Südheide Forest Flow

A 178 km loop from Hannover north

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Why this ride

Low-stress forest flow north of Hannover with village discipline. 178 km round from Isernhagen Farster Bauerschaft - plan on about 3 h 40 of riding. The stops in between: Bergen, Müden Örtze, Hermannsburg heath road and Celle. Much of it runs through woodland.

Roadbook

1. Hannover north gate start

   Langenhagen, on Hannover's northern edge, is known for its airport, and the occasional rumble of jets overhead is a reminder that this is the city's door to the outside world. The district's flat suburbs, business parks and long, straight roads belong to the plain, but Hannover itself has more to offer than most visitors expect. Between 1714 and 1837 the rulers of this small German electorate were also kings of Great Britain, from George I onward, and the baroque gardens at Herrenhausen, once their summer residence, are among the grandest in Germany, with a spectacular fountain that shoots up to about seventy metres.

   The city also has the philosopher Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, who served the court and is commemorated by a famous biscuit named in his honour, and the New Town Hall, a huge building of 1913 with a dome and a model of the city in the lobby. Much of Hannover was destroyed in the Second World War, which explains its modern look, and the surviving old streets are a small fraction of the earlier town.

   North of the city, the land opens into the Südheide, a region of pine forest, heath and sandy soils that stretches toward Celle. The roads here run between pines in long, easy lines, with gentle bends and an occasional dip over a stream, and in late summer the heather blooms in purple patches. This is quiet riding, good for relaxed days and for a rhythm without hurry. Surfaces are mostly good, with some patched sections, and deer and wild boar cross at dusk, which is a real hazard. Autumn mist and winter ice make the heathland roads treacherous in the early hours. May to September is best.

   In the other direction, a long day takes you toward the Teutoburg Forest and the Externsteine, a group of tall sandstone pillars near Detmold that have been a sacred and mysterious place for centuries. Nearby stands the Hermannsdenkmal, a giant copper statue completed in 1875 to commemorate the Germanic leader Arminius, who defeated three Roman legions in the forest in AD 9. The ridge road along the Teutoburg is lovely, with curves through beech forest and wide views over the plain.

   Fuel and services are abundant near the start, with Langenhagen and the surrounding suburbs offering stations, bakeries and supermarkets. Fill up before heading into the heath, where villages are small and stations are far apart. Check the speed limits, because Lower Saxony has many fixed cameras, and carry a layer for chilly mornings.

2. Bergen food stop food

   Bergen is a small town on the southern edge of the Lüneburg Heath, close to the sandy plain that the army has used for training for more than a century. It has little to show by way of fame, but it is a useful, friendly, ordinary place with a sensible set of services, and for riders crossing the heath it makes a natural break. The town's surroundings are pine woods, heather and sandy fields, laced with quiet lanes.

   Bergen's name is known to many people for another reason. A few kilometres to the northwest lies the site of Bergen-Belsen, the concentration camp where tens of thousands of people died in the last years of the Second World War, among them Anne Frank and her sister Margot. The camp itself was burned after liberation to stop disease from spreading, and the memorial today is a landscape of heath and birch with mass graves marked by grassy mounds, along with a documentation centre. It is a place of great quiet and weight, and it is open to visitors. If you go, allow time and go on foot, and leave the bike's noise behind.

   The roads around Bergen are straight and smooth, running through pine plantations and open heath, with few bends and plenty of long views. Because the area is part military zone, you will sometimes see signs and barriers, and on some days there are convoys of army vehicles on the road, so keep your eyes open. The landscape has the dry, sandy smell of the heath, and in late summer the heather turns the ground purple. Wind on the open stretches can be fierce.

   For food, Bergen has bakeries, snack bars and a few restaurants, and regional dishes such as Heidschnucken lamb and buckwheat pancakes are on the menus. The town is big enough, about fourteen thousand people, for fuel stations and supermarkets, so it is an easy place to fill the tank and have a sandwich. Traffic is moderate. If you find yourself in the area on a weekday in spring or autumn, you will have the roads almost to yourself, and the heath will be quiet.

3. Müden Örtze photo stop photo

   Müden is one of those villages that photographers find without being told. It sits where the little Örtze river winds through the southern Lüneburg Heath, a clear, sandy-bottomed stream running between alders and meadows, and it is surrounded by thatched half-timbered farmhouses, old oaks and a small church. Several of the buildings have the typical heath style, with low eaves, brick infill and a big roof of reed or straw, and the whole thing looks as though it has been waiting for a painter. Many painters did indeed come, and the village has attracted artists for generations.

   The river is the heart of the picture. In the morning mist rises off the water, and the light slants through the trees and picks out the edges of the roofs. There are old mills and bridges along the stream, and the clear water is a good place to see small fish, ducks and, with luck, a kingfisher flashing past. A footpath along the bank gives a quiet walk, and a canoe trip along the Örtze is a popular summer activity.

   The riding here is leisurely. The roads in and out of the village are narrow and gently winding, lined with birch and pine, with some stretches of cobble or patched tarmac. In heather season, late summer, the clearings turn purple and the whole region is busy with visitors, so choose a weekday if you can. Nearby Faßberg has a place in history as one of the air bases used during the Berlin Airlift in 1948 and 1949, when planes brought food and coal to the besieged city, and a small museum recalls the event.

