Graafschapspad part 8

Olburgen - Zutphen

 We did this last part during a heat wave. The humidity was killing us, especially between Brummen and Zutphen. Nevertheless, the Graafschapspad offers a lot of different views till the end. The farms are not that interesting anymore, but this river valley walk has its' own charm. Bronkhorst is a beautiful tiny town (yes, it is a real town with a little bit more than 200 inhabitants.) Medieval charm and nice cafés.  However, we can't recommend the 'Gouden Leeuw'. Bad service and we did not get what we ordered. They tried a simplified cheaper version on us: no dressing, in spite the promised variety of shellfisch only the cheap iceland shrimps and half the portion of bread and butter. We complained twice till we get something reasonable for the price they charge. To be honest, it was not the first bad experience we had there, but we thought everyone deserves a second chance. Better visit the neighbouring restaurant or enjoy the ice-cream made by local farmers at the Boerderij-winkel (farmshop).

Zutphen is worth a visit  or even a weekend. Great town, cramped with old buildings, nice market town and a great atmosphere. The walk from Olburgen till Zutphen is mainly following B-roads and the top of the dam along the river IJssel. Nice views.

All in all we found the Graafschapspad to be a really beautiful walk. The path is a bit dull between Ruurlo and the Slangenburg, but more than 80% are really lovely. it is difficult to tell what part is my favorite, because the parts are so different. The Graafschapspad is really recommendable!

Graafschapspad part 7

Doesburg-Olburgen

What a wonderful day. The sun was shining a lot (24°C) and there was a light breeze. I forgot to take my camera, so the following images are from the internet, but they give a pretty good idea about my day. The path today was so different from the former sections. The medieval town of Doesburg is very picturesque, interesting and has beautiful buildings. Try to spend a bit more time to explore the compact town center. It is worth the effort. The outer boundary of old town has the shape of a star. I followed the star shape on a dyke which surrounds the old center which is really interesting.

I had lunch at ‘De Bonte Hond’, a charming little restaurant which serves really nice dishes. I enjoyed a nice green leaf salad with goats cheese, crunchy bacon, melons and a nice rye bread. I continued my walk by following het ‘Graafschapspad’ out off town.

 I came to the IJssel-valley and for the rest of this section the path is on top of a dyke. To the left you see old parts of the IJssel. This is a nature reserve now and is home to a big variety of water birds and amphibians. There are two marina’s and tiny sandy beaches. On the right hand side of the dam are farms and three nice campsites: ‘De Zwarte Schaar’, ‘Dorado Beach’ and the ' IJsselstrand'. Finally there is a private mini camping ‘Het Hofke’.

The whole walk is really lovely and you hardly hear anything as soon as you leave the outskirts of Doesburg, only the wind and the birds.

Graafschapspad part 6

Sixth part of the Graafschapspad
Doetinchem - Drempt

 What a beautiful walk. We had great weather and we strolled along lovely villages, old manor houses, through dense woodland and over farmland. We got a nice tan and some moskito bites. Better don't take your break in the woods, because these beasts suck you empty. There are enjoyable pubs/restaurants along the way. Try the 'Gouden Karper' in Hummelo or the 'Keldertje' in Doetinchem. The latter is not regularly open, so better check in advance.

There are vast stretches where you only hear the wind. Something you do not experience in a lot of parts of the Netherlands. In Hoog Keppel there is a very old chuchyard with beautiful trees. I like to read the insciption on the headstones. I always try to figure out who is whoses family and what happened back in time  (Great War & WOII). It makes me sad to read  the text of the tiny headstones of infants. It makes me realise how lucky we are with our modern knowledge of medicine and its' preventive measures. We highly recommend this section.