Rund um das große Moor

Route and points of interest:
The journey begins in Uchte at the Rahden-Uchte museum railroad station. We leave the town in a northerly direction, cross under the B 61 and pass fields and grassland to reach the edge of the Great Moor. The Große Moor is the largest moor in the district of Nienburg/Weser in terms of area. It belongs to the so-called raised bogs, which rely exclusively on rainwater and are therefore very low in nutrients. Near-natural moor areas can only be found in a few places, especially in the south-eastern edge area.

Almost the entire core area of the moor is undergoing industrial peat extraction. However, once peat extraction has ceased, these areas are to be restored to as near-natural a state as possible. This will include, in particular, the closure of the numerous drainage ditches, which should result in the retention of precipitation water and the restoration of the characteristic raised bog water balance. This would make an important contribution to protecting the animal and plant species adapted to the raised bog, for which there are hardly any other retreat areas, from extinction and to preserving a landscape element typical of Lower Saxony.

On our circular route, which essentially leads us around the bog due to the poor passability of the paths in the bog, we only get to see a few near-natural bog areas. To do this, however, we have to walk a little into the edge of the moor, especially on the south-eastern edge. For your own safety and for the sake of the flora and fauna, please do not leave the paved paths under any circumstances! The section of the trail past the Fuchsberg peat works leads through areas that are currently undergoing industrial peat extraction. In between are areas of grassland, interspersed with stands of birch and pine. Behind the peat works, we have to pass a stretch of road that has been somewhat worn out by heavy trucks. The tracks of a peat railroad run parallel to our path here, transporting the extracted peat to the peat works for further processing.

Our journey continues to the "forest islands" of Gösloh, Steinloh and Eichloh. In between lie intensively farmed grassland and arable land with interspersed stands of trees. Behind Eichloh, our path once again touches a small area that is currently being peat-cut. The route then continues in a southerly direction, and here too the path mostly passes agricultural land. Between Osterloh and Warmsen, we have to temporarily use sand and gravel paths in the area of the large moor, but these are easy to cycle on. The onward journey to Uchte first takes us past farmland and grassland as well as small wooded areas to the B 61. After crossing this busy road, we cycle back to Uchte on the cycle path, which has been created on the former route of the Mindener Kreisbahn railroad.

The tour "Around the Great Moor" can also be found at Komoot.

Safety information:

• Throughout the entire tour, please note that the cycle paths are used at your own risk
• No guarantee is given for the usability of the cycle paths
• In cities, increased attention is generally required
• Please use existing cycle paths
• Dangerous spots must be expected on the tour, e.g. bollards, circulation barriers
• .bollards, barriers and unsecured crossings of main roads - this advice applies in particular to cycling families with small children.