 17th century: to enjoy, to show off and to eat out. In that era it was always practical and necessary to have vegetables, herbs and fruit nearby. A berceau (beech alley) divides the garden into two sections. Windows have been made into the hedges, allowing a look into the garden rooms. The ‘green tunnel’ allowed the lord of the castle and his guests to stroll in the shade. The garden layout with its sober lines, shaped hedges, trees and rare plants served to impress many a guest. The vegetable garden ( Warmoeshof ) still offers (forgotten) vegetables. It was the best way to ensure a steady food supply since Muiderslot was far away from the markets. In the herb garden ( Kruidhof ) kitchen, medicinal, and ornamental herbs are grown. The medicinal herbs supplied the castle pharmacy.

The Motketel is originally a wet area, where the groundwater level is close to the surface. The name probably refers to a low area with humus frequented by wild boar. A mot or motte is a female pig and a boar's daytime resting place and nest is called ketel . Between 1600 and 1800, the high groundwater level was used to dig water wells here. The water from the more than 20 wells was discharged via man made brooks and streams to the village of Vaassen. Running water meant business and therefore income. With watermills, the water was used for washing, grinding, hammering and cutting. In the 18th century, 17 watermills were operated, using the water from the Motketel springs. The watermills have almost all disappeared, but the Cannenburchermolen , near the castle of the same name, is still there. The watercourses of the Motketel form the most intact and complex system, which is still visible in the landscape and is one of the most unique in the Netherlands. The system is opened up by a network of footpaths.