Terschelling

Terschelling runs roughly thirty kilometres from west to east, a narrow bar of sand between the North Sea and the Wadden flats, reached by ferry from Harlingen. Almost everything happens on the western third: the harbour village of West-Terschelling under the Brandaris, a squat sixteenth-century lighthouse that still works and is closed to visitors, and the lanes running out to the smaller villages. Behind the dunes lie cranberry plots, planted after the berries took hold in a damp dune valley, and pine plantations laid down to hold the sand in place. East of the last village the island widens into the Boschplaat, a salt marsh of creeks and breeding birds running to the tip. Bicycles do most of the work.

History

The island took its present shape in the Middle Ages from De Schelling in the west and the older island of Wexalia in the east, and its oldest traces of settlement are a small wooden church built around 850. The navigator Willem Barentsz was born here around 1550, and in 1799 the British frigate HMS Lutine, loaded with gold, sank off the west coast in a storm; her bell now hangs at Lloyd's of London (Wikipedia, Terschelling).

The landscape

• West-Terschelling and the Brandaris - the harbour village under a sixteenth-century lighthouse that is still in service and not open to the public.
• The Boschplaat - the eastern salt marsh, inside the Wadden Sea World Heritage site, with access restricted during the bird breeding season.
• The north beach - an unbroken line of sand along the whole seaward side, backed by high dune ridges.
• Cranberry plots - the dune fields harvested in autumn and sold in the villages as juice and jam.

When to go

May to September is the practical season, with long light and warm enough water for a swim if you are hardy. June brings a ten-day outdoor theatre festival that fills every bed on the island, so book far ahead or avoid it. Spring and autumn are the strongest bird months. Winter is windy and most rental places close.

Things to know

Ferry crossings and bicycle hire add up, and bringing a car means limited, expensive spaces on the boat, so most people arrive on foot. The wind blows constantly on the seaward side and there is very little shelter. Beyond nature and villages there is not much to see, and in the festival week prices rise and accommodation disappears months in advance.

Nearby

Harlingen on the mainland, and the other Wadden islands strung out east along the coast.

Key facts