Starting Point Robbenoordbos

The chroniclers of the Wieringermeer polder, reclaimed in 1930, were clear: its north-eastern corner was of little agricultural value. The soil was too wet and of poor quality. The advice was simple: ‘plant woodland there – at least it will produce timber’. The first planting by Staatsbosbeheer (Dutch Forestry Commission) dates from 1934–1941, but little of this survived after the IJsselmeer dyke was blown up and the polder flooded by the Germans in April 1945. The present woodland, with alder, birch, maple, poplar, beech and oak, dates from after the war. It is rich in ditches and waterways, fungi and roe deer.

• The green Wierholt Route is a circular walk through ’t Wierholt, a newly created woodland laid out by Staatsbosbeheer in 2005 on a former landfill site, with winding paths that make for a distinctive walk. The route is waymarked in both directions with green arrows.

• The red Dijkgatsweide Route partly follows the Wierholt Route and then continues through the open Dijkgatsweide. The route is waymarked in both directions with red arrows.

• The yellow Robbenoordbos Route explores the north-eastern part of the woodland along narrow, unpaved paths deep in the forest and along the water’s edge. The route is waymarked in both directions with yellow arrows.

• The orange Wieringerrand Route runs through the Robbenoordbos to the Zuiderhaven of Den Oever. It passes the Leemans diesel pumping station, continues along the grass dyke of the Wieringen polder Waard-Nieuwland, and crosses the Hoge Kwelvaart by a hand-operated ferry. 

• The blue pontjesroute in the Robbenoordbos near Wieringerwerf and Den Oever is, as the name suggests, a circular walk with a hand-operated ferry. It crosses the Hoge Kwelvaart with a hand-operated ferry and continues through the southern part of the Robbenoordbos along attractive forest paths. The route starts from Wieringerwerf.