Lochem, Borne, Ootmarsum

From the collaboration with Flow Collection, a series of four themed cycling routes was created. Each route starts and ends at one of their hotels and is part of a complete cycling package across three provinces. Along the way, nature, culture and local experiences alternate. You can cycle the routes individually, but they also link beautifully if you follow the entire package.

This is the second route from Lochem to Ootmarsum, largely themed around Twickel Estate, showing how community spirit has always been a key value in this region.

Twickel is one of the best-preserved examples of an estate that functioned not only as a residence but as a self-sufficient system. From medieval times, it developed into a system with agriculture, forestry, water management and crafts as integral parts. Features like water mills, tenant farms and hedge rows remain visible today. Everything had a place and function, aligned with the seasons and estate’s own needs. Even today, the landscape is laid out by those principles: avenues, fields and streams were planted with clear purpose.

Cycling further, you'll notice that this idea of an organized living structure wasn’t limited to the estate alone. Nearby Stift Weerselo hosted unmarried noblewomen for centuries in a religious community with its own rules, rituals and facilities. The stift began as a Benedictine monastery for monks and nuns, and in the Middle Ages grew into a self-governing community with a semi-religious character. That too was a form of self-sufficient life, albeit on a smaller scale and with a different premise. Yet in both systems you see how a way of life translated into rules, roles and a distinct spatial order.

This Premium cycling route was curated by our editor Désirée van Uffelen in collaboration with Flow Collection.