The Frisian Lakes

Friesland's lakes are less a set of separate waters than one connected system: Sneekermeer, Heegermeer, Slotermeer, Tjeukemeer and dozens of smaller ones, stitched together by canals and ditches that also link the old trading towns. The province treats sailing as an ordinary thing to do rather than a luxury, and in summer the water carries everything from open dinghies to skutsjes, the heavy flat-bottomed cargo barges that now race each other through July and August. Around Earnewald the peat lakes of De Alde Feanen national park hold reed beds, marsh birds and sheltered water for canoes. In hard winters the lakes and canals once carried a skating tour linking eleven towns, last completed in 1997.

What you actually see

• The skutsje races - traditional cargo barges under enormous sails, competing on the lakes in July and August.
• De Alde Feanen - a national park of peat lakes and reed beds near Earnewald, best seen by canoe or whisper boat.
• The eleven towns - Sneek, Bolsward, Workum, Hindeloopen and the rest, small brick ports linked by water.
• Sailing and canoe hire - open boats, sloops and kayaks rented by the day in almost every lakeside village.

When to go

May to September, with July and August busiest on the water and the racing season at its peak. The first week of August brings a large sailing regatta to Sneek, which fills the town. Spring is quieter and better for birds. Winters are cold and grey, and the famous skating conditions have not returned for many years.

Honest expectations

This is flat, open country where the weather decides everything: a grey windy week leaves very little to do. Boat hire is expensive and often requires a deposit and some experience. Hot summers can bring blue-green algae warnings that close swimming spots. Mosquitoes are bad at dusk near reed beds, and the lakeside towns are small, with limited options outside the season.

Nearby

Leeuwarden lies to the north, and ferries to the Wadden islands leave from Harlingen on the coast.