Oude Ijsselstreek: River, Mills and Industrial Heritage

A rowing or canoe trip on the Oude IJssel, a walk among industrial monuments or a visit to a historic farmhouse: Oude Ijsselstreek offers different ways to experience water, history and landscape. When planning your hotel stay, you can first consider whether you mainly want to spend time outdoors or visit specific cultural sites. This makes it easy to match your hotel search with the excursions that will shape your trip.

Water, Walking Trails and Cycling Routes

The Oude IJssel is ideal for rowing or canoeing in Oude Ijsselstreek. If you prefer to explore the landscape on foot, the Engbergen recreation area has an extensive network of walking, cycling and riding trails. Engbergen is a river dune on the Oude IJssel and is known as a recreation area. The trail network in Oude Ijsselstreek offers nine starting points for walks, marked by red information boards with maps and route information. From there, you can follow established routes or combine your own.

The cycling routes also offer a range of different experiences. The Molenroute links five mills via a cycling route based on the node network. The Ulft–Bocholt route, by contrast, follows low-traffic paths along the water, running from the DRU Industrial Park industrial monument to Bocholt in Germany. Those interested in castles, centuries-old farmhouses and a tea garden will find these highlights along the Oude-IJsselstreekroute. The Silo Art Tour artworks can be viewed up close on cycling or walking routes.

Industrial History at the DRU Site

The DRU Heritage Media Tour comprises 15 storytelling stations spread throughout the park and leading past the monumental buildings of the DRU complex. You can choose your own order for the route or visit the stations in the suggested order. As tour details may change, it is worth checking the latest visitor information before your visit.

The surviving buildings at the DRU site are industrial monuments; 250 years of iron history were made here. The Nederlands IJzermuseum is housed at two addresses in the DRU Industrial Park: Hutteweg 26 and Hutteweg 32. Arriva bus route 28 runs from Doetinchem station to the Industriepark stop. From Terborg station, the Huntenbus 195B community bus runs to Ulft. As routes and service frequencies may change, it is best to check the connection before setting off.

At the Min40Celsius visitor centre, visitors can dig for bones themselves and try to make fire with flint. This adds a very different hands-on activity to the industrial history: here, the focus is on trying things out at the visitor centre, while the DRU tour takes in the monumental buildings and their storytelling stations.

Farmhouse, Farm History and Gardens

At the Het Hofshuus farm museum, visitors can learn from historical objects how people worked and lived on the farm in the first half of the 20th century. The well-preserved farmhouse is an example of the Westphalian hall house type. The grounds include gardens and old cultivated plants, which also connect the farm to its agricultural past.

The history behind the name reaches further back than the rural way of life on display: Hofshuus dates back to the Den Hoff tho Versevelt estate complex of the Counts of Lohn in Varsseveld, which existed in the 13th century. This means that two distinct historical reference points meet at the same place: the name’s long history and the farmhouse, whose objects offer insights into life and work in the 20th century.

When Huis Landfort is open, visitors can stroll on the house’s island or the Kleine Erve. The vegetable garden, with its 90-metre-long fruit wall, and the orchard are also open to visitors. As opening times may change, check the dates before your visit.

Art in Public Spaces

At the ’t Vriezelerdiekske site in Sinderen, a hyperrealistic artwork adorns the walls of the animal feed manufacturer Voerwaarts B.V. The site is part of the Silo Art Tour Achterhoek. Cycling and walking routes let visitors view the tour’s artworks up close; access conditions at the ’t Vriezelerdiekske site may vary. This makes art an option to include as a focus of its own in your travel plans, alongside historical sites and routes through the landscape.

Discover more destinations: Ulft, Varsseveld, Westendorp, Sinderen, Terborg, Breedenbroek, Silvolde, Varsselder.

For the broader travel overview: Gelderland.