Holiday apartment in Wierden: Nature, culture and trails along the Regge

Wierden combines open landscapes, the Regge and a remarkable heritage of clog making, shipping and crafts. The Wierdense Veld is a Natura 2000 nature reserve between Nijverdal and Wierden and is known for its raised bog. Heather and birch groves grow there; adders and cranes also live here. When hiking in the Wierdense Veld, you can observe special plants and animals.

Nature

The Regge also shapes the landscape. It has been restored to its original state and once again meanders freely between Twente and Salland. There are numerous cycling and hiking routes along the Regge in the Twents Reggedal. The Dakhorst nature area is both a nature reserve and a water retention basin and attracts many bird species. Thus, different landscapes lie side by side in and around Wierden: raised bog with heathland and birches, a freely meandering river and an area that serves to retain water and attracts many bird species.

Trails

The Twente Walking Network offers signposted hiking routes connected by numbered junctions. These include routes from 3 km in length. The Ommetje De Barkel follows this network and is signposted with green arrows and the Ommetje logo. This walking route around the village of Hoge Hexel in the municipality of Wierden is approximately 8 km long and leads through the cultivated esch landscape and the woods around the village.

For travel by public transport to the Ommetje De Barkel, use Vriezenveen railway station; the starting point is 3.5 km away, for which an OV-fiets rental bicycle is recommended. Another signposted route is the Ommetje Zuna: this approximately 5 km walking route leads through authentic farmland, along hedgerows and beside the Regge. In Enter, hikers can also walk a loop around Schaatsvijver De Lee.

Activities

There are also designated routes for cyclists. A singletrack route of approximately 4.6 km runs across Lageveld and is also part of a mountain-bike course of around 35 km around Wierden. Those who prefer the water as a setting can book flyboarding and hoverboarding experiences over the water at the E-Flyboarding Experience Center, for individuals, couples and groups.

At Pluktuin Hoge Hexel, visitors can stroll among more than 150 varieties of dahlias, cornflowers and chrysanthemums, as well as other flowers, and pick a bouquet. The events calendar includes Wiezo, the Wierdense Zomerfeesten, which takes place every year in July with music, a market, art and street theatre. De Wijnmakers in Wierden sells wine at its wine shop by appointment. From April to September, wine tastings or vineyard tours are held there every Sunday.

Culture and history

Enter preserves a long-standing heritage of clog makers and boatmen associated with trade and crafts. The Klompenmuseum Sköpke presents the history of the Enter clog and the Enter clog-making tradition; the Enter clog makers and their tools are on display. During the main school holidays, demonstrations of traditional manual clog making take place there every Wednesday and Thursday afternoon. However, the Klompenmuseum Sköpke is closed until the end of 2026 due to renovation work.

The Zompenmuseum explains that Enter was formerly a boatmen’s village and that the navigable Regge was important for trade and transport. Enterse Zompen had a flat bottom, could travel in very shallow water approximately 45 cm deep, and were built in Enter from the 16th to the 19th century. At the Oudheidkamer BuisJan, historic shops, clothing, a collection of traditional Knipmützen caps and rolled linen show Enter’s past. Visitors can also try on traditional clothing worn by a male or female farmer there.

The Galerie Groot’n Jans by Ingrid Groeneveld and the Wagenmakerij Langenhof offer further insights into crafts and design. The gallery displays paintings, ceramics, sculptures, glass art and jewellery and offers workshops for children and adults. At the Wagenmakerij Langenhof, hundred-year-old machines are demonstrated; the traditional, centuries-old craft of the wheelwright is also explained there.

Getting there

Enter is located directly on the A1. Wierden is near the A35 and N36 and can be easily reached by train from Deventer, Enschede and Zwolle. For further exploration, the local pages for Hoge Hexel, Wierden, Enter, Zuna and Notter are available.

Other regional destinations: Dinkelland, Dalfsen, Twenterand.

For the overarching travel overview: Overijssel.