Reimerswaal: Holiday Apartments and Holiday Homes

Reimerswaal can be explored along signposted paths, on dikes and amid the interplay of water, polders and villages. The hiking trail network covers 175 km, including 16.5 km across unfenced farmland, through natural areas and over dikes. The paths lead over inland and outer dikes, through orchards and along winding polder paths. Along the way, different landscapes are combined with tangible traces of the region’s history.

Hiking

For orientation, the hiking trail network has 70 nodes. Each village also has an information board showing the complete network, the local village route, the wheelchair-accessible route and the sights along the paths. Every village in Reimerswaal has a wheelchair-accessible hiking route. Shorter routes complement the extensive network: the Cisterciënzer Ommetje in Waarde is an 8.9 km walking route, while the Ommetje Yerseke: Zilte Route covers 5.4 km.

Water and Nature

Reimerswaal lies between the Oosterschelde and the Westerschelde. A striking natural area is the Verdronken Land van Zuid-Beveland. In the municipality of Reimerswaal, it can be viewed from the Oesterdam at the level of the village of Rilland. The area is a nature reserve with mudflats and salt marshes, where mainly couch grass and common cordgrass grow. Wild ducks, marsh harriers and wading birds such as avocets, redshanks and oystercatchers use it as a breeding ground.

The Verdronken Land van Zuid-Beveland must not be entered. However, the Oesterdam offers a viewpoint overlooking the mudflats and salt marshes. There is also a Hollestelle near Rilland: an artificial drinking pool within a ring embankment, one of the few surviving examples in Zeeland.

Culture and History

In Waarde, the present church building dates from the late 14th century; it is a hall church. The church is available for cultural events such as concerts. The history of the Cistercians is also connected with Waarde: they founded a grangia there, located near the castle of the Lords of Waerde.

The Oosterscheldemuseum is located in Yerseke in the former town hall, which was built in 1914. The museum presents the history of oyster farming and uses a film to explain the processing chain of mussel production. A separate section is dedicated to the sunken town of Reimerswaal, displaying archaeological finds, maps and other remains.

Further evidence of the region’s past can be found in Hansweert and Krabbendijke. The Deurenwip in Hansweert has been preserved in the landscape as industrial heritage. There, the Parlevinkerspad follows the traces of the parlevinkers across a filled-in canal and past vanished locks. In Krabbendijke stands Molen de Rozeboom, a ground-sail windmill built in 1862 and extensively restored in 2013.

Food and Craftsmanship

The oesterputten of Yerseke are connected directly to the Oosterschelde by a lock. The small buildings at the oesterputten date from 1870. The guided Rondleiding Yerseke starts at the Tourist Shop in the town centre and leads to the oesterputten of Yerseke. During this tour, oysters, mussels and lobster can be sampled in converted oyster sheds.

A guided oyster-gathering experience on the Oosterschelde leads at low tide to the foot of a dike behind the port of Yerseke, where parts of the seabed become exposed. Oesterij offers tastings of fresh Zeeland shellfish delicacies. In authentic information sheds, visitors can also see how oysters and mussels are sorted, cleaned and packaged.

Further Local Pages

For further exploration, the local pages Kruiningen, Rilland and Yerseke are available.

To the main travel overview: Zeeland.

More Destinations

More places within the same destination:

Borsele, Kapelle, Vlissingen, Veere, Hulst.