BE 1 - Small Castle Tour

Two castles, a castle, and some of the most beautiful corners of Bad Essen are connected by this only 14-kilometer long circular bike tour. Starting from the SoleArena, the route first goes clockwise along the Mittelland Canal - on the old towpath where horses, other draught animals, and sometimes people struggled to pull the barges on the waterway. However, without a boat in tow, you can enjoy the gradient-free route carefree.

Hünnefeld Castle is the first rewarding stop for a break - to explore the magnificent landscape park with its exotic trees and to treat yourself to a snack at the "Alte Rentei" café. The fact that many Scandinavian specialties are on the menu has its reason: Hünnefeld is the seat of the Danish branch of the von dem Bussche family. The German branch lives at Ippenburg Castle, the next stop. Here too, there is a café and above all a widely known castle garden with a magnificent rose garden as well as herb and kitchen garden.

Right at the starting and finishing point is Wittlage Castle, built in the 14th century by Bishop Engelbert as a fortification and now used as a children's home. The in-house café is run as an inclusive operation.
The tour is always attractive, but the mentioned cafés and the Ippenburg Park are not open daily. For current opening hours and further information, visit online.