100 Schlösser Route: North Route

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Do you love half-timbered houses, castles, and beautiful landscapes? Then take a ride on the north loop of the 100 Schlösser Route! The 100 Schlösser Route is a 1000 km bike route through Münsterland in North Rhine-Westphalia which goes by 100 castles. There are 4 sections to the route; this post is about the north route, but there’s also the south route, west route, and east route to explore.

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NORTH ROUTE

The north route is 300 kilometers long with Münster as the main start/end point. Some of the meanest hills are on this leg of the route (or the most fun. I guess it depends on your perspective 😉 ). This section of trail also crosses over a bit into the neighboring state of Lower Saxony, and for good reason. Highlights like the Benedictine Abbey in Bad Iburg and the castle in Bad Bentheim are located there. NRW highlights include the half-timbered, open-air theater town of Tecklenburg and Wasserburg Burgsteinfurt.

Day 1: Münster to Lengerich – 90 km

With the weather report promising me no rain for the whole day, I decided to go for it. 90 kilometers from Münster to Lengerich. The other option was a measly 25 km to Westbevern and then the remaining kilometers the following day. Along the way, I learned that I could have divided this route up at other points as well, like Ostbevern and Bad Iburg, but that wasn’t clear to me from the map in my guide book. Another tough thing about this first attempt at 90 km in a day would be the big hills starting from kilometer 70 until the end.

Leaving Münster

Getting out of Münster was easier than the last time, since I had already done the first 10 kilometers of the route previously on the south route (including one of my many accidental detours, which took me too far north). I again followed the Werse River for some nice unpaved cycling trail. A great thing about cycling on a Monday is that you see almost no one and can stop to have a bathroom break nearly anywhere on the trail.

At Gut Havichhorst, I saw a lot of horses staring at me out the window. I missed the mill of the same name and the Wallburg Haskenau ruins. Despite that, the signage was great and I hadn’t needed my phone at all so far to help me find the way, just the way I like it. But I did see Haus Langen and the old mill there.

the Bevern’s

I passed through Westbevern and Ostbevern, counting down the amount left to go with every town I exited. Ostbevern marked 30 kilometers and one third of the way completed. Vinnenberg would be 45 km and half way. When I get to Füchtorf I’ll be more than half way. Oy, it’s going to be a long day!

Just outside of Ostbevern, I passed by Schloss Loburg which has been turned into a Catholic boarding school. Vinnenberg was just a handful of buildings, but one impressive one – a convent. Here I took a much needed rest and snack break on a bench in the garden, enjoying the peace and birds chirping.

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Schloss Harkotten

When I got through Füchtorf, also called “asparagus city,” I turned on my phone to make sure I would not miss the double Schloss Harkotten von Korf and von Ketteler. The story goes that a pair of brothers took over the location after their father’s death and each had their own castles. There is a castle museum but it is currently closed for Covid.

Bad Iburg

After taking a few photos of the castles, I crossed over into Lower Saxony, got lost in Glandorf, and was in Bad Iburg before I knew it. Bad Iburg is at kilometer 75. Meaning there are just 15 more kilometers and several more hills before I can call it quits for the day. As I approached the city, I could see the hills looming like a wall beyond it. I took a good long break in a café to have some tea and Baumkuchen (even though Baumkuchen is more of a Christmastime cake).

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The town was cute and had streamers hung up everywhere. Since my bottom was still not ready to get back on my bike, I walked with Mischi around town for a while and found myself at the Schloss. I was slightly happy that the museum is only open on weekends because I was really too tired to do any visiting. Still able to walk through the courtyards, I explored a bit of the 11^th century convent/castle.

The hills!

Biting the bullet, I got back on the bike and headed toward the Teutoburger Forest. Although many frustrating hills awaited me, the views were spectacular. Maybe because I hadn’t seen mountains in a while. Although I was on a road with high speed limit, not that many cars came past. I’m glad to travel the north route in a counter clockwise direction because going down that last hill was a long one! It’s good to end the day on a downhill. In Lengerich, I locked up Mischi and got the train back to Münster.

Definitely lost enthusiasm over exhaustion today. But there were some really nice castles. I would have enjoyed Bad Iburg more if it had it been earlier in the day. It is certainly a town you could spend a whole day visiting. Anticipating the mess of hills from the map made me just want to get it over with. I’m glad to know I CAN do 90 km in a day because I will have to on the next trip along the Danube.

