Discover Bentelo: Hiking, Landscape and Culture

Bentelo combines a rural setting with walking opportunities and historic and culinary attractions. For planning your trip, the route lengths, starting points and different focuses of the trails can provide an initial guide. The church, a monument and the history of a former mill also shape the village’s character.

Landscape and Walking Trails

The Hagmolenbeek lies immediately east of Bentelo and is a unique landscape feature. The surrounding area is characterised by distinctive avenues and country roads, irregularly shaped plots, raised fields, woods and hedgerows. These features give the area its rural character, which is also reflected in the walking routes described here.

“Rondje om en door Bentelo” is a 7.3-kilometre walking trail. It starts at Café/Restaurant Spoolder Proeven en Proosten in the centre of Bentelo, at Onze Lieve Vrouwestraat 2. From there, the route follows the blue arrows of the walking trail network. Its name, length and starting point will help you identify this route when planning your trip.

A shorter option is the approximately 1.5-kilometre Sprookjespad in the Hagmolenbos. This story-led walk combines hidden characters with questions for your smartphone. It starts at the car park by the church in Bentelo. Compared with “Rondje om en door Bentelo”, the stated distance is considerably shorter, giving the two routes different focuses.

Another walking trail runs alongside the Hagmolenbeek, which flows between Wijngaard Hof van Twente and a wooded area belonging to the Twickel estate. The hand-operated Beuzels foot ferry began operating in autumn 2019, with the aim of extending the walking route across the Hagmolenbeek. If you plan to take this route, it is advisable to check in advance whether the ferry is currently operating.

Church, Monument and Mill History

The present-day O.L. Vrouwe van Altijddurende Bijstand church was put into use on 19 August 1954. The three-aisled Neo-Romanesque building was designed by architect Jan van Dongen (1896–1973). Its exterior walls contain 26 stained-glass windows designed by Jan Schoenaker. Their motifs combine biblical scenes with themes from Twente.

The Short Stirling Monument commemorates the seven-member crew of a British RAF Short Stirling aircraft, which was shot down by the occupying forces on 28 August. The monument adds a distinct connection to local history alongside the church’s architecture.

The former grain mill “De Hagmolen” at Bentelosestraat 69 is a single-storey, transverse building with a mansard roof and loading ramp, dating from around 1900. Its history goes back further: the mill replaced a windmill built in 1860. That windmill, in turn, replaced the watermill of the now-vanished Havezate Hagmolen.

Wine, Tours and Seasonal Produce

Visitors to Wijngaard Hof van Twente can book a tour that ends with a wine tasting. The first vines were planted in 2000. The wine-growing business covers more than 5.5 hectares across three locations. Its history, size and layout offer different points of interest if you are curious about local viticulture.

Tours are also available at Rik Visschedijk’s flower-growing business, by appointment. Kinderspeelboerderij ’t Höfke offers indoor and outdoor play facilities. The two experiences therefore differ in focus: one offers a pre-arranged introduction to flower growing, while the other provides opportunities for children to play.

Fresh asparagus from Aspergeteler Slaghekke in Bentelo is a seasonal highlight of local agriculture. Weather permitting, it is available from late April until St John’s Day on 24 June.

Discover more destinations: Delden, Goor, Diepenheim, Ambt Delden, Markelo, Hengevelde.

Go to the main travel overview: Hof Van Twente.