Zoutkamp

Zoutkamp was a fishing village at the mouth of the Reitdiep on the Lauwerszee, working the Wadden for shrimp, and in 1969 the sea inlet was dammed as a flood defence after the 1953 disaster, turning the Lauwerszee into the freshwater Lauwersmeer and cutting the harbour off from salt water. The fleet did not stop: the boats now lock through to the Wadden and Zoutkamp remains one of the main Dutch shrimp ports, landing and processing here, and the shrimp are sold and eaten in the village. The Reitdiepskade and the old fishermen's quarter, the Hoofdstraat area, have small brick houses painted in strong colours, which is the photographed part. There is a fishing museum and the Lauwersmeer national park beside it, with dark skies designated over the water and large numbers of geese in winter.

What you actually see

• A shrimp fleet still working - locking through to the Wadden from a freshwater harbour.
• A coloured fishermen's quarter - small brick houses painted in strong colours.
• The 1969 dam - the sea inlet closed and turned into a freshwater lake.
• Lauwersmeer beside it - the national park with dark skies and winter geese.

When to go

April to October. Half a day.

Honest expectations

It is a working port, not a preserved village - processing sheds and boats rather than a picture. Small, an hour or two. Museum keeps limited hours. Public transport is by bus and infrequent.

Nearby

Lauwersoog and the Schiermonnikoog ferry are north; Pieterburen is east.