Enjoyment in the Castles Triangle

Your cycle tour starts at the railway station in Ascheberg. Perhaps you can fortify yourself before the start with a breakfast in one of the bakeries or cafés in the town. Then you're off. The cycle paths lead you southwards along many fields. Hardly a hill disturbs the view over the wide landscape of the Münsterland. After about 1 hour you will reach the beautiful Westerwinkel Castle. It is best to leave your bike near the car park and go on a short discovery tour on foot. Through the mighty gate you reach the quiet inner courtyard between the outer and main castle. When one of the free-roaming peacocks comes towards you, the romantic picture is perfect. The path leads you once around the entire moated castle and ends, accompanied by fruit trees, back at your bicycle. Allow about 30 minutes for the tour.

This is what a cycle tour in Münsterland must be like. The cycle paths lead harmoniously through the gentle landscape and church towers and farms greet you on the horizon. Fields and meadows accompany you on the way to the "Westphalian Versailles". Along the way, benches and tables offer space to "slow down". At Nordkirchen Castle, at the latest, your heart rate will increase again.

The castle rises majestically above the large park. The entrance via the main axis on Schlossstraße is particularly beautiful. The view over the lake and Venus Island to the castle is one of the most photographed motifs in Münsterland. At the latest during a tour of the park, you will realise why the castle attracts more than 100,000 visitors every year. Again and again, new perspectives open up on the castle and the park, which is decorated with statues. You should allow about 1 hour for a tour around the castle and the orangery.

As soon as you leave Nordkirchen Castle, the rural tranquillity of Münsterland surrounds you again. You'll enjoy cycling north along the cycle paths until you reach the 3-castle town of Lüdinghausen. Two castles in particular have taken our fancy here. Coming from the town centre, you will first see Lüdinghausen Castle. The paths around the castle lead into the courtyard of the historic sandstone building. Connected by a spacious green area, you come to a jewel of the Münsterland world of castles and palaces: Vischering Castle is definitely one of the most beautiful castles in Germany. Mighty, but by no means forbidding, its thick walls hint at its defences. The castle's museum is definitely a recommendation. Modern, vivid and wonderfully integrated into the historic building, it tells of history and stories. And who wouldn't want to learn more about the collar of Lambert von Oer?

Even if the story is a bit spooky, Burg Vischering takes particularly good care of its visitors these days. In the Café Reitstall, the chocolatey"Vischering Torte" is a true classic. A particularly sweet treat with a view of the picturesque main castle. Ritter Helmut's baking skills are known far beyond the borders of the town. His bread, warm from the oven, definitely belongs in your bicycle bag as a snack. Most of the time, however, it doesn't even make it out of the castle, but is eaten on the spot at one of the picnic tables.

So, well fortified, you get back in the saddle once more. On the last section to Ascheberg you could almost forget the time. Here the Münsterland shows its relaxed rural side. Horse farms, stately farmhouses and small St. Mary's chapels lie beneath the broad horizon. The spires of the St. Lambertus Church in Ascheberg can be seen from afar.