Drente
Drenthe
Hunzedal
Starts in Assen
Ends in Borger (first day) Emmen (second day)
Length 15 and 25 km
From the railway station in Assen, you have to go to Gieten by bus. Take bus 10 direction Winschoten, or bus 28 direction Stadskanaal. Leave the bus at bus stop "Brink"in Gieten. From there you take an unmarked route to the start of the hiking route:
Walk in the direction of the village church
- At signpost Y-226 go straight on, direction Eext-Veendam (cyclists)
- At signpost Y-982 straight on street named Spekstoep
- At three-way point (house number 14A) turn right, street named Oude Wildevanksterweg
- After 100m, follow road at signpost nr P-23541
- Now you are on the marked route.
In Borger you may want to visit the Hunebedcentrum (Note: info page also in English, German and French language, but you need to select the flag on top of the page to view it in your favourite language). This is nice museum about the people who created the "Hunebedden", passage graves built with large stones. You may see 50 of these graves scattered over Drenthe.
In Borger you can go back to Assen by bus.
For the second day, reviewers say the distance is much longer (25-26 km) than 21 km as stated in the route description. They also say the route description does not match the signs accurately. So, it may be difficult to find the correct route. It is suggested in the description that you need a bus for the last part to the railway station in Emmen. The map shows different information. The description looks sloppy to me, not really recommended.
Drente
Borger "Borger"
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Phone +31 651 852 417
The camping is hidden in the woods between the villages Borger and Rolde. Leave the main road at km 5.7 Sorry, not yet found bicycle nodes.
This site is a real beauty. Its a place in the middle of the wood and there is absolutely nothing. There is a pond with beach where you can sit watching sunset. Its a State Forest Company site. You have leave money in a mailbox, so make sure to have enough coins. Nearest shops are in Borger, which is about 4km.
Mantinge "Voscheheugte"
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Phone +31 593 552 568
The site is half way on the road between Mantinge and Meppen, both small villages in Drente. Look for a large restaurant, from Mantinge its on the left side of the road.
The site consists of a large grass field, surrounded by trees. The field is large, therefore you will not have much shadow during daytime. Its a quiet place, not suitable for children. The guests are mainly elder people with caravans. Not my favourite site. Shops are in Mantinge, about 5 km.
Note: somewhere at this site there is photo with a sunset above sun flower fields. This photo was taken at this camping.
Schoonebeek "De Bult"
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Phone +31 524 532 194
It's a private camping in the South-East part of Drente. From Schoonebeek just follow the signs. It's just outside town direction Emmen, 200 m from the main road.
This camping is one of the best I ever visited. They have several separated fields, each with its own atmosphere. It's a really lovely place to go with your kids. There is mini zoo, lots of vehicles the kids can play with and sometimes they create simple games for the kids. For adults the Mistress bakes pizzas (she's Italian originally). They will be delivered at your tent. In the morning you can order "broodjes" (small bread, freshly baked). On top they are really very nice people. Don't miss this one! If you are there, please visit the zoo in Emmen (right in the center of town).
Drenthe is very popular with cyclists. It is a province with moors and woods, for a long period inaccessible. Now a friendly place to eat some pancakes and enjoy a relaxed atmosphere.
Where is it?
You will find Drenthe in the Eastern part of the country.
Landscape
Originally Drenthe was very inaccessible for travellers. From the south you could go there trough the three towns in the south: Meppel, Hoogeveen and Coevorden. In Coevorden you still can recognize the walls used to support the military function of the town.
The province consisted of swamps, moors and woods. In the 19th century development starts. Most swamps were used to gain the peat, which was mainly used to make fires for heating and cooking. Now most peat disappeared. In the south-east region you still can find some remainders.
Stretching from south-east to north-east you can find the Drenthse Heuvelrug (Hill ridge). The hills were laid here by the glaciers from the Ice Age. The glaciers also brought the large stones that were used for the grave monuments we call "Hunebedden" You see one of the on the picture that illustrates this page. Most of them were destroyed in the 18th and 19th century, but about 50 of them remain. You may find them at the most unlikely locations. In the middle of a wood, in a private garden, near the church... Just look for them, you will see some of them.
In the south-east part they found oil. You still can see the remainders of oil pumps at some places.
Towns and villages
There are not many large towns in Drenthe. You may like to visit Hoogeveen and Emmen. Other larger towns are not very interesting. More interesting are the many villages. The characteristic type is a large square, called brink. The brink consists of grass and there a re standing trees. Around the brink you can find some shops and farm houses. A very nice brink village is Aalden, near Zweeloo. It may be a bit difficult to find the brink. It's a real hidden treasure. Orvelte is also a nice brink village. It has the character of an open air museum, but still some people live there.
Very special is Veenhuizen in the North of Drenthe. It is a prison village. You still can see the houses where the employees of the prisons used to live. There also is a small museum.
Westerbork has a memorial centre for the 2nd world war camp. Thousands of Dutch jews spent here some time before they were transported to the German camps like Auswitch. Westerbork also has a large radio telescope.
Emmen has a very nice zoo.