Star tour 1:

Minden to Hille through the Hiller Moor

You start your tour at the tourist information centre in Minden. If you have any questions about the tour or need information material, the team at the tourist information centre will be happy to help you! From here, you cycle the first section along the Bastau, a small stream that will accompany you for quite some time on your tour. After a short detour through a typical Minden residential area, you continue along the Bastau through the Bastauwiesen meadows to Rothenuffeln. The Bastauwiesen are a nature reserve and, together with the Großes Torfmoor, the Neuenbaumer Moor and the Alter Moor, form an extensive moorland area.

In Rothenuffeln, you cycle through the Kurpark, where a timbered ensemble consisting of the historic Heuerlingshaus, a separate kitchen building and the culture barn was built. The culture barn is regularly used for various events. Your route then winds its way through the small villages of Oberlübbe, Unterlübbe and Eickhorst. On your way, you will pass the Eickhorst windmill, which regularly opens its doors for the popular grinding and baking days.

A short distance further on, you will cross the well-known Bastau in Aspel and cycle directly into the Great Peat Bog Nature Reserve. After a few metres, turn left at the Geestmoordamm hiking car park and discover the barren beauty of the raised bog in all its glory. The large peat bog is the largest of its kind still in existence in NRW. After a short distance, you will discover the observation tower, from which you have a great view of the moor. From here, cycle through the large peat bog with the Mittelland Canal on your right to P3 and cross the canal.

The tour continues across the Mittelland Canal and along it back in the direction of Südhemmern. Depending on your mood and fitness level, it is worth making a detour to Hille and visiting the old distillery in Hille, which was still in operation until 1990, from the outside. In Südhemmern, it is worth stopping at the Windmill Südhemmern. Here, too, you can enjoy Westphalian specialities on grinding and baking days and experience the charm of this historic building ensemble first-hand.

On your way back to Minden along the Mittelland Canal, you will pass Hahler Hafen, where a small restaurant invites you to linger. Shortly before you reach your destination, you will see two absolute highlights in Minden: The historic shaft lock, right next to it the newer Weser lock, where the majority of locks between the Weser and Mittelland Canal are now operated, and the largest double waterway intersection in the world.