Introducing the Trail

The Frisia Coast Trail is a long-distance path that, as the name suggests, follows the coastline of what was once Frisia. It is no coincidence that our colours are what people in Turkey call mavi yeşil — ‘blue-green’ — along their Mediterranean coast. Similar hues appear in the logos of the East Coast Trail on the island of Newfoundland in north-eastern Canada, and the Fishermen’s Trail along the south-western coast of Portugal — each positioned on opposite sides of the Atlantic Ocean. There are no secret pacts guiding the use of these vivid colours for coastal trails; they simply seem to come to mind instinctively.

The Frisia Coast Trail traces the places and paths where the Frisians once roamed and explored, according to ancient sources. Understanding the coastal history of the landscape one walks through gives the traveller or wanderer a deeper connection to both place and time — a richer sense of place. It is no coincidence that the motto of our blog is ‘Salt Samphire & Storyteller’; this reflects not only the Frisian reputation as gifted storytellers but also the joy of time travel itself. Imagine yourself as one of the three Podagristen — a term meaning ‘those who suffer from gout at their feet.’ These three writers, living in the mid-nineteenth century, recorded and retold stories they encountered while hiking between the towns of Bad Bentheim in Germany and Coevorden in the Netherlands.

“I’m fascinated by how we, as human beings, are also storytelling creatures — how we simply can’t do without stories. How we, in fact, see and make sense of the entire world through narratives. I think that’s a remarkable thing.”

Nynke Laverman (2025)

To date (2025), we have written over 145 blog posts — roughly 40 hours of continuous reading — exploring much of the cultural and natural history of the southern North Sea coast, and how these two are intricately intertwined in this watery environment on Europe’s edge. A trail-tale or tale-trail — perhaps we should have called our blog the Frisia Coast Trale!

The trail does things in a different way, too. To start with, it goes from Z to A. From the sea inlet ‘t Zwin in the region of Flanders to the Ribe Å near the town of Ribe in the south of Denmark — å meaning ‘river’ in the Danish language; see note down below. Ribe, a trading place or wick once founded by Frisian maritime merchants around the year 700, and the oldest town in Scandinavia. Furthermore, at the end of most blog posts we offer a few suggestions for music that can accompany you during your slow time travels, and also other trails or paths that can be hiked. Lastly, like the Cape Wrath Trail in Scotland, the Frisia Coast Trail is not marked.

We have plotted the route on Google Maps for easy navigation on your smartphone — just click the button at the bottom of this page. However, feel free to adjust your path as you wander or purposely get lost. The map includes several layers highlighting places of (historic) interest, lighthouses, festivals, and more along or near the trail.

The total length of the trail is approximately 2,250 kilometers, or about 1,400 miles. When the route crosses the modern border between Germany and the Netherlands at the Dollart Bight — where, according to the sagas, Radbod, king of heathen Frisia and leader of the Wilde Jagd, leapt across the River Ems on his white stallion — you are roughly halfway along the trail.

The trail is designed for the average walker, with daily distances averaging about 22 kilometers. For those attempting an end-to-end (E2E) journey, expect to spend around 100 days traversing the soft sea coast and riverbanks. This estimate assumes walking from southwest to northeast; going the other way may take twice as long due to the often strong south-western sea winds blowing directly in your face across the flat, sometimes barren landscape.

Many surviving regional toponyms — from the northwest Netherlands to north-eastern Germany — still remind the hiker of the (former) Frisian heritage and culture across the entire area: namely, regio Westfriesland in the province of Noord-Holland (NL), provinsje Fryslân (NL), Region Ostfriesland (DE), Landkreis Friesland (DE), and Landkreis Nordfriesland (DE). With these five Frisian toponyms along the Wadden Sea, much of the Frisia Coast Trail is encompassed. They are all remnants of the former Frisia tota — the whole of Frisia.

But also the different Frisian groups were distinguished according to their territories, namely the Westfriezen, Ostfriezen, Rüstringer Friesen, Butjener Friesen, Wurstfriesen, Eiderfriesen, and Nordfriesen. They were also differentiated by their landscapes, known as Marschfriesen (‘marshland Frisians’) and Moorfriesen (‘peatland Frisians’). Lastly, there are the land Frisians and the island Frisians. Just to avoid confusion, and to stay out of trouble, do not mix up Frisians with Friesians — the latter being the internationally renowned breeds of cattle and horses.

