Why this ride
390 km from Hage to Hage, about 6 h 24 of riding. It goes by way of Key Planning Decision, Colonies of Benevolence and back through Key Planning Decision. It crosses from Germany into Netherlands - carry ID and check the toll rules.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
National Park Wadden Sea Niedersachsen and Colonies of Benevolence starting at Hage
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 390 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 6 h 24
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. National Park Wadden Sea Niedersachsen
Behind the dyke at Dornumersiel the land is flatter than a billiard table and nearly as green, and on the other side the sea comes and goes twice a day across a vast expanse of sand and mud. This is the Wadden Sea, the largest system of intertidal flats in the world, stretching along the coasts of the Netherlands, Germany and Denmark. The Lower Saxony section is a national park and part of a World Heritage site, and at low tide you can walk out across the seabed towards the East Frisian islands, ideally with a guide who knows the channels and the tides.
Read the complete National Park Wadden Sea Niedersachsen write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
National Park Wadden Sea Niedersachsen is where the day begins. Next is Key Planning Decision.
2. Key Planning Decision
The name on the map is bureaucratic, but the place is anything but. Key Planning Decision is a translation of the Dutch legal designation used to protect the Wadden Sea, and the spot here sits on the coast near Delfzijl, at the eastern edge of the province of Groningen, where the Dutch Wadden meets the estuary of the Ems. The Wadden Sea is the largest unbroken system of tidal flats in the world, stretching along the coasts of the Netherlands, Germany and Denmark, and it was listed by UNESCO in 2009.
Read the complete Key Planning Decision write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Key Planning Decision comes up about 129 km into the recorded legs. Next is Colonies of Benevolence.
3. Colonies of Benevolence
In 1818 a former army officer named Johannes van den Bosch had a plan to cure poverty with heathland and a spade. His Maatschappij van Weldadigheid, the Society of Benevolence, bought up wasteland here on the border of Drenthe and Friesland and settled poor families from the cities on small farms, with a strict regime of work and discipline. Frederiksoord and Wilhelminaoord were the first colonies, and Veenhuizen, a little further east, later became a penal colony. UNESCO listed the Colonies of Benevolence in 2021, a rare case of a World Heritage Site that began as a social experiment.
Read the complete Colonies of Benevolence write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 191 km into the recorded legs you reach Colonies of Benevolence. Next is back through Key Planning Decision.
4. back through Key Planning Decision
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Key Planning Decision write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Key Planning Decision, late in the day. Next is National Park Wadden Sea Niedersachsen.
5. National Park Wadden Sea Niedersachsen
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete National Park Wadden Sea Niedersachsen write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at National Park Wadden Sea Niedersachsen. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
National Park Wadden Sea Niedersachsen to Key Planning Decision
National Park Wadden Sea Niedersachsen → Key Planning Decision is 129 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Key Planning Decision to Colonies of Benevolence
Key Planning Decision → Colonies of Benevolence is 62 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Colonies of Benevolence to back through Key Planning Decision
Colonies of Benevolence → back through Key Planning Decision is 70 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
back through Key Planning Decision to National Park Wadden Sea Niedersachsen
back through Key Planning Decision → National Park Wadden Sea Niedersachsen is 130 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.