Natuur en cultuurroute through northern Netherlands
Haulerwijk, Fochteloo, Norg
According to Wikipedia, culture is “everything created and passed on by people. It stands opposite to nature and refers to human activity.” A dictionary defines culture as “the collection of norms, values, traditions, rules and artistic expressions of a country, people or group.” In other words, it’s a broad concept. For this cycle route through Norg, Fochteloo and Haule, we found several great stops that connect perfectly with the idea of culture. And although Wikipedia places culture opposite nature, here they go hand in hand. You can park your car near the birdwatching hut at Fochteloërveen and start your route at junction 64. The Fochteloërveen is an impressive wetland on the border of Friesland and Drenthe – a raised bog full of peat mosses, rare plants and wildlife. It’s worth slowing down here and enjoying the scenery, perhaps from inside the bird hide. By this point, you’ve already crossed quietly into the province of Drenthe. On a cultural route through the north of the Netherlands, you can’t skip a hunebed. In Westervelde, you’ll find a real Drenthe hunebed – part of the Funnelbeaker culture. Hunebed D2 has been restored several times, but the contents of the burial chamber, dating back to 4400 BC, have never been excavated and may still be intact. In the next village, Norg, you’ll find more contemporary cultural stops. You can visit an antiques shop, an art gallery and a traditional windmill. From there, you cycle through green meadows and the lovely Slokkert stream valley toward Haulerwijk. Then it’s on through the Blauwe Bos (Blue Forest) to Haule. This forest was planted in the 1930s by Lambertus Kok and his wife Grietje Wijchman. Around their house, they planted Douglas fir and Sitka spruce on the 17 hectares they owned – trees with a bluish sheen. That was the beginning of the Blauwe Bos, which grew between 1935 and 1960 into a forest of some 300 hectares. It is now managed by Staatsbosbeheer. From the small entrepreneur village of Haule, you cycle back toward the stunning Fochteloërveen. You’ll pass the rural outskirts of Oosterwolde and the historic farm of Lara Aldewereld. At her flower nursery and picking garden, culture and nature come together in the best possible way. During the season, you can pick your own colourful bouquet – a living souvenir of a very special route.
| Directions | Distance | Total distance | |
|
Start: Fochtelooërveen , 8428 RR Ooststellingwerf | 42.2 KM | |
|
From
64
to
63
|
4263 M | 4.3 KM | |
| Head east | 2.7 KM | ||
| Keep right at the fork | 1.5 KM | ||
| Make a slight right onto Hoofdweg | 8 M | ||
| Turn left | 35 M | ||
| Turn right | 40 M | ||
| You are now at section 63 | 0 M | ||
|
From
63
to
84
|
2908 M | 2.9 KM | |
| Head east | 25 M | ||
| Turn left onto Norgerweg | 2.9 KM | ||
| You are now at section 84 | 0 M | ||
|
From
84
to
80
|
1431 M | 1.4 KM | |
| Head northeast on Hoofdweg | 1.4 KM | ||
| You are now at section 80 | 0 M | ||
|
From
80
to
87
|
1855 M | 1.9 KM | |
| Head northeast on Schoolstraat | 800 M | ||
| Make a slight left | 36 M | ||
| Turn right | 6 M | ||
| Continue onto Asserstraat | 12 M | ||
| Turn left | 326 M | ||
| Make a slight right onto Asserstraat (N373) | 675 M | ||
| You are now at section 87 | 0 M | ||
|
From
87
to
48
|
2184 M | 2.2 KM | |