Terps are perhaps the most iconic element of the landscape, the artificial dwelling mounds on the former tidal marshlands, part of this watery part of the world. Something the Romans already wrote about two thousand years ago, though with a certain contempt. You can find these earthworks all along the southern coast of the North Sea between the village of Leffinge-Oude Werf in western Flanders in Belgium and the former hamlet of Misthusum in southern Jutland in Denmark. There exist almost thirty different names for a terp along the coastal area of the Frisia Coast Trail, a testament to the cultural variety and the linguistic richness of this coast.

Another trademark of the landscape the hiker passes through, besides terps, is dykes. The total length of dykes in the Netherlands alone — with a territorial coastline of only 800 kilometers — measures some 22,000 kilometers (Pleijsters et al 2014). No, that is not a typo with too many zeros. In the state of Lower Saxony in northern Germany, the total length of dykes along the North Sea coast alone amounts to about 1,000 kilometers. Likewise, the total length of dykes in the marshland region of the neighbouring state of Schleswig-Holstein is roughly 1,000 kilometers as well (Hofstede 2019). For comparison, the Great Wall of China is 21,000 kilometers long, and the circumference of the Earth is about 40,000 kilometers. Frisia first, China second. With their terps and dykes, the Frisians are the real earthmovers — and no, we are not referring to a literary sexual experience; see note below.

There are more than forty different types of dykes that are being distinguished. We cannot list them all, but they can be grouped into eight categories, viz. (1) Sea Dykes, including opdijk, stuifdijk, waker, slaper, and dromer; (2) River Dykes, including zijdewende, achterwende, voorwende, winterdijk, zomerdijk, schaardijk, and leidijk; (3) Polder Dykes, including aanwasdijk, kadijk, ringdijk, and boezemdijk; (4) Lake Dykes; (5) Canal Dykes; (6) Waterliniedijken ‘military defence dykes’; (7) Dams and Storm Surge Barriers, and; (8) Emergency Dykes.

Except for dunes, terps, which are on average 2-5 meters high, and sea dykes, currently on average 11 meters high and still rising, the terrain of the Frisia Coast Trail is painstakingly flat. So, no climbing or rock scrambling is involved. That sounds easy, but actually, it is not. Every hiker knows that hiking a flat surface for a long time is taxing on specific muscles. There is a Friezenberg, part of a nature conservation area, which translates as ‘Frisians mountain,’ that could relax your muscles. However, this hill is located off track in the region of Twente in the east of the Netherlands and is only 40 meters high.

Of course, part of Frisia is the isolated island of Heligoland, or deät Lun, far out at the North Sea in the German Bight. Deät Lun means ‘the land’ in the Halunder speech, which is a variant of the Frisian language. Here you can climb the porous red rocks, which go up to 61 meters high. It is not on the trail, but you can make this a side trip because the island is an integral part of the cultural heritage of Frisia as well. Maybe the early-medieval thing assembly site of pan-Frisia was located here, the forerunner perhaps of the thing site called Upstalsboom near the town of Aurich in the region of Ostfriesland that was in use during the High Middle Ages.

The roots of the people living along the Frisia Coast Trail are what scholars term une civilisation de l’eau, or Meeresmenschen, as artist Barbara Dombrowski depicts them. A water people with their own distinct culture and history, different from those further inland — notably, we avoid the term ‘mainland’ as it is not woke, since it implies the coast is somehow inferior or secondary. The Frisians were, so to speak, the عرب الأهوار (‘Marsh Arabs’) or the Samah-Bajau, nicknamed the Sea Gypsies, of Europe. An amphibious people living in a watery land of sea and rivers, dwelling on boats and terps.

The coastline is essentially a delta — the Nile Delta, but in a colder, more humid climate where fresh water meets salt. It is a complex and ever-changing environment made up of rivers, creeks, rivulets, dunes, islands, inlets, bays, sandbanks, barrier beaches, peatlands, swamps, woods, and tidal marshes. This delta is vast, draining a significant portion of the European continent. If one rotates a map of Europe 45 degrees clockwise, so the top points northwest, the coast of what was once magna Frisia, or ‘great Frisia,’ appears as a large pimple on the southern edge of the North Sea — and, to put it bluntly before the reader does, the pus oozing from it are the Frisians.

And, culturally and historically not to be underestimated, there is a massive river cutting through the hinterland that has defined the cultural history of a large part of the European continent ever since the Bronze Age: the mighty River Rhine with all its tributaries. A river that shaped much of European civilization. Crossing rivers that drain the continent and discharge uncountable liters of water into the sea is part of walking the trail in general.

