Schoorlse Duinen

The dunes at Schoorl are the highest in the Netherlands - the Schoorlse Duinen reach about fifty-four metres, which in a country whose average elevation is barely above sea level is a genuine hill - and they are also the widest, forming a belt around five kilometres deep between the beach and the polder, where most of the Dutch coast has a strip of a few hundred metres. That happened because the sea broke through here repeatedly in the Middle Ages and sand piled inland. The reserve holds open drift sand, dune heath, dune woodland planted from the nineteenth century and wet dune valleys with orchids. A large fire in 2009 burned several hundred hectares and the recovering ground is deliberately left open rather than replanted, which has brought back drift-sand species. Trails run through it and the beach is behind.

What you actually see

• Fifty-four metres of dune - the highest ground on the Dutch coast.
• A five-kilometre belt - the widest dune system in the country.
• Post-fire open sand - burned in 2009 and left unplanted on purpose.
• Wet dune valleys - with orchids among the heath and planted woodland.

When to go

April to October. A day.

Honest expectations

Sand walking is hard work and the marked routes are longer than they look. Exposed to wind off the sea. Ticks are present. Cycling is restricted to designated paths through the reserve.

Nearby

Bergen aan Zee is south along the coast; Alkmaar is inland.