Farmers' bath cycling route

The Bauernbad bike route is a 36 km circular route that starts in the bike-friendly town of Bünde, leading through the tranquil recreation area of Randringhausen and Stift Quernheim to Hüllhorst in the district of Minden-Lübbecke. The route opens the history book of the gently rolling Westphalian landscape and takes you to the old farmer's baths of the region, passing by Romanesque churches, historic mills, and museums.
The starting and ending point of the Bauernbad bike route is the train station in Bünde, where you can rent a bike at the local bike station or check the tire pressure on your own bike. The Museum Island in Bünde provides the historical background knowledge for the route. From here, you travel along the Else river, past the old bath and lodging house, until the route turns north towards Bünde-Spradow. The route now runs parallel to the Ostbachtal and leads through the farming village of Knolle to Randringhausen, which developed into a spa town due to its healing sulfur springs and peat bogs. Here, various cafes and the landscape park invite you to take a first break. From Randringhausen, it's only a few kilometers to Stift Quernheim, where in addition to the 12th-century collegiate church, two collegiate houses from the 17th century are still preserved. The so-called manor house now houses the Biological Station Ravensberg.
At the edge of Quernheim, you can visit the Bauernbadmuseum Rehmerloh before the route continues north towards the Wiehengebirge. Here, the terrain steadily rises, so a certain level of fitness should be present. A break at the sulfur bath Lusmühle or the water mill Husenmühle with its old half-timbered house is very convenient. The route then leads through Niedringhausen and Oberbauerschaft for several kilometers along the hilly foothills of the mountain range, offering magnificent views of the Ravensberg hill country. At Oberbauerschaft, the steep climb is worth it for a detour to the open-air stage Kahle Wart, where a farmhouse reconstructed true to the original houses the local history room. Through Klosterbauerschaft, the path leads back to Randringhausen. After crossing the Ostbach, you ascend to Bünde-Dünne and from there descend into the Gewinghauser Bachtal before finally reaching the outskirts of Bünde and the starting point at the train station.
As the circular route almost touches Randringhausen, the tour can be divided into an approximately 23 km long northern loop and an approximately 13 km long southern loop if necessary. This creates a total of three circular routes that can appeal to different target groups due to their length and level of difficulty. The 13-kilometer fairly flat southern loop is ideal for a leisurely tour with the family, while the northern loop offers some athletic challenges. Randringhausen is also suitable as a starting and ending point for exploring the individual loops, as there are ample parking facilities at the spa houses.
The Bauernbad bike route mainly runs on asphalted side streets and agricultural roads, but to some extent also on road-side cycle paths along district and country roads. The relief is in some parts very pronounced, and especially at the foot of the Wiehengebirge, there are some steep inclines. However, the cyclist is offered an attractive, varied landscape, crisscrossed by numerous stream valleys and forest strips.
For further information about the route and waypoints, please visit www.buende.de or the cycling leisure website of the Herford district: www.fahr-im-kreis.de. There you will also find map material and a brochure available for free download.