Millingerwaard

The Millingerwaard is the floodplain on the Waal at the point where the Rhine splits after entering the country, and it was farmland and clay pits until the early 1990s, when it became the first large-scale application of an idea that has since reshaped Dutch river management: instead of raising dykes, give the river more room. The summer dyke was breached, clay extraction shaped new channels, and the land was left to flood freely and to be grazed by Konik horses and Galloway cattle rather than farmed. Softwood forest of willow and poplar grew up on its own, sandbanks formed, and the species list expanded quickly - beaver, black stork, white-tailed eagle. The whole thing floods properly in winter and paths become impassable, which is the point. It forms part of the Gelderse Poort, a cross-border river landscape with Germany.

What you actually see

• A floodplain reopened - the summer dyke breached in the 1990s to let the river in.
• Self-grown softwood forest - willow and poplar established without planting.
• Konik horses and Galloway cattle - year-round grazing instead of farming.
• Beaver and eagles - species that returned once the river had room.

When to go

April to October. A day.

Honest expectations

It floods in winter and after high water, and paths go under - check conditions. Mosquitoes are severe. The grazing animals are free-ranging; keep distance and dogs leashed. Ground is muddy year-round.

Nearby

Nijmegen is west; the German border and the Rhine split are east.