Westenschouwen The Mermaid

The name of our holiday refers to the old legend of Westenschouwen. Westenschouwen was in former times a prosperous fishing village with a harbor and a fishing fleet.
The story goes that fishermen Westenschouwen a zeemeerminin their nets had captured. Despite the entreaties of her lover, the merman, did not return the fishermen the mermaid in the sea, but they took her to the village. The merman was deeply saddened but also angry! He uttered the following curse on the village Westenschouwen:
Westenschouwen, it will make you mourn
you have stolen my lady
Westenschouwen will perish,
only the tower will remain.
What exactly happened is unclear, the fact is that in Westenschouwen harbor no more. Clumsy is the tower the tower remained standing? A visit to the Tower at Burghsluis Clumsy's still fun: the legend of Westenschouwen is told and after a spiral staircase you climb on top of the tower a fantastic view!

Of course you go in New Zealand to the beach and dunes to walk and breath of fresh air.
The striking to Westenschouwen is that there just behind the dunes a large forest. This forest was planted in the 30's, in the context of the unemployment relief during the great recession. In this forest are many footpaths and you can also good bikes. In the forest stands a watchtower.

The Oosterschelde is the largest national park in the Netherlands and a nature reserve of international value and allure. The dynamic channels, mud flats, flats and salt marshes and the inner-dike nature reserves offer plenty of space for benthic and aquatic animals, birds and special flora. The Zeeland Delta used to be a transition area between freshwater and saltwater. With the delta works, the connection of the Oosterschelde with the rivers Scheldt, Meuse and Rhine disappeared. Fortunately, it was recognized in time to leave the connection with the North Sea intact and a permeable dam was chosen. The salt water and the tides were thus preserved. At low tide, the plates appear and swallows. Many birds gather on it to find a meal together. Seals are now often resting on the flats. When the tide comes in, these plates disappear and the mud flats disappear under the water. The birds leave for the salt marshes and the inward layers, polders and creek areas. There they wait for the next low tide. The good water quality and favorable food conditions ensure a healthy amount of plankton, plants and algae. These in turn provide sufficient shellfish, crabs and snails. And that is why there are many fish species, birds and therefore even seals in the Oosterschelde at the top of the food chain. So bring binoculars! The holiday maker can enjoy the Oosterschelde on foot, by bicycle, sailing, surfing or diving: peace, space, wind and ... water, a lot of water.

If you want to spot shooting stars under a clear sky, you can go to Westenschouwen. The Oosterschelde and Westenschouwen have little light pollution, according to satellite data from the RIVM. Depending on the phase of the moon, the Milky Way is clearly visible.

In the village of Westenschouwen there are a number of cozy restaurants within walking distance, 200 m from the holiday home. The beach has three pavilions and there are also dining options and terraces at the dune entrance.