Oosterend

The picturesque village of Oosterend has many historic listed houses. The charming Kerkplein square is surrounded by pretty cobbled streets and alleys with historic facades. Oosterend has traditionally been a fishing village and some of its residents still work in that industry. The small exhibition at the Strender Vermaning on Peperstraat recounts the village's history and culture. Agricultural Nature and Landscape Association De Lieuw Texel has set out three routes in and around Oosterend. The From Slufter to Kaap (12.2 km, green) linear walk starts at the IJzeren Kaap on the Wadden Sea Dike. This walk traverses the island, mainly crossing farmland, and clearly shows how the northern part of Texel was reclaimed.

• The Boeren Circular Walk (blue) leads through gently rolling grassland. You can see here that Oosterend lies on a somewhat higher moraine. The garden walls, known as ‘tuunwallen’ on Texel, are a particularly charming highlight of this circular walk. The path between stacked turf walls leads to the old Wadden Sea Dike, now the boundary of the Wagejot bird sanctuary. You walk along the foot of the dike and head back towards the village along the farm track of the same name.
• The entirely paved Vissers Circular Walk (red) leads to where the people of Oosterend had an oyster harbour in the 19th century. The now-vanished harbour at Nieuweschild provided a safe mooring for the little boats. On the Wadden Sea Dike, you pass a striking cast-iron ship's beacon from 1854, the IJzeren Kaap.