NORDPFAD Huvenhoopsmoor

Our hike starts at the Glinstedt bell tower. The 500-year-old bell is one of the oldest in the district and used to serve as an alarm and storm bell. We cross the L 122 and walk along the footpath to the K 148, which we follow in the direction of Forstort-Anfang. After approx. 200 m, we turn right into Seeholzstraße. A little later, we leave the village behind us and look out over wide fields and pastures of the Gnarrenburger Moor, which we now walk through.

A little before the sand pit, we turn left and walk along the paddock until we reach the K 148 again, which we now cross carefully. From here, we walk along natural paths through extensive meadows and pastures. We enjoy the silence, pass the small Barkhauser Moor on our left and soon come across a sandy path. From now on, the landscape changes noticeably, as a huge former peat extraction area lies before us.
Some thoughts on the moor: Since the 18th century, the moor, as the northern foothills of the Teufelsmoor, has been drained, extracted and reclaimed in the course of moor colonization. This gave rise to today's cultivated landscape with its meadows, canals and farms lined up along roads, the so-called moorland villages. Back then, the deeper black peat was used as fuel and was shipped to Bremen on peat barges. Today, the higher lying white peat is removed for potting soil and substrates with the requirement that the removed areas are renaturalized again.

We continue our hike and soon come across the "Försterkanal", which connects the small settlement of Forstort-Anfang with the village of Gnarrenburg, 6.1 km away. Behind the farms of Forstort-Anfang, the NORDPFAD finally continues to the K 148. At the beginning of the 20th century, an attempt was made to plant pine trees in Forstort-Anfang. Unfortunately, the attempt failed due to the boggy ground and only a small patch of forest remained.

We pass the K 148 a second time and now look out over the areas of the Huvenhoopsmoor nature reserve. The 1.5 km² large  Huvenhoopsmoor is part of the Gnarrenburger Moor. At the heart of the nature reserve is the Huvenhoopssee, one of the last intact raised bog lakes in Lower Saxony. Peat bog fescue grassland, sparse bog birch forests with heather and bentgrass clearings, rewetted peat extraction areas and raised bog grassland characterize this raised bog landscape and offer ideal breeding and resting conditions for numerous bird species. During bird migration, thousands of cranes rest here in spring and especially in fall. If you wish, you can also take a 1.6 km detour from here to the moorland adventure trail and visit the historic moorland farm in Augustendorf, which is 3.9 km away.

Those who continue the hike will next reach a parking lot and, via a natural path, the imposing and covered Moorturm Forstort-Anfang. This offers a fabulous view of the Huvenhoopsmoor. In October and November in particular, there is a good chance of watching hundreds of cranes fly to their roosts at dusk. This is a natural spectacle that "gets under your skin"  or "gets in your ears", because their trumpet concert with alternating "krurr - krarr" is unique. From the moor tower, the path leads back to the parking lot. We walk along the small forest, pass the Wander-Rastplatz Seeholz , immerse ourselves completely in the shady forest and hike to the edge of the 41 m high Steinberg, where sand-lime brick has been mined since 1960. There we turn left, walk out of the forest to the western edge of the nature reserve and through fields and meadows to the small Seegen wood.

We walk through the small wood, through the rewetted Huvenhoopsmoor and reach the Glinstedt showground after crossing the L 122. With a bit of luck, we can watch horses and riders practising their jumping before we walk along natural paths through the cultivated Ehnblecksmoor and our NORDPFAD crosses Gravesstraße. We pass the road and walk about 600 m on the grass verge next to the road. We then turn right onto the paved field path, walk a short distance through the drained, agricultural and heather-covered Falkenbergsmoor and finally reach the Falkenberg rest area, where we can take a short break. At the next junction, turn right, follow the farm track to Falkenbergstraße and from here walk along the grass verge next to the busy road back to the Glinstedt bell tower.


Connection with other NORDPFADEN:
An access path (7.2 km) leads from Forstort-Anfang to starting point 1 of the NORDPFADES Eichholz und Franzhorn.


Disturbance reports
Before your hike, you should checkwww.nordpfade.de  to find out about possible detours and trail disruptions that may occur, for example due to flooding, storm damage or forestry work.

Marker
The marker shows a white "N" on an orange background with the name of the NORDPFAD Huvenhoopsmoor.

Signposting
Destination signposts supplement the markings and are placed at prominent points. The signposts list places that are on the route or branch off from it, together with the distance in kilometers. The logo of the respective NORDPFADES is located underneath.

It is around 30-45 minutes from the A1 and A27 highways to the starting points, each of which has an information board and parking facilities. 

• Starting point 1: 27442 Glinstedt, parking lot at the Glockenturm, Falkenbergstraße
  
• Starting point 2: 27442 Forstort-Anfang, parking lot at the Moorturm, Hinterm Seeholz
  

Two parking facilities are available at the NORDPFAD. The respective starting points can also be found there.

• Parking lot 1: 27442 Glinstedt, parking lot at the Glockenturm, Falkenbergstraße
  
• Parking lot 2: 27442 Forstort-Anfang, parking lot at the Moorturm, Hinterm Seeholz
  

Arrival by bus

• Bus stop: Glinstedt-Mitte, 100 m from starting point 1 of the NORDPFADE
• Bus route 821: runs Mon.-Fri. between Gnarrenburg and Zeven
• Bus route 845: runs Mon.-Fri. between Gnarrenburg and Glinstedt
• Info: www.vbn.de

Komoot
We have compiled all 24 circular hiking trails in a separate NORDPFADE collection in the well-known outdoor app. The tours can also be found in the portal under the "Northern Heath" region.

Not yet on Komoot?
There is a free voucher code for new customers. The code is ROW and can be redeemed via "Redeem voucher" at komoot.de/g or via the link https://komoot.com/de-de/g?code=ROW.

The following brochures are available free of charge at the local tourist information offices and under brochure order. They are also available for download.

• NORDPFADE tour guide
  This small brochure contains everything you need to know about the hiking region.


• NORDPFADE overview map
  The handy leaflet is a small planning aid for the environmentally conscious.
  
  
• NORDPFADE hiking pass
  The stamp-free version for collectors.

There is also a pocket book published by Editon Temmenverlag. An amusingly written "hiking guide" by Lucia Gefken, who escapes her everyday life and starts hiking.

• My NORDPFADE
  Or: "It doesn't always have to be the Way of St. James!"