Midden-Drenthe: Memorial Sites, Village Life and Heathland Trails

At the Herinneringscentrum Kamp Westerbork, the stories are told of more than 100,000 Jewish, Sinti and Roma people who were deported from the Netherlands to concentration and extermination camps during the Second World War and murdered. This subject offers a moving way to engage with the history of the region.

Memorial Sites and Cultural History

The former Kamp Westerbork site includes the commandant’s residence from 1939, as well as monuments and reconstructions. An audio tour leads to fifteen information points about these remnants and the original traces of the camp that are still visible. The museum café serves hot and cold drinks, freshly made sandwiches, and sweet and savoury snacks every day. Check the latest visitor information and café offerings before your visit.

The Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope, or WSRT, stands in the woods beside the former Kamp Westerbork and consists of fourteen separate dish antennas. Visitors without an ASTRON escort have restricted vehicle access to the exclusion zone. Park outside the zone and walk to the telescopes or continue by bicycle.

Orvelte and Collections

Orvelte is a living historic village: people live and work there, while visitors can experience history at first hand. Some of the thatched Saxon farmhouses and other rustic buildings can be viewed inside. The village is open to visitors free of charge all year round. Check the latest visitor information around themed event days. In the heart of Orvelte, on the Brink, is the visitor centre de Bruntingerhof, run by Het Drentse Landschap. Access is via the tourist information office TIP, located there.

The Oudheidkamer Beilen displays Chinese porcelain, Delftware and other earthenware, gold and silver objects, paintings, old household items, and traditional ear pendants. Visits and guided tours are available by appointment. Another special stop is the Stinzentuin op 't Kloosterveen: this 7,000-square-metre ecological woodland garden lies behind a listed building. Visits are available by appointment from 1 March to 15 May and include a guided tour with stories about the garden’s history, followed by coffee or tea in the kitchen or garden house.

Walking Trails of Various Lengths

The Melkwegpad combines walking with an educational theme: the universe and Europe’s largest radio telescopes. The route is five kilometres long and accessible to wheelchairs and walkers. For longer walks, compare the signposted routes: Westerbork-Zwiggelte is a 15-kilometre route from Westerbork through Zwiggelte and back. The 16-kilometre Scharreveld loop starts in Beilen and passes through Holtherzand and Scharreveld before returning to Beilen.

The Zuider Kluft route, which also starts in Beilen, covers 24.5 kilometres through Terhorsterzand and Boswachterij Dwingeloo and back. For a different kind of walk, try the Buurtommetje Holthe, Lieving en Makkum: this approximately eight-kilometre route passes through the three hamlets southeast of Beilen and follows mainly small roads, sandy tracks and drainage paths.

At VAM-Berg, there are three climbing routes and one descent. The climbing routes are 2,100 metres long in total, with an average gradient of 10 percent; there are also two walking trails there. On the Buurtommetje, in Holthe at Hingstesteeg, you’ll find the Kabouterlaantje, decorated with garden gnomes. There is parking and a small playground at the starting point, by the buurthuis ’t Trefpunt.

Heathland and Nature Areas

At Mantingerzand, four smaller nature areas are being combined into one larger nature area. You can walk through Drenthe’s authentic landscape or explore the area by bicycle. Scharreveld also invites visitors to discover a different natural landscape: it is once again one of Drenthe’s larger heathland areas. Moor frogs and natterjack toads have colonised new pools at Scharreveld.

Hijkerveld is a vast heathland area with dozens of pools and peat remnants. At Terhorsterzand, by contrast, the focus is on shifting sands and their landscape history: the area south of Beilen covers around 181 hectares; some of the shifting sand was stabilised by pine trees planted in 1900. These varied landscapes complement the cultural sites and walking trails as further themes to explore during your stay. Midden-Drenthe is also at the heart of three national parks: Drentsche Aa, Dwingelderveld and Drents-Friese Wold.

Discover more destinations: Beilen, Drijber, Hooghalen, Witteveen, Smilde, Westerbork, Spier, Hoogersmilde, Hijken, Zwiggelte, Elp, Wijster, Orvelte, Ruinerwold, Mantinge, Balinge.

View the broader travel overview: Drenthe.