Burgum – Quatrebras | Section 1 of the Circular Route through the Noardlike Fryske Wâlden National Landscape conservation area

The Circular Route through the Noardlike Fryske Wâlden National Landscape conservation area  leads through a unique historical cultural landscape. The first section of the route sets off from the town of Burgum where you will see the Poppestien. As the ice melted at the end of the last Ice Age about 120000 years ago, this heavy boulder from Sweden was deposited in Burgum. Germanic folktales say that babies come from under the Poppestien. On leaving Burgum, you make your way through a hedgerow and woodland landscape with wooded banks where you feel the tranquillity of nature all around you.

Circular Route through the Noardlike Fryske Wâlden National Landscape conservation area

The combination of cultural history and natural elements makes the Noardlike Fryske Wâlden National Landscape conservation area unique in Europe. A network of walks covering 165 kilometres leads you through ancient landscapes where traces of the past dating back hundreds of years are still visible. Pingos formed in the Ice Age, boulder clay deposits in the subsoil, areas where peat formed and was cut and small-scale farmland enclosed by rows of alders and wooded banks. Today these trees that were planted to contain livestock and prevent sandy soil from being eroded, play an important role in preserving the unique biodiversity in the region. Local farmers are largely responsible for the maintenance of this unique hedgerow and woodland landscape that is probably one of Friesland’s best kept secrets.

It is possible to start anywhere along the 165 kilometres of the Circular Route through the Noardlike Fryske Wâlden National Landscape conservation area. The route is signposted with red and yellow trail markers and runs from the town of Burgum, through the Trynwâlden area to the villages of Damwâld, Kollum, Buitenpost, Oudega and Eastermar, eventually arriving back in Burgum.