Drenthe Periphery Long starts and ends at bicycle centre Wielercentrum Noord in Assen. The route has a length of 255 kilometres and literally runs along Drenthe’s border with Friesland, Overijssel, Germany and Groningen.
This route takes you through, among other places, Frederiksoord, Meppel, Coevorden, Emmer-Compascuum, Zuidlaren, Roden, Veenhuizen—and back to Assen again. On the way, you cycle through Drents-Friese Wold National Park, a part of Drentsche Aa National Park, and several other highly interesting cities and villages.
Drents-Friese Wold National Park
Lying on t…
Drenthe Periphery Long starts and ends at bicycle centre Wielercentrum Noord in Assen. The route has a length of 255 kilometres and literally runs along Drenthe’s border with Friesland, Overijssel, Germany and Groningen.
This route takes you through, among other places, Frederiksoord, Meppel, Coevorden, Emmer-Compascuum, Zuidlaren, Roden, Veenhuizen—and back to Assen again. On the way, you cycle through Drents-Friese Wold National Park, a part of Drentsche Aa National Park, and several other highly interesting cities and villages.
Drents-Friese Wold National Park
Lying on the border between Drenthe and Friesland, Drents-Friese Wold National Park is one of the largest nature areas in the Netherlands. The park consists of forests, heaths and drifting sands, and has been designated as a Natura2000 area.
Maatschappij van Weldadigheid
The Maatschappij van Weldadigheid (“the society of humanitarianism”) was founded by Johannes van den Bosch in 1818. Poor families, beggars and homeless people were put to work in one of the Society’s Koloniën van Weldadigheid (“humanitarian colonies”). They were given their own house and a plot of land to work on. It was a hard life. Through labour and schooling, the colonists were taught discipline, thereby enabling them to provide for themselves after a while.
The Society founded seven colonies in total. Two of these (Frederiksoord and Wilhelminaoord) were for poor people voluntarily choosing life in the colonies. The remaining five (of which Veenhuizen was the only one in Drenthe) took in beggars and tramps. The Dwangkoloniën (“compulsory colonies”) were large, densely-populated asylums in which people were under supervision day and night. This essentially made their residents prisoners. The largest surface area of the colonies lies in Drenthe; in Veenhuizen, Frederiksoord and Wilhelminaoord. But similar colonies were also founded in Friesland, Overijssel and the Belgian city of Antwerp.
Meppel
Meppel is a charming and lively city in the south-east of Drenthe. Noteworthy are its attractive canals and small inner-city bridges, but you also find many cafés, restaurants, terraces and fun shops there. Absolutely worth a visit!
Coevorden
Coevorden is a city with a rich history that is definitely worth visiting. It has many historic buildings; most of them from just after 1592. In that year, Prince Maurits freed the city from the Spaniards, who had spent eleven years laying siege to it. Sadly, the departing Spaniards set fire to the entire city, causing almost all buildings from before that time to be destroyed. A part of the historic centre has remained intact ever since, and has been spectacularly enhanced with matching new buildings. The most impressive structure on the market is theatre De Hofpoort, which also functions as the town hall. Behind it you find a walking bridge towards Coevorden castle, which now serves as a hotel restaurant. The castle dates back to the 11th century but was also rebuilt in the 16th century.
Drentsche Aa
This stream runs through the provinces of Groningen and Drenthe, and is considered to be the only stream in the Netherlands that has maintained its original curves and loops. Nationaal Beek- and Esdorpenlandschap (“national stream and esdorpen landscape”) Drentsche Aa is a beautiful national park featuring bodies of water, hedgerows, heathlands, sandy soil and brinkdorpen (villages with a traditional layout around a village green or square). Cycling here, you cycle through exquisite landscape and age-old villages and over beautiful bridges!
Brinkdorpen
While cycling this route, you pass through no fewer than seven brinkdorpen: Doldersum, Vledder, Havelte, Zuidwolde, Zuidlaren, Roden and Norg. Brinkdorpen were built in medieval times—often atop a sandy ridge to remain dry. Each village had one or more squares; its brink. This was the centre of the village, around which houses and farms were built.
A lot of things went on on the brink. You would often find a dobbe, a deep hole filled with water, there. This water was used as drinking water for livestock, but also to wash clothes or extinguish fires. In the morning, livestock was gathered on the brink to graze outside of the village; they would return in the evening, after which the farmers would pick up their own animals. The brinkdorpen often have many remnants from the past: old farms, dirt tracks, the brink, the es (high-lying farmland) and sometimes a dobbe.
Starting points with parking options
There are multiple starting points for the route where you can park your car. This allows you to start the route from wherever you like.
Assen: Car park Stadsbroek
Hoogersmilde: Bosweg, Campsite Reëenhorst
Meppel: Blankenhorst
Coevorden: EDS Plein
Klazienaveen: Evenaar
Zuidlaren: De Brink
Drenthe Periphery - multiple shorter routes possible
Within the full route along Drenthe’s borders, you can also pick and choose from among ten shorter routes—varying from 55 to 67 kilometres—or two routes of 135 and 170 kilometres.
Located directly next to one of the oldest woodlands of the Netherlands and close to the historic city centre of Assen, you'll find fourstar hotel De Bonte Wever.
Between three national parks in the picturesque village of Vledder you’ll find our 3 Stars Brinkzicht Hotel. It’s the perfect starting point for exploring our beautiful region and its rich history.
Being cheated on your art purchase. It happened to Henk and Erna Plenter several times. In the late 90s, they moved their private collection of paintings and contemporary glass art to the former Town Hall in Vledder. The collection was supplemented with paintings by Drenthe artists.
The most colourful day out! Enjoy the exotic, colourful flying jewels of nature in a specially created piece of tropical jungle. That is Butterfly Paradise ‘Papiliorama’
Staying at Drentse krent gives you the opportunity to relax outside, spend time in our covered lounging lounge with the warmth of the wood-burning fireplace. Enjoy the idyllic view over our orchard and the countryside. But there is more: various terraces
The new, innovative Bargerveen sheepfold in Weiteveen was inaugurated in September 2018, becoming the largest free roaming sheepfold in the Netherlands
Our welcoming 3 * Brinkhotel in Zuidlaren is the ideal place for a relaxed holiday or a peaceful home base after a busy day.
Welcome to the International Wooden Shoes Museum
Dolmen D1 is the most northern dolmen of Drenthe, located in the small town of Steenbergen. Steenbergen was used in the past as a ‘drentse’ term for a dolmen and the name of the place Steenbergen is probably derived from the dolmen that’s there.
Two kilometers southern of Norg is the small town of Westervelde situated. In between estates there’s dolmen D2 in it’s own domain next to a farm. The dolmen is medium-sized and it does not have all it’s stones anymore.
The National Prison Museum depicts crime and punishment through the centuries. See what punishments were meted out and what a penitentiary looked like.
Welcome at Bitter en Zoet! An extraordinary hotel in the middle of historic Veenhuizen, Drenthe. Atmospheric, unique and inspiring.
The industrial complex of Maallust was where agricultural products used to be manufactured in the Veenhuizen penal colony.
Van der Valk Hotel Assen is centrally located in the beautiful province of Drenthe, next to the A28, just outside the pleasant Assen and only a 20-minute drive from the bustling city of Groningen.
Legend route description:
CR = crossroad
TL = turn left
KL = keep left
to. = towards
TJ = T junction
TR = turn right
KR = keep right
le. = left
ROU = roundabout
SA = straight ahead
CSA = continue straight ahead
ri. = right
TrL = traffic light
