Winterswijk Brinkheurne offers concrete starting points for a stay that brings together walking, landscape and local history: the Boven-Slinge, walks starting at Het Winkel and historic farmsteads. The cultural landscape is ideal for walking, running and cycling. If you enjoy spending time outdoors and would also like to include local history in your travel plans, you can organise your stay around these highlights.
The Boven-Slinge and the Cultural Landscape
Buskersbos is the wooded area around the banks of the Boven-Slinge in Brinkheurne. The Boven-Slinge winds through the forest; among the trees growing along its banks are medlar, bird cherry and ash. Many flowers and plants grow alongside the Boven-Slinge next to the forest. With a little luck, you may spot kingfishers there.
Walking and Cycling
Het Winkel at De Slingeweg 20 in Winterswijk Brinkheurne is a starting point for the official walking junction network. From there, you can choose from several walks on the Achterhoek walking junction network. A walk from Winterswijk towards Brinkheurne passes the Schoolpomp Brinkheurne halfway along the route.
There is also a dedicated option for a cycling tour: “Along Scholtengoed in Ratum, Brinkheurne and Kotten” is about 40 kilometres long and includes two short walking sections. Some paths can be difficult to use seasonally. Take this into account when planning and check route conditions before setting off. This makes the tour different from the walking routes: it combines a longer cycling route with short sections on foot.
Historic Farmsteads and Local History
De Oude Vlaskamp is a well-preserved 18th-century Saxon farmhouse with timber framing, a tiled roof and a water well. The historic Scholten Stemerdink farmstead, also known as Staemerd, is in the hamlet of Brinkheurne on Stemerdinkweg. The Stemerdink family lived there from before 1500 until 1847. Scholten Hilbelink is near the junction of Stemerdinkweg and Horstweg in Brinkheurne; a farmstead at this location has been documented since 1531.
The dates refer to different things: for Scholten Stemerdink, they concern the period a family lived there; for Scholten Hilbelink, they indicate when a farmstead was first documented; and for De Oude Vlaskamp, they refer to its construction date. Erve Brookert is another of Brinkheurne’s historic farmsteads. The farm is a Rijksmonument, a listed national heritage site, and was built around 1850. Groups of ten or more can visit by prior arrangement.
Other points of interest in the area’s history include the Schoolpomp and the Vrijheidsboom Brinkheurne. The Schoolpomp near the former primary school is a replica of the original pump, built in 2005. The Vrijheidsboom is the hamlet’s freedom tree. It commemorates a former lime tree and the former communal meeting place near the school, which served as a place to gather, learn and create.
Folk Festival and Bowling
The Brinkheurne folk festival is held in the hamlet every year on the penultimate full weekend in August. As the exact date may vary, check the specific festival dates for your travel year. Another activity is bowling at Zalencentrum Reuselink on Slingeweg.
Discover more destinations: Winterswijk Woold, Winterswijk Kotten, Winterswijk, Winterswijk Henxel, Winterswijk Miste
Go to the main travel overview: Winterswijk.
