Osterschepser Esch

The circular hiking trail begins at the junction of the “Bauernhörne” from Osterschepser Straße. Right at the beginning of the “Bauernhörne” you will find the memorial for those who died in the wars and the mighty “Peace Oak” located there on the left. If you follow the alley-like clinker street “Bauernhörne”, after the “Privatgarten Oellien” you will see an unmistakable elevation on the right after a few meters, the “Osterschepser Esch”. A description of how this and the other “ash trees” came about can be found on an information board further down the road just before the left bend. Before you hike the “Esch”, you first continue along the “Bauernhörne”.

Long-established "Hausmann- und Muttstelle" are to the left and right of the street, as the first settlement of Osterscheps took place here on the edge of the Esch. After the last farm, turn right into the "Plackhoff", a gravel path that leads us into the floodplain at the foot of the Esch. After a few hundred meters you will reach the “Charles Bridge”, from which you can wonderfully view the “Aue” with its lowland, as well as the “Osterschepser Esch” to the north. It is hard to believe that seaworthy ships built in Edewecht were brought to the North Sea via this small river in the 19th century. An Edewechter captain even drove one of them to New Zealand and Australia and back. But you now continue on the tree-lined gravel path and you will soon reach the road "Baven Water". Here you can choose whether you want to hike the longer route (approx. 7 km) or the short route (approx. 3.5 km). For the short distance, turn right onto Baven Water. After a few hundred meters, the hiking trail leads to the Strohwattbrücke on the right. Please follow this.

For the longer distance, just keep walking straight ahead. After you have crossed the street “Am Pool”, you come to the “Poolweg”, which continues to lead you south. After a short time it turns into a sandy path that leads through a former but now completely dismantled moor area. Agricultural areas line the path to the left and right. But the modern age has also moved in there. Wind turbines ensure environmentally friendly energy generation. At the end of the path, turn right onto a gravel path. There is a sand excavation pit on the left, which is to be renatured after it has been completely excavated and left to nature. After a few hundred meters this path joins the “Schafsdamm”, also a former sand path that was graveled as part of the construction of the wind turbines. Here you turn right again. As soon as you come back to the area of ​​the municipality of Edewecht, the street name changes to "Heidkampsweg". Continue straight ahead, past the street "Am Pool" and cross the "Oellien Busch". At the end of the forest, the road "Baven Water" turns right. Follow this until you can see a farm on the left. Immediately before this farmstead, turn left over the narrow “Strohwattweg” into the floodplain. There is an opportunity to take a break right on the “Aue”, as a table and bench invite you to linger. After crossing the floodplain using the “Strohwattbrücke”, a small pedestrian bridge, you go straight to the “Osterschepser Esch”. A grassy field path, the "Strohwattweg", leads you to the back of the Escher. From there you can enjoy a panoramic view, back to the floodplain, east to the "Bauernhörne" and northwest to the village of Osterscheps. At the point where the grassy field path joins a sand path, turn right and you will soon be back in the "Bauernhörne". If you keep to the left you will reach your starting point again.

Author: Wolfgang Krüger