Around the Haverbeeke

In the nature reserve Lüneburg Heath near Bispingen-Niederhaverbeck, there are two circular routes for wheelchair users. The short tour is 1.5 km long, the long tour 3.5 km. They allow visitors with mobility restrictions to experience the Lüneburg Heath nature reserve in all its facets. Both paths lead through the valley of the Haverbeeke and through all the special elements of this historic cultural landscape. Visitors can experience numerous sights and get up close with the typical flora and fauna of the heath.

Both paths - renovated in 2013 along the entire route - are best enjoyed in company. For the short tour, it is best to start at the car park of Gasthof Menke. You can also start the long tour here or at the Nature Information Center in Niederhaverbeck.

The actual circular route is 3.5 km long, significantly shorter at 1.5 km is the alternative route. Both paths lead through the valley of the Haverbeeke and through all landscape elements of the historically rich cultural landscape of Lüneburg Heath. They enable visitors with mobility restrictions to experience the Lüneburg Heath nature reserve in all its facets. The accessible hiking trail has been thoroughly renovated and the road surface completely renewed. Benches and tables provide cozy resting spots.

The long 3.5 km circular route includes a total of 15 stations, including the Nature Information Center of the Nature Conservation Park Association (VNP) - a typical example of a Low German hall house, where residence, stable, and barn were combined under one roof. It was also the VNP that initiated the wheelchair hiking trail in 1998. Other stations include Bronze Age burial mounds (approx. 1,500 BC), remnants of the 1996 fire catastrophe, and a bee fence for hiking beekeepers.

You will get to know the typical heath vegetation, including the heather Calluna vulgaris as well as juniper, but also holly and birch avenues. In the past, birches in the heath landscape were used as landmarks, today they are an important habitat for green woodpeckers and Eurasian wrynecks. One station on both the large and small circular routes is a typical thatched sheepfold for the heath. Furthermore, the Haverbeeke with its pools and marsh zones is repeatedly visible.

Wheelchair-accessible toilets for your tour can be found both at Gasthof Menke and at Landhaus Haverbeck, both located in close proximity to the paths in Niederhaverbeck.