You will be crossing rivers like the Scheldt, Meuse, Waal, Nederrijn, Kromme Rijn, Stichtse Vecht, Lauwers, Reitdiep, Ems, Heuwieke, Harle, Jade, Weser, Oste, Elbe, Stör, Eider, Vidå, and Ribe Å. Some are small and insignificant, others massive and impressive. According to poet-bishop Venantius Fortunatus, who lived in the second half of the sixth century in Francia, rivers served as frontiers, changeable lines of demarcation between kingdoms and identities, but also as symbols of identity (Arnold 2024). We think this is equally true for the southern North Sea coast.

Associated with water too, but less cuddly than Meeresmensch, are nicknames awarded to Frisians throughout history because of more reprehensible behaviour, namely predones ‘robbers’, piratas ‘pirates’, and praedatores ‘looters’. The Westfriezen in the province of Noord Holland got their own honorary title from the Hollanders, namely bestiales ‘beasts’ and crudeles ‘cruel men’. Other medieval honorary titles Frisians received were barbara gens ‘barbaric people’, villains de Frise ‘villains of Frisia’, gens sans loi et sans foi ‘people without law and without faith’, Vriese ruut ‘Frisian uncivilized person’, etc. Especially during the Late Middle Ages, the elite of Holland considered Frisians to be heathen, dumb, uncivilized, boorish, ignoble, and non-courtly (Janse 1993).

And to be frank, the people of this coastal region are still known for their bluntness, stubbornness, and sometimes cold demeanour. Ask any foreigner who has settled here, or any diplomat negotiating with these northerners — it often takes time to adjust, if one ever truly does.

The Frisia Coast Trail concept of walking through the historic and cultural landscape that for many centuries was the (economic) realm of the Fryske wetterotters ‘Frisian water-otters’, yet another nickname for Frisian people (Kloosterman 1933), was followed by the Flemish television producer Arnout Hauben (from Leuven, Flanders) soon after the Frisia Coast Trail had set out its path in 2017. First with his series Rond de Noordzee ‘Around the North Sea’ (2019), and in the following years with the series (twice) Dwars door de Lage Landen ‘Across the Low Countries’ (2021, 2022).

Also recently (2020), the concept of travel through the cultural landscape of historic Frisia is picked up by local politician Siegmar Wallat (from Bredstedt, Nordfriesland), too. Wallat wants to create an Europäische Straße der Friesen ‘European way of the Frisians’ or Friesenweg, and challenged his students of the Fachhochschule in the town of Heide to make a business case. An initiative together with the Friesenrat. Domain friesenweg.de, however, is still (2025) available and for sale for the highest bidder. Not much concrete interest yet. Some persons involved with the Magna Frisia project want to pick up the idea of the Europäische Straße der Friesen again (Nijdam 2025), so assumably the domain will be purchased by them, soon. They like to think magna.

Also in 2020, Carlien Bootsma (from Goenga, Friesland) walked during a month parts of the Wadden Sea coast and islands. Her aim was to combine the joy of walking with writing about what rising sea levels mean for the tidal environment. With his book De Friezen. Een geschiedenis ‘The Frisians. A history’, writer Flip van Doorn (from IJlst, Friesland) describes the history of Frisia in the form of eleven journeys he personally made through the landscape (2021). In the year 2023, extraordinary professor Zef Hemel (from Emmen, Drenthe) also walks the coast of the northern Netherlands to find “a new, exciting story for the North”. He walks, of course, because in the spirit of Goethe one should never trust a thought that is not born out of motion. Wise guys always, those professors.

In addition, in 2023 a new path in the north of the Netherlands was designed called the Ziltepad ‘saline path’. Of course, the name has similarities with the book titled ‘The Salt Path’ by writer Raynor Winn (2019), also a coastal walk in the southwest of England. Following exactly the concept of the Frisia Coast Trail, we dare to say, the Ziltepad connects (religious) heritage and culture with the coastal landscape, in particular that of the Wadden Sea. No worries, the Frisian bastards never patented the concept of the Frisia Coast Trail of 2017 and enjoy to see so many fathers of success!

With all these new and future Frisian roads and paths, we almost forget the oldest and most venerable one of all, namely Der Friesenweg, running from the high Alps in Switzerland to the low, smelly shores of the Wadden Sea. A way created by dead Frisian warriors and giants. Read our blog post Make way for the homesick dead! to learn more about this wild army — and shiver.

The Frisia Coast Trail requires constant maintenance. Through time, the landscape has been exceptionally volatile because of the interaction of the sea, rivers, and humans. It is a process of continuously finding a new or better balance. Even since we started developing this trail in 2017, adjustments have had to be made already due changes in the landscape. Such as the deliberate demolition of the Internationale Dijk ‘international dyke’ at the sea inlet ‘t Zwin in the region of Flanders, which has given the sea much more space again. Furthermore, the tidal marshlands of Noarderleech in the province of Friesland have been reshaped drastically after the construction of a new pumping station near the village of Hallum.

