Around the great marsh

Route and sights:The journey begins in Uchte at the station of the museum railway Rahden-Uchte. We leave the village in a northerly direction, pass under the B 61 and reach fields and grasslands on the outskirts of the Großes Moor. The Großes Moor is the largest moor in the district of Nienburg/Weser. It belongs to the so-called high moors, which rely exclusively on precipitation water and are therefore very nutrient-poor. Natural moorland areas can now only be found in a few places, especially in the southeastern outskirts.Almost the entire core area of the moor is subject to industrial peat extraction. After the peat extraction is completed, these areas are intended to be restored to as natural a state as possible. This will especially involve the closure of numerous drainage ditches, which are meant to retain precipitation water and restore the characteristic high moor water balance. This would make an important contribution to preserving the animal and plant species adapted to the high moor, for which there are hardly any other retreat areas, from extinction and to maintaining a typical landscape element for Lower Saxony.On our circular route, which mainly leads us around the moor due to the poor accessibility of the paths within the moor, we only see a few natural moorland areas. However, especially at the southeastern edge, we have to walk a bit into the moorland area on foot. Please do not leave the paved paths under any circumstances, considering your own safety and the flora and fauna! The stretch passing by the Fuchsberg peat factory goes through areas currently undergoing industrial peat extraction. In between, there are grassland areas intermittently interrupted by birch and pine stands. Beyond the peat factory, we have to pass through a section of the route that has been worn down by heavy trucks. Parallel to our path, there are tracks of a peat train that transports the extracted peat to the peat factory for further processing.Our journey continues to the forest islands Gösloh, Steinloh, and Eichloh. In between, there are intensively cultivated grassland and arable land areas with scattered tree stands. Behind Eichloh, our path briefly touches an area currently being peat-extracted. Then we continue in a southerly direction, and here too, our path mostly passes by agriculturally used areas. Between Osterloh and Warmsen, we temporarily use sandy or gravel paths in the Großes Moor area, which are easily passable. The onward journey to Uchte initially passes by arable land and grassland areas as well as small wooded areas towards the B 61. After crossing this busy road, we ride on the cycle path, which has been laid on the former route of the Mindener Kreisbahn, back to Uchte.You can also find the tour Around the Großes Moor on Komoot.Safety instructions:Throughout the entire tour, it is advised to use the cycle paths at your own risk, there is no guarantee of their usability. In urban areas, increased attention is generally required. Please use existing cycle paths. On the tour, be aware of potential hazards such as bollards, barriers, and unsecured crossings of federal roads - this especially applies to cycling families with young children.