Cycling Route Along Donkerbroek

Bike route Langs Donkerbroek passes by Donkerbroek in the municipality of Ooststellingwerf, located in the southeast of Friesland. Donkerbroek is one of the oldest settlements in this area of forests and moors. If you want to start with a round through the forest, you can encounter lots of species of forest birds and deer. Once on the bike, the route goes through hamlet Bovenveld to Haule, a ribbon village with nature reserves on both sides. One of these areas is the Blauwe Bos, a large nature and forest area with conifers and heather remnants. You cycle past Buurtschap Rolpaal into the province of Drenthe, where you pass Veenhuizen, a peat extraction village, before cycling back into Friesland. You pass Weper, another hamlet of Ooststellingwerf, and continue cycling to Fochteloo. In Fochteloo there were two labor camps in World War II, which with their grounds were later transferred to Natuurmonumenten. At former camp Ybenheer you can visit a monument erected in memory. The route continues to the hamlet of Venekoten and Oosterwolde. In this village, the main town of Ooststellingwerf, the Dorpskerk (village church) with the bell tower (a scaffold in which several church bells hang) of Friesland catches the eye. In Drie Tolhekken, a lock connects the Opsterlandse Compagnonsvaart with the Tjonger River. Via the Tjobbekampsterwaterlossing you cycle to Donkerbroek.