Noordpolderzijl

Noordpolderzijl consists of a sluice, a small tidal harbour, a nineteenth-century inn and nothing else - it is generally described as the smallest seaport in the Netherlands, and it is behind the Wadden dyke on the Groningen coast where the land ends and the mudflats begin. The zijl was the sluice that drained the polder into the sea, its work now done by a pumping station, and the harbour beside it dries completely at low tide, so the handful of boats sit on the mud for half of every cycle and float for the other half. 't Zielhoes, a small cafe in the former sluice keeper's house, serves the walkers and birdwatchers who come out here. What the place gives is emptiness: standing on the dyke there is polder behind and, in front, the whole flat expanse of the Wadden Sea to the horizon, with the tide running out to nothing.

What's there

• The smallest seaport - a sluice, a tidal harbour and one inn.
• A harbour that dries out - boats sitting on the mud for half of every tide.
• The dyke horizon - polder behind, the whole Wadden flat in front.
• A cafe in the sluice house - 't Zielhoes, in the former keeper's home.

When to go

April to October. Half a day.

What to expect

There is genuinely nothing here but the dyke, the sluice and the inn - that is the point and it is not for everyone. Fully exposed to wind. Do not walk onto the flats without a licensed guide.

Nearby

Pieterburen is west; Uithuizen and Menkemaborg are south.

Key facts