The small villages in Drenthe originate from the knapsack routes of De Brede Overleg Groep Kleine Dorpen (BODK). “But village walks that usually have a distance of between 6 and 8 kilometers are considerably shorter than most knapsack routes, which are soon almost 20 kilometers”, says Luit Hummel of the BOKD.
Hummel does not know how many detours that are. And neither does his colleague Dick Dijkstra of the Recreation Board Drenthe. It is clear that there are many and more routes are still being added. “As a village you almost don’t belong anymore if you don’t have your own detour” Hummel laughs. “And sometimes different routes in a village are themed, like in Dalen.”
Recreational Board Drenthe is going to connect as many small villages as possible. There is already a pole in Noordscheschut announcing that work is being done on the network there. Benjamins: “If all those villages are connected in this way, the walkers can really let loose.”
“We use the local detours to make the basis of the Drenthe walking junction network,” says Dijkstra. “The backbone of the network is the Drenthepad, but the knapsack routes and the Pieterpad are also part of it. This creates one large walking network.”
“By connecting everything and merging routes, we need to place as few signs and posts in the landscape as possible,” concludes Dijkstra. The Drenthe pedestrian junction network should be ready by the end of 2023, at the latest by mid-2024.