| Head northeast on Brink (N858) | 438 M | ||
| Turn left onto Roeghoornweg | 114 M | ||
| Make a slight left to stay on Roeghoornweg | 1.6 KM | ||
| You are now at section 48 | 0 M | ||
|
From
48
to
15
|
789 M | 0.8 KM | |
| Head northwest on Roeghoornweg | 789 M | ||
| You are now at section 15 | 0 M | ||
|
From
15
to
72
|
4017 M | 4 KM | |
| Head west on Achtersteweg | 600 M | ||
| Turn left onto Middenweg | 1.3 KM | ||
| Turn right onto Hoofdweg (N373) | 339 M | ||
| Make a slight right onto Schoolbrink | 1.7 KM | ||
| You are now at section 72 | 0 M | ||
|
From
72
to
71
|
2763 M | 2.8 KM | |
| Head northwest | 603 M | ||
| Turn left onto Markeweg | 1.8 KM | ||
| Turn right | 335 M | ||
| You are now at section 71 | 0 M | ||
|
From
71
to
70
|
877 M | 0.9 KM | |
| Head southwest on Hoofdweg | 877 M | ||
| You are now at section 70 | 0 M | ||
|
From
70
to
65
|
1674 M | 1.7 KM | |
| Head southwest on Hoofdweg | 1.7 KM | ||
| You are now at section 65 | 0 M | ||
|
From
65
to
86
|
2423 M | 2.4 KM | |
| Head southwest on Hoofdstraat | 1.3 KM | ||
| Turn left onto Lindelaan | 13 M | ||
| Turn right to stay on Lindelaan | 522 M | ||
| Turn right onto Schans Portugal | 47 M | ||
| Turn left to stay on Schans Portugal | 76 M | ||
| Turn right onto Schoolstraat | 202 M | ||
| Turn left onto Hoofdstraat | 263 M | ||
| Turn right | 26 M | ||
| You are now at section 86 | 0 M | ||
|
From
86
to
95
|
4405 M | 4.4 KM | |
| Head southwest on Haulerwijksterweg | 153 M | ||
| Continue straight | 2.2 KM | ||
| Turn left onto Elleboogsvaart | 10 M | ||
| Turn right onto Norgerweg - Elleboogsvaart | 10 M | ||
| Turn left onto Elleboogsvaart | 61 M | ||
| Turn right to stay on Elleboogsvaart | 24 M | ||
| Turn right onto Slotemaker de Bruïneweg | 1.8 KM | ||
| Turn left onto Norgerweg | 57 M | ||
| Make a slight right onto Slotemaker de Bruïneweg | 81 M | ||
| Make a slight left | 30 M | ||
| Make a slight right onto Kerkstraat | 7 M | ||
| You are now at section 95 | 0 M | ||
|
From
95
to
98
|
2932 M | 2.9 KM | |
| Head southeast on Kerkstraat | 7 M | ||
| Turn right onto Oosterwoldseweg (N918) | 210 M | ||
| Turn right onto Valckeniersweg | 120 M | ||
| Turn left | 125 M | ||
| Turn right | 217 M | ||
| Turn left onto Kerkstraat | 314 M | ||
| Make a slight left | 465 M | ||
| Make a slight right | 548 M | ||
| Turn right | 926 M | ||
| You are now at section 98, on the right | 0 M | ||
|
From
98
to
91
|
1335 M | 1.3 KM | |
| Head northeast | 1 M | ||
| Turn right | 564 M | ||
| Turn left | 382 M | ||
| Continue straight | 388 M | ||
| You are now at section 91 | 0 M | ||
|
From
91
to
76
|
2487 M | 2.5 KM | |
| Head east on Dorpsstraat | 1.5 KM | ||
| Turn right onto Rolpaal | 92 M | ||
| Turn left | 29 M | ||
| Turn left | 860 M | ||
| You are now at section 76 | 0 M | ||
|
From
76
to
60
|
3112 M | 3.1 KM | |
| Head south | 6 M | ||
| Continue onto Rendijk | 1.8 KM | ||
| Turn right onto Weperpolder | 127 M | ||
| Turn left | 9 M | ||
| Continue onto Weperpolder; Fochtelooerveen | 1.1 KM | ||
| You are now at section 60 | 0 M | ||
|
From
60
to
62
|
1313 M | 1.3 KM | |
| Head southeast on Fochtelooërveen; Fochtelooerveen | 1.3 KM | ||
| You are now at section 62 | 0 M | ||
|
From
62
to
64
|
1457 M | 1.5 KM | |
| Head southeast on Fochtelooërveen; Fochtelooerveen | 1.5 KM | ||
| You are now at section 64 | 0 M |