Weerribben-Wieden National Park

Weerribben-Wieden in north-west Overijssel is the largest bog in north-western Europe, about a hundred square kilometres in two halves, De Weerribben and De Wieden, joined into one park in 1992 and 2009. The landscape is entirely man-made in origin: peat was cut here until the Second World War, leaving the long trenches and strips the name refers to, and around a thousand hectares are still worked for thatching reed. Otter, black tern, water soldier and sundew are all part of the picture. Giethoorn lies inside it, with the old towns of Blokzijl and Vollenhove on its edge.