Walking the Salt Path in the Netherlands

The Salt Path is a recently opened long-distance hiking trail in the Netherlands that traverses the salt marshes of the sparsely populated northern Dutch provinces of Friesland and Groningen. Tracing the Wadden Sea coastline, the route invites hikers and other people to explore local churches, villages and landscapes as a way to discover the region’s cultural heritage.

In a project spearheaded by the nonprofit organisations Alde Fryske Tsjerken and Groninger Kerken, churches across both provinces are being repurposed as artists’ studios, community cafes, concert venues and visitor accommodation. Nine churches have signed up, but the goal is to connect 22 churches by 2027, from Den Helder in North Holland to Termunten in Groningen.

A four-hour train and bus trip from Amsterdam to the provincial city of Dokkum brings you to that area. From there, you follow a canal, meandering eastwards for an hour on foot. Local residents had popped out of her home opposite Saint Nicholas church to show some evening lodgings. Up to two travellers can sleep in the nave – bringing their own bedding, but with access to a toilet and washbasin as well as being served a breakfast tray.

Over three days, you can cover 52 km. The first 15-mile stretch, to Lauwersoog, takes you through agricultural land and reintroduced salt marsh, with visits to churches at Ie and Eanjum. Then you clamber up and along the eight-mile dyke that separates the Wadden Sea from the Lauwersmeer lake. The land is so flat that you can see the spires of different churches to visit. Sailors once used the church spires, each architecturally unique, as navigation aides.

“Walking through nature impacts your brain”, says Anneke Augusteijn, a psychology lecturer and owner of the Wandelschuur, an accommodation in the harbour town of Lauwersoog. Augusteijn runs walking retreats and rents out the double-height, glass-fronted hut in her garden for overnight stays.

(Source: The Guardian – 19.8.2024)