The highest point of the Lüneburg Heath is 169 metres above sea level, which sounds like nothing until you stand on top of it and look out over a sea of purple. Wilseder Berg is a gentle swell in a landscape that otherwise rolls like a calm ocean, and from the summit you can see miles of heather, birch, and juniper stretching to the horizon, with the occasional church spire or farm roof. In late summer, when the heather blooms, from about mid-August to September, the whole heath turns a deep, vivid pink, and it is the kind of sight that makes Germans of all ages take out their cameras.
The heath is not natural in the way a mountain is. It is the result of centuries of human use: farmers cut the forest, grazed their sheep on the thin sandy soil, and cut the heather for fuel and bedding. The sheep that do the work, the Heidschnucken, with their curled horns and shaggy grey coats, are still grazed here to keep the landscape open. The nature reserve, one of the oldest in Germany, protects the heath, and the traditional villages in it, such as Wilsede, have thatched farmhouses and are largely closed to cars.
That is the practical point for a rider: you cannot ride up. Wilsede is a car-free village, and the way in is on foot, by bicycle, or by horse-drawn carriage, from car parks at places such as Undeloh or Döhle. Leave the bike there, put on some walking shoes, and allow an hour or two for the walk. The rest of the heath roads, on the other hand, are lovely: narrow, quiet, and lined with birch and pine, with gentle bends and a surface that is generally good. Traffic is heavy on sunny weekends in August, when the coaches arrive.
Fuel is available in Bispingen, about ten kilometres away, and Egestorf is a smaller village nearby. There are cafes and inns in Undeloh and Wilsede, serving buckwheat pancakes, sweet or savoury, and heath lamb. In winter the heath is quiet, brown, and often frosty. Mornings in September, when mist lies over the heather, are very good. Carry a rain layer, because the weather over flat country can change fast, and the wind has nothing to stop it.