‘De Deelen’ is now a beautiful nature reserve, with waterways and wooded banks.
That was certainly not the case in the past, between 1900 and 1970. Peat workers, with or without the help of a dredging machine, had to work hard and far too long for a pittance.

During World War II, it was a popular but highly risky drop zone for weapons intended for the Dutch resistance.
Now a new threat hung in the air.

***

“There’s a walking tour in De Deelen on December 30”, my wife said, lowering the Heerenveense Courant -in which she’d read the announcement- and looking at me questioningly. “How many kilometers?” I asked. “Five or ten”, came the reply. “We’re not even going to bother with the five”, she said.

***
At the start, it was unusually crowded. Hundreds of people, young and old, had the same plan, so we set off in a long procession, full of good cheer. After about a mile, a traffic jam did form after all: we had to take a ferry across a wide canal. After that, the De Deelen Walk in Frisian nature really began. Vast skies, varied, beautiful water features, well-maintained forest trails, and wooden bridges. It had it all.

When we saw a sign that read ‘PROTEST’ for the second time, with an arrow pointing in our walking direction, I asked my wife, “What are we protesting against?” She didn’t know, but a walker from a group ahead of us did. He turned around: “Against the installation of giant wind turbines with large, noisy blades in this beautiful nature reserve!”

At the next sign that read ‘PROTEST’, there was a message saying ‘SIGN THE PETITION’ and another arrow pointing to the left. We veered off our path onto a narrower trail and ended up in a new traffic jam -this time of supporters. When it was our turn, we both signed the book with a flourish, joining the now very large number of fellow opponents, because windmills -no, you don’t want those here. It must have been a huge success, because the other side was much less crowded:

On a wooden desk lay an open book with both pages still pristine white and a pen on a chain. Hanging from the spacious chair was a sign with the clearly legible letters ‘PRO-VOTERS’. Quite inviting, on a small island in the middle of a wide ditch.

***

Photos: April 7, 2026 and:

I saw no windmills in De Deelen!