Nederland: natuur en landschap

Schokland - a UNESCO world heritage site - with the church of the island, seen from the polder with lots of common dandelions.

Wooden breakwater at the beach of Schoorl, nearby “De Kerf’, a man made opening through the first row of dunes. Breakwaters are constructed to absorb the energy of the waves, intended to prevent the erosion of sand along the coast. Usually they stand perpendicular to the dunes. These breakwaters are very rare along the coast of North Holland, so I was quite lucky to find one. (In Zealand and Zeelandic Flanders they are quite common.)

The Vogelmeer (Bird Lake) is located in the middle of the open area of the Schoorlse Duinen . This wet dune valley was dug in the 1970s. There are always birds to be seen on and around the water. The lake owes its name from the many seagulls that used to breed here, but foxes have driven the birds away to a large extent. Black Aberdeen Angus cattle roam freely in the area around the lake and use the water to drink. If there is sufficient frost, the Vogelmeer is one of the most beautiful skating spots in the Schoorl area. To reach the 'ice rink' one has to walk about half an hour. During our visit in the winter - February 2021 - there was plenty of skating on the lake in an almost fairytale-like setting.

The Schoorlse Duinen (Schoorl Dunes) is a nature reserve nearby the village of Schoorl. If you walk around it is hard to imagine, but around 1900 the sand still had free play, until Staatsbosbeheer - a Dutch government organization for forestry and the management of nature reserves - started planting trees, not for recreation, but to prevent the dunes burying the villages. Now there is heathlan and forests of pine trees and perennial trees. The Schoorlse Duinen do have the highest dune (55,4 meters ) and the widest dunes (5 km) of the Netherlands. It also offers some dune lakes, among them the Vogelmeer (Bird Lake). On a beautiful but freezing winter's day, we walked the so-called roet route (soot trail). This route took us along places which were hit by forest fires in 2009, 2010 and 2011. Fortunately nature is starting to recover slowly, but surely.

The Kruisherenklooster (Monastery of the Crosiers, formally known as the Canons Regular of the Order of the Holy Cross) in Sint Agatha is dating back to 1315. In that year there was already a chapel dedicated to St. Agatha. Around 1371, some monks came to live near the chapel to attend it. The monastery of the Order of the Holy Cross arose from this little chapel. The monastery is still in use and is therefore the oldest monastery in the Netherlands still inhabited by clergy. From the 18th century onwards, the monastic garden was laid out. It is enclosed by a wall. It contains orchards, vegetable gardens and fish ponds, while until 1985 farm buildings were also located within the garden. A number of Crosiers practised gardening. The garden is also a reminder of religious matters. The boxwood hedges are cut in shapes like a cross on a globe, a snake, a ship and so on. The garden has an area of 2.5 ha and offers, apart from a lot of nice and colourful flowers, also a number of monumental trees, such as a 150-year-old tulip tree, a red and a green beech and an old oak. The monks were self-sufficient and for centuries lived largely off the proceeds of the land: a vegetable garden, fruit trees, fish ponds, chicken coops and beehives.

Staverden estate is a botanical paradise. There are more than 20 plant species on the list of rare and endangered plants in the Netherlands. In total, more than 300 species occur on the estate and the surrounding nature reserve. Like in many parks and gardens of estates, numerous rhododendrons blossom in spring.

The Strabrechtse Heide is a nature area about 1500 ha in size. It is largely under the care of Staatsbosbeheer (a Dutch government organization for forestry and the management of nature reserves). The area is the largest continuous heathland area in the province of Noord-Brabant with numerous fens, woods and sand drift areas. Common Heather and Common Juniper are found in the dry areas, and the more marshy wetlands are home to Erica, Purple Moor Grass, Bog Myrtle and Marsh Gentian. The spread of grass across the area is countered by allowing a flock of sheep to graze, by mowing and sod cutting. The heath area is surrounded by forests. \ The nature area was assigned as”Natura 2000” area under the name "Strabrechtse Heide & Beuven".

Pyrethrum was a genus of several Old World plants now classified as Chrysanthemum coccineum or Tanacetum coccineum, which are cultivated as ornamentals for their showy flower heads. Pyrethrum continues to be used as a common name and is also the name of a natural insecticide made from the dried flower heads of Chrysanthemum coccineum. The ‘Perzische Margriet’ (Persian chrysanthemum) is a perennial plant native to Caucasus and looks somewhat like a daisy. It produces large white, pink or red flowers. Picture: field of 'Perzische Margriet' between Sint-Maartensdijk en Scherpenisse ont he island of Tholen. .

Kersendijkje: foot/bike path from 'Castle De Cannenburch' to the water mill 'Cannenburghermolen'.

'Wijerd' (storage reservoir) for watermill 'Cannenburghermolen' at the back of 'Castle De Cannenburch'.

