Mill Bike Tour / Guided Mill Bike Tour

Mill Bike Tour for German Mill Day

The guided mill bike tour of the Grafschaft Hoya Tourist Information is a special offer on Whit Monday as part of the German Mill Day. While the mills along the tour open their doors to visitors on this day, the guided tour combines experiencing several mills with physical activity in spring.

Approximately 60 km through the Grafschaft Hoya

The tour covers approximately 60 km through the historic Grafschaft Hoya — the region between the town of Hoya, Eystrup, Bücken, and the surrounding villages. The route leads through a gently rolling landscape with forests, fields, meadows, and waterways. The inclines are moderate, so the tour can also be managed by hobby cyclists and families with older children.

Mills along the route

Until the 20th century, the Grafschaft Hoya was a landscape of mills with dozens of windmills and watermills. Today, some mills are still preserved and maintained as technical monuments by mill associations. The tour passes several of these historic windmills and watermills, which are open for Mill Day. A short stop with explanations is planned at each mill.

Start at the Old Goods Shed Eystrup

The start and end point of the tour is the "Alten Güterschuppen" in Bahnhofstraße 8 in Eystrup — a lovingly renovated historic train station building right next to Eystrup station. This location allows for very easy arrival by train from Bremen, Hanover, or Verden. The meeting point is at 10:00 a.m. on Whit Monday.

Guidance and Program

The tour is led by experienced guides from the Tourist Information. There are breaks for refreshments along the way, and explanations of history and technology at the mill stops. Participants bring their own bicycles; sufficient physical preparation is assumed. Return to Eystrup is in the late afternoon, allowing for the possibility to visit the Eystrup smock mill afterwards for Mill Day.

Connection with the Eystrup Mill Festival

The guided bike tour is closely linked to the Eystrup Mill Festival (see separate festival page) on the same day. Both events are contributions to regional mill culture and underscore the identity-forming significance of the mill landscape for the Grafschaft Hoya.