Holiday apartment in Loon: Brink, heathland and village history

Loon is a village with a clearly recognisable structure and a landscape in which water, heathland, paths and farming history offer different discoveries. The Looner Diep lies next to Loon and is part of the Drentsche Aa watercourse system. The immediate surroundings extend from the watercourse by the village to the Looneresch to the north and the Balloerveld to the east.

Brink and rural architecture

Loon’s large triangular Brink is located at the intersection of today’s Asserweg and Balloërweg. Loon is characterised by narrow streets paved with clinker bricks and many attractive farmhouses. Along the Asserweg are hall-house farmhouses dating from the 19th century. The Brink is also home to a transformer house from around 1925, stylistically related to the Amsterdam School. The village’s history is therefore evident not only in individual dates, but also in its streetscape, farm complexes and an unusual small building.

Water, heathland and walking routes

North of Loon, hunebed D15 stands on the elevated Looneresch. The hunebed site dates back to the Neolithic period. East of Loon lies the Balloerveld, with extensive heathland and old cart tracks that point to a history spanning centuries. Kampsheide is a nature reserve of approximately 90 hectares between Assen and Balloo. The Kampsheide walking route is 6 kilometres long. This gives you a range of landscapes around Loon and a clear choice of historical and nature-oriented themes for planning your day.

Cycling through the Drentsche Aa area

A signposted, 23-kilometre circular cycle route through the Drentsche Aa area passes through Loon. The loop can be started at any point and is suitable for e-bikes and touring bicycles. The different lengths of the cycling and walking routes make it easier to tailor your planned day to your interests, without reducing Loon to a single type of travel. The 23 kilometres provide a longer framework than the 6 kilometres of the Kampsheide walking route; starting at any point can be incorporated into your own day planning.

Choose a holiday apartment in Loon based on your travel interests

For a stay focused on cultural history, the Brink, farmhouses, hunebed D15 and the historic buildings offer a variety of points of interest. Anyone wishing to combine landscape and exercise can use the Looner Diep, the Balloerveld, Kampsheide and the circular cycle route as thematic guides for their own planning. The history of this farming village also includes the Krimpenboerderij Lente Festina on the Balloërweg, which was built at the beginning of the 20th century. The farmhouse at Markeweg 2 is believed to date back to the 18th century. The large number of farmers in and around Loon made it possible to establish the De Volharding cooperative dairy in 1896.

Further destinations: Assen, Zeijerveen.

To the higher-level travel overview: Assen.