Country trip - experiencing farms and heath

In the Ruhr area, more than 5 million people live. Of course, agriculture also plays an important role in providing for the residents. Even in the heart of the Ruhr metropolis, unexpectedly large fields and pastures can be found. But especially in the outskirts of the big cities, the landscape opens up and vast agricultural areas come to light. The RevierRoute "Landpartie" leads through a particularly important, agriculturally shaped region in the northern Ruhr area over a length of 52 kilometers.
The starting point
The train station in Dorsten is particularly suitable as a starting point for this RevierRoute. The train station is easily accessible by regional trains. Suitable parking spaces can be found in the vicinity of the city by car.
Start of the tour
From the junction at the train station in Dorsten, the tour leads through some city traffic to the south. From junction 66, the tour leads to the Kirchheller Heide, which is initially characterized by wide fields with many farms and stables.
Small, village-like settlements are repeatedly passed through, as are wide fields.
Mining romance in the middle of the fields
For those who look closely, important industrial culture for the Ruhr area can even be discovered here. In the middle of the Kirchheller Heide, Shaft 10 of the Prosper Haniel colliery, the last colliery in the Ruhr area, which was shut down in December 2018, still stands. From here, the miners went underground while the coal was transported to the south of Bottrop and brought to the surface near the Tetrahedron via a long conveyor belt.
The natural paradise of Kirchheller Heide
In the middle of the Kirchheller Heide, there is a small lake landscape, which is now a real natural idyll. The larger lakes, such as the Heidesee, were created by gravel extraction. Some smaller, almost mystical-looking lakes, such as the Elsbachsee, also known as Pfingstsee, are still in the process of forming. Due to subsidence caused by coal mining, the landscape sinks and lakes suddenly emerge in places where there used to be forests or fields.
Agriculture in the northern Ruhr area
The tour continues to the northwest. Wide fields are cycled through again. In Hünxe, a small town awaits cyclists with nice cafés before heading north over the Wesel-Datteln Canal and the Lippe River.
The historic Lippe-Treidler village of Krudenburg is cycled through, offering numerous photo opportunities.
Cycling on former railway lines
In Drevenack, the tour comes across an old railway line that leads from Wesel to Dorsten. The route is not paved, but still offers cyclists a relaxed ride away from the traffic. The former railway line is interrupted several times, and short detours offer views of beautiful country houses and old windmills.
Back in Dorsten
In the final meters, the RevierRoute leads over the Lippedeich before crossing a bridge back to the southern side of the Lippe and the Wesel-Datteln Canal. In the center of Dorsten, a visit to the Jewish Museum is especially worthwhile.