Nederland - Sint Maartensvlotbrug, Wildrijk

The ‘Wildrijk’ is a nature reserve between the villages of Sint Maartenszee and Sint Maartensvlotbrug. Personally I consider it as one of the hidden gems of the province of North Holland.

Sint Maartenszee is located in the Zijperpolder. In the past, several wealthy Amsterdam merchants owned beautiful wooded estates in the west of the Zijperpolder, nearby the dunes along the North Sea. The ‘Wildrijk’ also dates from that time - the 16th century - and was a landscaped estate. During the excavation of the Noordhollandsch kanaal many pieces of forest were cut down by workers. Fortunately the ‘Wildrijk’ has been spared.

Nowadays it is a fairly small forest; especially in spring it is almost a fairytale to walk around (PiP4 and 5) between the numerous blooming wild hyacinths; most of them are blue (PiP1), but there also pink (PiP2) and white ones. Besides the hyacinths, the ‘Wildrijk’ also offers white daffodils (PiP3) and some other spring flowers.