Moorland

On the circular route in the Nature Park
Bourtanger Moor, you can see the raised bogs that have been shaped by the
preserved raised bogs and the large renaturalized areas after peat extraction,
where the special flora and fauna are slowly returning.
is slowly returning. The history of cultivation is omnipresent, from the original moors
peatlands to the restoration of the moors as a valuable habitat and
valuable habitat and recreational area for humans and animals.

The past, present and future of energy
of energy generation can be seen in Twist. The silhouettes of
the silhouettes of numerous oil pumps can be seen as you drive to the start of the 60-kilometre
kilometer-long Moorland Tour in Twist-Mitte. In the municipality on the
German-Dutch border is home to the largest oil fields on the mainland.
the mainland. There is even a museum dedicated to the path of the "black gold" in "Little Dallas".
dedicated to the path of "black gold": the Oil and Natural Gas Museum provides information about this
exciting topic.

The tour leads north out of the center of Twister
Twister town center, past the rewetting nature trail
"moor land schaffen" as well as the
Provinzialmoor nature reserve and along the south-north canal directly
into the diverse moorland landscape of the Dutch Bargerveen nature reserve
Bargerveen. It's worth reaching for your camera at any time of year and
capture the play of colors in the moor on the section around the Bargerveen:
For example, the white specks of fruiting cotton grass on the brown and ochre-colored areas
ochre-colored areas, the birch groves in May green or the purple heather bushes
flocks of sheep grazing between May green birch groves or purple heather bushes or the
dragonflies and butterflies buzzing around in the warm sunlight.

The visit to the sheepfold
(Schaapskooi) Bargerveen on the outskirts of Weiteveen is a must-do on the cycle tour.
must-have. King Willem Alexander opened the largest sheepfold in the Netherlands in 2018.
in the Netherlands. Over 1,000 sheep and more than 100 cattle have found a new home at the
a new home on the cattle farm. A balustrade in the barn gives you a good view of the animals.
the animals. And in the Bij Wollegras restaurant, you can fortify yourself in the Bargerveen
for the onward journey.

The tour leads - unnoticed by cyclists
unnoticed by cyclists - across the German-Dutch border again,
past agricultural areas and farmsteads to the Dalum-Wietmarscher
moor. The nature reserve covers almost 1,600 hectares. It consists of
areas that have been extensively peat-drained, some of which are being
in the process of being renaturalized. As a designated EU bird sanctuary, the main aim is to
conservation or restoration of the habitat for special bird species such as the
special bird species such as lapwing and redshank.

With a little patience and luck, these rare birds can be
these rare birds from the birdwatching tower in Füchtenfeld (on the
south-western edge of the Dalum-Wietmarscher Moor). There is also an
interactive moor map on the topics of "Natura 2000" and "Moors for
climate protection".

No lawn mower is as
ecological and sustainable as a sheep. That's why for up to 1,000 sheep,
that graze there to maintain the Dalum-Wietmarscher Moor, the former Ehrenborg
Ehrenborg earthworks was converted into a landscape maintenance station with sheepfold in 2022.
converted.

The Moorland cycle tour includes a visit to the viewing platform in the Geestmoor nature reserveGeestmoor and the Emsland Moor Museum are must-sees. Interesting
Europe's largest moor museum provides interesting and knowledgeable information in two
modern exhibition halls about the hard life of the first settlers in the
diverse raised bog landscape and industrial peat extraction.

The eye for detail is sharpened - not only
only for amateur gardeners - the Garden of the Nazarene in Twist. The beds
of the Bible garden around the Nazareth Church are laid out according to medieval
laid out according to medieval models. Both medicinal herbs and plants with a close
closely related to the Bible. There you can take a final break to round off the day's cycling
cycling day before setting off on the journey home.