Day 2: Lengerich to Rheine – 60 km

Having survived the Teutoburger Forest yesterday did not mean I was out of the literal woods with the hills. In Lengerich, I followed the trail along an old rail line for a bit and then it was into the forest through some rolling hills. There was a spot with a great lookout, but mostly the view was blocked by rows of corn for me to see much. Coming down the first big hill I weaved through some of the Königsteich ponds in front of Wasserschloss Haus Marck. The castle was hidden between too many trees to get a good view.

Tecklenburg

Then it was up, up, up, up, up to Tecklenburg. Something I’m not enjoying much about the north route is the sections of high traffic roads, which always seem to pop up whenever the trail heads steeply uphill. After many breaks, I made it up into Tecklenburg. But I had the feeling that I was going around the whole city instead of through to the interesting parts. So I asked a lady walking down the street. She gave me some great advice about which way to go in order to get into the Altstadt, see the open air theater, and get some ice cream. I took all the advice and had a great time exploring the little town full of half-timbered houses.

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It had been about 2 hours and all I had managed was a mere 5 kilometers. Time to get going! From Tecklenburg, the trail went downhill and through a lot of forested area. At one point the trail became single track (a dirt trail wide enough for one tire) and I wondered if I was going in the correct direction. Luckily, all the signs were in great form today and I was in a section of not well traveled woods, called the Habichtswald. I didn’t see a single person the whole time I was there. It was lovely!

Hills, Water, and Castles

Out of the forest, there were some more up and downs through farmland. Even though ascending hills is a huge challenge for me, the views were worth the fight. On a long downhill, I passed through Laggenbeck, a suburb to Ibbenbüren. In Ibbenbüren, I took a break along another Aasee (I think my third on this trip so far). Then I made a detour to check out the town, which was bigger than I expected, with a large shopping district.

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The route continued out of the city along the Ibbenbüren Aa River (I always love river paths!). In Gravenhorst, I passed by Kloster Gravenhorst which had a café and an art museum. Coming into Bevergern, the route passes over the Mittellandkanal and then follows the Dortmund-Ems-Kanal. Just outside of Bevergern, the signposted route differed from my map. But I had a hunch and followed the signs anyways. They led me right to Schloss Surenburg and I was happy to be there. Such a cute castle! Even the birds get a fancy place to stay here.

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Rheine

Finally on even ground for the rest of the tour, the fields and forests between Bevergern and Rheine passed by in no time. In Rheine, I followed the river Ems until a section of construction bumped me off the trail. I wasn’t too worried since I was already in the Altstadt. I wandered around to get a quick look and then headed off to the train station.

Day 3: Rheine to Metelen Land – 75 km

Today was great! Perfect weather and signage so fantastic that (for the first day ever) I didn’t need my phone to check directions. Getting out of Rheine was easy. Out of the city, I followed a 10 km long bike path which passed by the beautiful Offlumer See. This bike trail was part of the Bahndamm Weg (a rail trail) and the NaTourismus Route (nature tourism) in the region, two other bike paths. In Wettringen, after Neuenkirchen, the trail turned north and went along a chain of lakes, one of which was Haddorfer See.

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When I arrived in Ohne, it was impossible to get lost. There were so many bike signs with their directions that it seemed like each street corner had one. From there, it was an easy 10 km to Bad Bentheim. Along the way the only traffic I encountered to play tango with tractors on the narrow roads. At one point a big truck blocked the road while another was chipping trees into mulch to fill it. The fields on both sides had been recently harvested, so I rode through the field in a wide arc around the truck trying to avoid the dust. The cars waiting on the other side had no chance!

Bad Bentheim

Before Bad Bentheim, I had to cross the highway. To do so, the trail takes you on a bridge. That was the first time I got a glimpse of the castle, still several kilometers away. But I knew I could not wait to get there and go inside!

The profile of the route from Rheine to Metelen is mostly flat, except when you get into Bad Bentheim. The Altstadt is built on top of a hill, so there were a few steep moments on cobblestones to get up to the castle. I parked my bike, paid just 5€, and went inside Burg Bentheim.

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There are so many different parts of the castle to explore once you are within its protective walls. First, I went to the two museum floors. One floor has coins and books from the region and the other floor has abstract art work from an art club, which I really enjoyed. The basement/dungeon of this part of the castle can be explored as well. Be prepared for lots of narrow stairways! Another wing of the castle has an exhibit on alchemy with the final room set up like an alchemist’s lab and an auditory recording with explanations (most explanations in the castle are in German and Dutch only).

