Kringloop de Siepel

A kringloop is the Dutch version of a charity thrift store, a large secondhand shop where furniture, books, clothes, crockery and household odds and ends are donated, sorted and sold on at low prices. The word means circulation, and it captures the idea that things should keep moving from one owner to the next instead of going to waste. Kringloop de Siepel belongs to that tradition and serves the villages around Dwingelderveld in the province of Drenthe. The precise details of its stock and layout change from week to week, as they do in any shop of this type.

The national park around it is the reason most people are in the area. Dwingelderveld is the largest wet heathland in western Europe, a landscape of heather, small pools, fens, birch woods and open sand that has been shaped by centuries of grazing. A flock of heath sheep still moves across the moor, and in late summer the heather turns the whole area purple. Marked walking and cycling routes cross the park, and a visitor centre known as the Boslounge gives information on routes and wildlife.

A stop at a kringloop makes a change from the usual list of sights. These shops tend to be unplanned, a mix of the useful and the odd, and a browse can turn up a cheap picnic blanket, a map, a paperback for the evening, or a bit of Dutch kitchenware to take home. For campers and holiday-home guests in the area, such shops are also a practical source of items forgotten at home. Most also have a small cafe or coffee corner, and many are run with volunteers or with people who are rebuilding their working lives, which gives the business a social purpose.

It is wise to check the opening days before visiting, as many kringloop shops are closed on Sundays and Mondays, and prices vary by item. Carrying cash and a bag is useful, and large furniture needs a vehicle, since not every shop delivers.

The shop suits budget travellers, people who enjoy treasure hunting, and families waiting out a rainy day between walks. Combined with a morning on the heath and a meal in a nearby village such as Dwingeloo or Ruinen, it gives a slower, more local view of Drenthe than the main attractions do. The nearby radio telescope at Dwingeloo adds another short excursion.