Oudwoude brings together architectural history, a seasonal garden, and rural hiking trails. Notable highlights include the 15th-century Hervormde Kerk Oudwoude, Artuin’s garden around a farmhouse dating from 1763, and various historic buildings along Foarwei. You can tailor your stay to your interests, whether architecture, flowering seasons, or outdoor activity in a rural setting.
Church and trails around Oudwoude
The Hervormde Kerk Oudwoude is a 15th-century church with a small bell tower. The Buitenpost–Oudwoude–Kollum circular hiking trail passes the church and then continues along green rural paths to Kollum. The Swalk-rûtes offer another hiking option: one of these routes passes through Oudwoude and the surrounding area. While the Swalk-rûtes description focuses on the route through the village and its surroundings, the circular trail description specifies the sequence from Buitenpost via Oudwoude to Kollum, as well as the section by the church. The two descriptions therefore offer different guidance: one covers the village and nearby area, the other gives a specific sequence of places and trail sections. Check current trail conditions before setting out.
Artuin’s garden through the seasons
Artuin’s garden surrounds a distinctive head-neck-body farmhouse dating from 1763. The garden and studio welcome visitors by appointment or on a spontaneous visit. The flowering season follows a seasonal pattern: bulbs bloom in April, fruit trees in May, and roses are in full bloom in June. Each of these months therefore offers a different floral highlight; the weather can affect the actual timing of the blooms.
If a particular flower is the main reason for your visit, it is worth choosing the month accordingly: the three periods mentioned are not interchangeable. Checking in advance about visiting arrangements can help with planning your arrival, even though spontaneous visits are welcome.
Historic buildings along Foarwei
The parsonage at Foarwei 38 was built in 1806. Its entrance dates from 1906 and features elements of understated Art Nouveau. About a century separates the year the house was built from the year its entrance was added, so different construction periods can be distinguished in a single building. The association building at Foarwei 42 was built around 1900 as a service building for the Reformed church in Oudwoude.
Foarwei 48 is a head-neck-body farmhouse with sash windows and shutters. The same building type can also be found in the farmhouse in Artuin’s garden. At Foarwei 48, the sash windows and shutters are additional specific architectural features. Together, these examples illustrate different local building functions: a parsonage, a service building, and a farmhouse. Architecture enthusiasts can also compare the shared farmhouse type at Artuin and Foarwei 48, along with the different details given about their construction dates and design.
Allemastate: access and street view
Allemastate stands on slightly elevated ground that was originally surrounded by a double moat. Allemastate is not open to the public; an old farmhouse can be seen from the road. Bear this access situation in mind when planning: the view described is from the road, and the grounds cannot be visited.
Different considerations can help you choose what to focus on: Artuin’s garden is seasonal and weather-dependent, the historic buildings offer a variety of architectural forms and construction periods, and the hiking descriptions differ in how precisely they specify the route. If you are mainly visiting to see a particular bloom, choose your timing according to the relevant month. For a hike, the circular trail, with its route via Oudwoude and Kollum, is described more specifically than the route through Oudwoude and the surrounding area in the Swalk-rûtes. This lets you plan your trip around the garden, architectural history, or trail route.
Discover more destinations: Burum, Westergeest, Warfstermolen, Kollumerzwaag, Kollumerpomp, Kollum.
Return to the main travel overview: Kollumerland En Nieuwkruisland.