Next, I went into the main living quarters of the castle. There the castle is set up as an 18^th century residence with several period rooms. Lastly, I walked around the ramparts of the castle which also has some towers to go up into. The views are amazing! On my way out, I stopped in the very bare chapel. Bad Bentheim was the only castle I saw all day today, but it was so fantastic that I didn’t mind.

Ochtrup

A few bike paths later, I was in Ochtrup, my intended destination for the day. Ochtrup is the pottery center of Münsterland and has a pottery museum. Additionally, Münsterland/NRW are also known for its history in the textile industry. The administrative building of one of these companies, A. & B. Laurenz can be seen from the trail.

Welbergen and its Schloss

In Ochtrup, the weather was so good, I decided to continue further. As I approached the next village, I stopped on a bridge to admire an idyllic scene. A stream ran under the bridge and sheep were grazing the field between me and the church. After enjoying this beautiful rural view, I entered Welbergen. While was consulting my map, a woman walking by asked if I needed help. She pointed me in the right direction and I was on my way again. The trail went along the Vechte River and I arrived in Langenhorst. This village was as cute as Welbergen and had an impressive church surrounded by water.

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Unfortunately, I did not see Haus Welbergen on my way to Metelen. This was a huge mistake. I later saw (on Instagram!) pictures of this beautiful castle and was sorrily disappointed that I didn’t see it. After completing the 100 Schlösser Route, I spent an afternoon hiking to Schloss Welbergen and was mightily happy about the effort (despite the rain).

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Metelen Land

After some nice bike paths, I was there in no time. Of course, with taking the train so much there was bound to be some kind of problem eventually. The train came on time but during our journey it was announced that we would not reach our end destination. There was some kind of signal disruption in Münster. At each station we passed through we had to wait longer and longer until the train could continue onwards. Then the wait became 45 minutes. People started to leave the train. When a couple behind me stood up after consulting their phones, I asked them if there would be a bus. 20 minutes later, the bus arrived and got us back to Münster in about a half an hour. All’s well that ends well?

Day 4: Metelen Land to Billerbeck – 50 km

After yesterday’s debacle with the trains, I was lucky to get one of the first few running normally this morning to Metelen. The station itself is located away from the town, so it was 8 km of pure forest cycling until I reached Burgsteinfurt. When I got to the center of town, the weekly market was in full swing. After passing through, I arrived Wasserschloss Steinfurt. Unfortunately, they only offer tours on the first Friday of the month and I was 3 weeks late. I spent a lot of time taking pictures and then realized I was only at the gate! When I cycled around to go through the park, there was more of the castle to see.

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I got a bit lost on the way to Borghorst, but after that hiccup the directions were great for the rest of the day. The trail did a lot of strange zigzagging until I arrived in Horstmar, where things get hilly again. The town had a few historic buildings like the Münsterhof, Burgmannshöfen, and the Rathaus.

The wind picked up, of course, in time for the day’s section of hills. On the way to Eggerode, the forecasted rain began. I put on my rainjacket, prepared for the light spit to turn into a full blown downpour any moment. In Eggerode, the rain stopped but the skies remained threatening colors in some directions and turned blue in others for the rest of the day.

Schloss Darfeld

I missed Haus Burlo on my way to Darfeld. When I arrived I was met with an impressive sight – Schloss Darfeld. The castle was built in the 1600s and eventually resided in by the von Droste-Hülshoffs who also inhabited Burg Hühlshoff. It was used as a shelter, orphanage, hospital, and military administration during WWII but has been re-inhabited by the regal family since the 60’s.

It was barely 10 kilomters from Darfeld to Billerbeck, my destination for the day but Mischi made it drag on forever. I felt that he had done a great job until around the 400 km mark when I began to notice that the ride wasn’t as smooth as it had been on day one. Now 800 km into the Schlösser Route, I can definitely notice that the pre-trip tune-up has worn out. The front brakes started to rub the tire on one side. After getting to Billerbeck, I made some slight adjustments, which will have to hold out for the last two days of the trip on the south route. By then Mischi (and I) will be happy to get a break!

Billerbeck to Münster – 25 km

These 25 km are also part of the south route. Highlights include Billerbeck’s Kolvenburg, Burg Hülshoff, and of course Münster!

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I liked that the north route introduced some challenging cycling for me with a few bigger hills by Tecklenburg. But I am thankful that it was just a taste of challenge and not all 300 kilometers! As for my favorite highlight on this route, it’s a toss up. Burg Bentheim was fantastic and a lot of fun to explore but Tecklenburg was just so cute!