Christoffel hiking trail

Description

• As farmers processed the available manure on their fields, very little manure reached the dykes. This created a nutrient-poor environment very suitable for infrequent plant species. Spot the agrimony, nasturtium, daisy, crab apple, bird's milkweed and wild Marjoram.
• Cycle towards the Sas van Dirksland lock.At the Haringvliet is a viewing hut. Here in spring, the black-tailed godwit and other meadow birds can be seen and heard.
• Many birds also nest in the thickets along the dykes. These are often songbirds such as the fitis, whitethroat and chiffchaff, but also partridge, pheasant, buzzard and sparrow hawk often find a place to raise their young.
• The soil on Goeree-Overflakkee lends itself enormously well to arable farming. Therefore, there has always been little grazing land on the island. The cattle, what there were, mostly grazed on the dykes. The dykes were also a good place to grow barley wood. To this day, trees and bushes are often found on the dykes as a result.
• The name of the Christoffel route comes from the neighbouring Christoffelpolder.A fresco of Christoffel can also be found in Dirksland 's reformed church.According to legend, the pagan giant Christoforus was looking for the most powerful lord on earth. On the advice of a hermit, he had to go to a raging river to do so. There, Christophorus helped travellers and pilgrims across the water.One night a child came and wanted to be carried to the other bank. However, the further Christophorus walked into the water, the heavier the child's burden weighed on his shoulders. 'It seems like the whole world rests on my shoulders,' he supported.At that, the child revealed himself as the Creator of that whole world, Jesus Christ.