Waiting for a swim (??) to cool down a little bit on a hot sunny Sunday along the river Vecht. (PiPs: The picture was taken next to the ferry for pedestrians and cyclists over the river Vecht near the village of Dalfsen. I have used many ferries, but never a fully automatic one like this.)

Strand Noordpier (Noordpier beach) is located directly north of the Noordzeekanaal (North Sea Canal) and south of Wijk aan Zee. The beach is one of the widest in the Netherlands. The Noordpier - built to prevent the harbour from silting up and to offer ships a safe passage to the North Sea Canal - causes a special wind and waves, making the beach a popular spot for wave, wind and kite surfing. Officially, the pier and the beach are located in Velsen-Noord, but can only be reached via Wijk aan Zee. That is why many people call it the pier of Wijk aan Zee. The beach may be beautiful and wide, but what struck me during a visit on a freezing winter's day was the horizon pollution caused by the Tata Steel factory and some wind turbines. This makes it for me also one of the ugliest beaches in the Netherlands.

The history of Buitenplaats Beeckestijn (summer residence Beeckestijn) goes back to the 15th century. Beeckestijn used to be a country house for rich merchants from Amsterdam. In 1742, Jan Jacob Boreel bought Beeckestijn. Of all the residents, he left his mark on the appearance of the estate the most. Since early 2011, Natuurmonumenten has been the manager of the gardens and the park forest. The publicly accessible gardens of Beeckestijn are unique in the Netherlands, because it is the only location where one can simultaneously view two historically different styles. Just behind the manor a geometrically conceived part in the style of the French Baroque and adjacent a more natural English landscape park. Beeckestijn also has so-called utility gardens, such as a vegetable garden, orchard and herb garden. One of these gardens has a serpentine wall on two sides. The Netherlands only has eight of these walls left, two of which are at Beeckestijn. The winding shape retains heat from the sun and ensures that espalier fruit such as peaches, apricots and other exotic fruits can grow here. Garden and park forest are managed by ‘Natuurmonumenten’ - a Dutch society for preservation of nature monuments in the Netherlands.

Nationaal Park Veluwezoom (Veluwezoom National Park) is the oldest national park of the Netherlands. It has a surface area of 50 square kilometers at the southeastern edge of the Veluwe, a complex of terminal push moraines, dating back to the Saalian glaciation (150.000 years ago). For the Netherlands the park has a pronounced relief with the highest point in the park at (almost) 110 meters above sea level. The landscape of the park - formed during the two most recent glacial periods - consists of forests, heathland and a small sand drift. The park has a large amount of heathlands. Especially the area around the Posbank - a 90 meters high hill - is one of the most popular destinations when the heather is blooming. From the top of the hill one has astounding views over the area. The Vereniging Natuurmonumenten (Society for Preservation of Nature Monuments in the Netherlands) bought the first piece of the Veluwezoom in 1911. Since then it has acquired more areas. In 1930 it became the first national park in the Netherlands. The park is freely accessible.

Vlieland is one of the Dutch Waddeneilanden (West Frisian Islands). The (car-free) island is known for its beautiful beaches. The wide beach on the North Sea is one of the most beautiful and cleanest in the Netherlands. On the west side of the beach (at the end of the Reddingbootpad ), there is a 'nursery' of new dunes (PiP5). The beach of Vlieland is about 15 kilometres long and 150 metres wide on average. It has only two beach pavilions (PiP4).

Vlieland has a number of scattered forests, although these did not originally belong to the island. They are now over 100 years old; planted at the beginning of the 20th century. At that time, 300 ha of the dunes on Vlieland were converted into woodland. The main purpose was to get a grip on the shifting sand. On the highest points of the island, maritime pines were planted (this species can withstand dryness). Furthermore, Corsican, Austrian, and mountain pines were planted. Each pine was given its own place.

The lovely gardens of castle ‘De Wildenborch’ are open for the public a couple of times a year. We visited during a grey and gloomy Sunday afternoon, especially to see the blooming winter aconites (and lots of snow drops). Winter aconites are quite rare native European woodland plants. They flower early spring - just as the first snowdrops begin to bloom - and have a solitary bright yellow flower. The plant has a height of 5 - 8 cm. Picture 'De Wildenborch': www.ipernity.com/doc/294067/30931753/in/album/537955

De Wildenborch is one of the eight castles in and around the village of Vorden. The country estate consists of a castle with a round tower and side wings, a building house with a coach house attached to it and 38 ha. partly landscaped garden and partly park forest. The gardens of ‘De Wildenborch’ - considered being one of the most beautiful in the Netherlands - are open for public a couple of times a year. In spring, the English landscape garden is traditionally opened one weekend to let visitors enjoy the vast fields of snowdrops (and winter aconites). Between the deciduous trees, along the paths, near the water features; these heralds of spring appear everywhere and form a white carpet of flowers in various places. During our visit in 2021, the winter aconites - unlike exactly ten years earlier - were not yet in bloom. But we were able to enjoy thousands, if not millions of snowdrops.