In the region of Nordfriesland, the terps on the Hallig islands are being heightened due to the still rising sea level. Currently (2020-2026), the 31-kilometers-long Afsluitdijk ‘enclosure dam’ is under construction for a major makeover. Additionally, a brand new river will be recreated to connect Lake IJsselmeer with the Wadden Sea: the River Vlie revisited. The River Vlie, meaning ‘to flow’, was a former river that used to flow out into the North Sea somewhere between the Wadden Sea islands of Terschelling and Vlieland. And, of course, we are eagerly awaiting the opening of the sea dyke at the village of Holwerd, although it becomes quieter and quieter at this northern front.

And so forth, and so forth.

Πάντα ῥεῖ καὶ οὐδὲν μένει

‘everything flows, and nothing remains’ (Heraclitus of Ephesus).

Lastly, when designing the trail we made use of the trailblazers before, and after, us. Like the European Coastal Path (E9), Zuiderzeepad, Groot-Frieslandpad, Floris V-pad, Noord-Hollandpad, St. Odulphuspad, Hünenweg (formerly Friesenweg), Van Dorestad naar Dokkum, Waterliniepad, Pronkjewailpad, Kromme Rijnpad, Podagristenpad, Jabikspaad, Trekvogelpad, Ostfriesland Wanderweg, Romeinse Limespad, Happy Hike NH, Seelter Ai Paad, Klompepaden, Groninger Borgerpad, Wikinger-Friesen Weg, the Hippie Trail, and many more paths, tracks, ways and trails. And sometimes, we just cut through the grasslands, dubbed the groene woestijn ‘green desert’, beet fields, salt marshes, mudflats, or dunes. Ignoring barbed wire and no-trespassing signs. Defying farm guard dogs, bulls, and rams. After all, Frisia was the land of the free.

Have fun walking and reading!

and

Go with the Vlie!

go to trail map

Note 1 — Following historian D.J. Henstra we use the terms West Frisia, Mid Frisia (instead of pretentious Central Frisia), East Frisia, and North Frisia to discriminate between the different areas and lands of former Frisia tota. Therefore:

West Frisia (BE and NL) comprises the north-eastern tip of the region of Flanders and the modern provinces of Zeeland, (partly) Utrecht, Zuid Holland, and Noord Holland, including the region of Westfriesland (also written as West-Friesland) within the province of Noord Holland;
Mid Frisia (NL) comprises the province of Friesland, often denoted in literature as West Friesland or West Frisia, and as Central Frisia;
East Frisia (GE) comprises the region of Ostfriesland, including the area of Wangerland;
North Frisia (DE and DK) comprises Landkreis ‘district’ Nordfriesland, including the south-western tip of the region of Jutland, and including the North Sea island of Heligoland, als Helgoland.

The region of Ommelanden in the modern province of Groningen (NL), the peninsula of Butjadingen and Stadland, and the region of Land Wursten (GE) at the mouth of the River Weser, were culturally Frisian, too, until the Late Middel Ages, but were never clearly classified as beloning to one of the four regions of Frisia mentioned above.

The region of Stedingen (GE), a river marsh area on the lower reaches of the River Weser are culturally Saxon, just like the region of Dithmarschen (GE), but have in common with the Frisian lands the republican self-government and the marsh landscape they dwelled on during much of the Middle Ages.

Note 2 — The Ribe Å for ‘Ribe River’ in the Danish language, is also part of the coastal North Sea culture. Along the coast, we also come across the toponyms (Dokkumer) Ee, (Drentse) Aa, (Amsterdamse) IJ, etc. and all meaning ‘river’ or ‘waterway’. Say these words aloud in row and it sounds as a feeling of relieve! Find more words in our blog post 10 words to travel 1,500 years and miles across the Frisian shores.

Note 3 — That time travel is much more fun is something MeAR Media thought so too. A year after the start of the Frisia Coast Trail in 2018, this company launched the MeAR Fryslân app showing historic images on different routes in the province of Friesland.

Note 4 — We made reference to the Frisians being the real earthmovers. Know that any resemblance to the scene in the book For Whom the Bell Tolls (1940) by Ernest Hemingway, where Jordan asks María after they had sex in a meadow in the forest if she felt the earth move, is, of course, purely coincidence.

Suggested music

Iggy Pop, The Passenger (1970)
Status Quo, The Wanderer (1984)
Run DMC, Walk This Way ft. Aerosmith (1986)

Suggested music

Further reading

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