   Müden itself has little more than a few inns, a café or two and an occasional farm shop, so it is a place to stop for a coffee and a walk rather than for provisions. The nearest larger town is Hermannsburg, about five kilometres away, which has fuel, supermarkets and several restaurants. Bring a camera, and give yourself half an hour at the bridge. Locals are used to photographers, but it is polite to keep clear of private farmyards and gardens.

4. Hermannsburg heath road scenic

   Hermannsburg is a surprise in the middle of the heath, a village with a missionary history that stretches all the way to southern Africa. In the middle of the nineteenth century a local pastor named Ludwig Harms founded a mission here that trained and sent out farmer-missionaries, and over the following decades the Hermannsburg Mission sent hundreds of workers to Africa and India. Places in South Africa were named after the village, and a few of them still carry it, which is a strange thing to come across in a quiet corner of Lower Saxony. A museum and a large church recall the story.

   The heath around the village is in the Südheide Nature Park, a landscape of pine, heather, juniper and birch, with sandy soil and slow rivers. It is less visited than the more famous northern heath around Wilsede, and for that reason it is a quieter place. Roads here run mostly straight, but they bend a little around old farms and woodland, and they have a smooth, easy character that suits a relaxed ride. Traffic is light on weekdays, and the main risks are farm vehicles, deer and the occasional patch of sand blown across the tarmac.

   The Örtze river flows through the village, clear and shallow, and a stroll along it is pleasant after a spell in the saddle. In late summer, the heath blooms and the air smells of honey. Sheep graze in the open areas, helping to keep the heather from being overtaken by trees, and you may see a shepherd with a dog moving a flock along a lane. The timber houses, with their thatched or tiled roofs and old oak beams, are often decorated with carved horse heads on the gable.

   For services, Hermannsburg has about eight thousand people, which means fuel stations, supermarkets, bakeries and a few restaurants, so it is a good stop. Try the heath lamb or the buckwheat cakes at a local inn. The roads toward Müden and Bergen are among the nicest in the area, and you can combine the three places in a loop of an hour or two. Early morning or late afternoon, when the low sun sets the heather glowing, is the time to be out.

5. Celle fuel gate fuel

   Celle is a town that looks like it has been preserved in a jar. More than four hundred half-timbered houses, with carved beams, painted inscriptions and crooked upper storeys, line the streets of the old centre, and the whole place has survived with very little damage because it escaped bombing in the Second World War. About seventy-one thousand people live here, on the banks of the Aller, at the southern edge of the Luneburg Heath.

   At the centre stands the Schloss, the castle of the dukes of Brunswick-Luneburg, a large building with a baroque theatre inside, said to be the oldest in Germany still in use. It has a sad link with Danish history, because Queen Caroline Matilda of Denmark, banished after a scandal at the court of Copenhagen, spent her last years here and died in 1775 at the age of only twenty-three. A small memorial stands in the castle garden.

   The Heath, a broad area of heather, juniper, birch and sandy soil, begins just north of the town. In late August and September, the heather blooms purple, and the whole country glows. Flocks of Heidschnucken, a hardy local breed of sheep with curling horns, graze the heath to keep it open. The landscape has been shaped by centuries of grazing and burning, and it is a rare habitat, protected as a nature reserve.

   For riders, Celle is a place to fill the tank and have a coffee. Fuel stations are on the roads into town, the old town is closed to most traffic and parking is easy near the edge. A walk past the half-timbered houses and a cake in a cafe makes a good break. From here, the roads north and south run straight and smooth, with long views over farmland, forest and heath, and traffic is moderate. Wind can be strong over open ground, and on summer weekends, the heath roads fill with day-trippers. Early morning light on the heather is the finest, and a thermos of coffee helps on cool days.

6. Burgdorf return road stop

   Burgdorf is a solid, practical town of thirty thousand people on the eastern edge of the Hannover region, where the farmland begins to turn into heath and pine. The name means castle village, and the place grew around a medieval fortress that has since vanished. Today it is a commuter town, with a brick-built centre, a pedestrian precinct and a good supply of shops, bakeries and filling stations, and it is the sort of place you stop at when you need to take care of practical things.

   The return road here comes in from the east, from the Lüneburg Heath side, and the landscape changes as you ride. The Südheide, the southern heath, is a country of sandy soils, birch and pine woods, open fields and tiny villages, with long straight roads and gentle curves. Sandy ground and cool air make for a distinctive smell, a mixture of resin and dry grass, and in late summer the heather blooms purple in the nature reserves further north.

   Burgdorf marks the point where the heath yields to the Hannover plain, and the traffic increases accordingly. On the final stretch to the city the roads are wider and busier, and speed limits are strictly enforced, so keep an eye on the signs. Rush hour can be slow, so a coffee stop here is a good way to let the traffic die down. The town has a few cafés on the main street and a weekly market, which is a good place for fresh bread and local cheese.

   Lehrte, a larger town eight kilometres south-west, has more shops, and Hänigsen is a smaller village to the north. Fuel is easy, with several stations on the main road, and it is wise to fill up here at the end of a long ride. If you have time, take a short detour into the woods and let the bike cool down. The pine smell, the quiet and the soft sand under the trees are a world away from the city, and a good way to end the day.

7. Back to Hannover north finish

   back to Hannover north closes the day.

Where this sits

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