Haarmühle & Witte Veen.

Walking route Twente

In the Middle Ages, the White Peat was a desolate and somewhat gloomy place. Now in the 21st century, it is one of the most beautiful nature reserves in Twente. Even more beautiful and surprising than the straight lines on the map would suggest. And that is mainly thanks to Natuurmonumenten.

Practical

STARTING POINT

This walking route begins and ends in Germany, but mostly runs through the Netherlands. It may sound a bit odd, but the White Peat is a cross-border nature reserve, and on the German side, accessibility is best and there is parking available.

STURDY FOOTWEAR

During rainy periods, some paths can be very muddy. So wear sturdy shoes.

PUBLIC TRANSPORT

The Landgasthof Haarmühle can only be reached on weekdays by a neighborhood bus from Haaksbergen.

SHORTENING OPTIONS

The main variant is 8 km long, but if you take a look at the map, you will discover at least 3 shortening options. This reduces the length to 4, 5, or 6.5 km.

CROWDING

Haarmühle can be quite busy on weekends, with hundreds of visitors and several terraces. This coziness also has a distinctly German character. Consider for yourself whether you see this last point as a pro or a con. In any case: do not expect a cozy & intimate walking café.

SUNWISE OR COUNTERCLOCKWISE?

Of course, you can walk any loop in either direction. However, my tip for this route is: do it clockwise. This is related to safety. In the northwestern part, the walking path (a narrow and winding path through rhododendrons) coincides a bit with an MTB route. They always ride this section from north to south. So if you follow the same path in reverse, you will be approaching any cyclists and see them coming faster.

CREDITS

I mapped out this walking route based on OpenStreetMap. However, during the walk, I discovered that my creation almost completely coincided with the blue post route. Apparently, I wasn’t so original after all. Fair is fair: all credits go to Natuurmonumenten. They have also done excellent work in this area.

The White Peat

This peat area once formed a link in a chain of peat areas on the border of the Netherlands and Germany. From north to south:

Drenthe: Bargerveen

Overijssel: Aamsveen, White Peat, and Haaksbergerveen

Gelderland: the Wooldse Peat

In the 19th and 20th centuries, these peat areas were largely excavated for agriculture, and the chain became fragmented. But a turning point came. In 1982, a large part of the White Peat came into the possession of Natuurmonumenten. Since then, volunteers have been working hard to revive the old character.

Now, 40 years later, it is a colorful mix of dirt paths, oak lanes, peat, forest, heath, grasslands, ponds, and pools. Highland cattle keep the area open. This leads to varied plant growth. The construction of ponds and channels has significantly increased the number of tree frogs.

WHERE DOES THE NAME WHITE PEAT COME FROM?

Because of 2 special plants. In the White Peat, one-sided cotton grass and peat moss grow abundantly. They both give white accents to the landscape: cotton grass has long white hairs and peat moss has white tufts.

GALGENBULT

Just before the end of this walk, you pass a real gallows – well, a reconstruction of it. A gallows in a nature reserve? Yes, this place was deliberately located along a major trade route from Münster to Deventer. That way, everyone could see what happens to criminals.

During the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648), the Galgenbult was used a lot. Close by lies the Schavotveldje. Presumably, the bones of convicted criminals were buried there, but that’s not entirely certain.

HOW DID THOSE RHODODENDRONS END UP IN THIS PEAT AREA?

During the walk, you will encounter rhododendrons quite often. These are due to the Twente textile family Van Heek. This family was once the owner of the White Peat (and also of the Buurserzand). The intention was to create a sort of spa for workers. However, it never came to fruition, but various Van Heek traces are still visible in the peat area, including the many rhododendrons.

SPECIAL FLORA

special peat mosses

rare dragonfly species: bog hawker and Northern emerald

bellflower gentian

one-sided cotton grass

peat moss

heather

SPECIAL FAUNA

the rare tree frog (especially in spring)

special butterflies: the heath blue

bats

various special bird species

WORK IN PROGRESS

The development of the White Peat is far from finished. Here are some of the plans in the works:

the construction of more heath ponds to preserve the rare palmate newt in the Netherlands,

the clearing of the coniferous forest on the southern edge to raise the groundwater level and thus preserve the heath peat,

making the Hegebeek shallower, allowing water to flow away less rapidly and the ground to become wetter – good for special nature.