Scharreveld

Directions

• Beilen is first mentioned in 1139, and in 1331, the Court of Beilen belonged to the lord of Borculo. In the Middle Ages, Beilen grew into the main city of the Beiler Dingspel, one of the six judicial regions of Drenthe. St. Stephen’s church, Beilen’s ancient gothic church, was also built around the same time. After the construction of the Groningen-Zwolle railway line in 1870, Beilen experienced a period of major growth. In the early 20th century, Beilen also welcomed the Beileroord psychiatric hospital and what would later become the Drentse Ondermelk Organisatie (the Drenthe Skim Milk Organisation, or DOMO). After the Second World War, DOMO became one of the Netherlands’ largest dairy cooperatives.
• The trail starts at the train station on the outskirts of Beilen. Walking along the Oosterstraat, you will quickly find yourself in the countryside and pass the Beilerstroom, a little canalised river that rises on the Drenthe Plateau between Orvelte and Westerbork and flows into the Meppelerdiep in Meppel. Near Westerbork, the river is known as the Westerborker stroom, before turning into the Beilerstroom just before Beilen. In the Dwingeloo area, the river is called the Dwingelerstroom. To the south of Dieverbrug, it bends south, after which it is known as the Oude Vaart or the Oude Smildervaart.
• Just past the Beilerstroom, you turn left into a narrow, wooded side road. There, amidst the meadows, is a small swamp grove that is closed to the public: Baarwelsleek. This grove is an important resting place for wildlife. Continue towards the Scharreveld nature reserve. The hamlets of Lieving and Makkum almost merge entirely into one another. Makkum is first mentioned in the 14th century. Its striking corn mill was moved here in 1906, after having served as a polder mill in De Groeve, a village just outside Zuidlaren and on the shores of the Zuidlaardermeer.
• You then arrive at the Holtherzand, where you can shorten the trail and walk back to Beilen.
• If you’re hungry for more, continue to the Scharreveld nature reserve, which covers an area of more than 275 hectares. Revel in the beautiful vistas from the Scharreveld viewing hill. Originally, the Scharreveld consisted of four separate sections of heathland, of which the Holtherzand and Boekweitenplas are the best known. Holtherzand is mainly made up of dry heathland, whereas the other sections, including the Boekweitenplas (named after the buckwheat grown there) are mainly composed of wet heathland.
• After a nice lap around the Scharreveld, you will return to the point where the trail could be shortened,
• before walking through the hamlet of Holthe. This place was mentioned by Otto, the bishop of Utrecht, in 1217, in his confirmation of the possessions of the Ruinen monastery. The town’s name has seen numerous different spellings over the years, such as Holt in 1292 and Holte in 1387. The current spelling, Holthe, has been in use since the 17th century.
• Walking through the hamlet of Lieving again, you retrace the steps you took at the start of the trail, just before reaching the Beilerstroom.
• Finally, you make your way back to the train station, where the ‘Scharreveld’ trail comes to an end. Sit back and relax in one of the many great local cafés or restaurants and look back at this beautiful hike.