Barefoot Round Walk

Move the mouse pointer over the map and click on a station number for details.

E: Entrance
The entrance is both the start and finish of the Barefoot Trail. Lock up your shoes, roll up your trousers and off you go! A short session of up to 3 minutes in the Kneipp water treading basin makes for an invigorating start. The entrance area also has water posts where you can clean up once you have completed the Barefoot Trail.

When you are on the trail we recommend that you walk slowly, watch as you place you foot and, rather than rolling from heal to toe, use your whole foot to sense the ground beneath you. This allows you to distribute your weight so that the surfaces do not feel uncomfortable. Whenever you want to look further afield and take in our beautiful contryside just pause for a minute before carrying on with your walk.

1: The Brook
This takes you a few metres though the "Liene", a sandy old mill stream, which has its source only a few hundred meters away in the Teutoburg Forest. As elsewhere the key here is to wade slowly, placing the whole foot and sensing how sensuous or tactile the bed beneath is. An alternative route is also provided for the "water shy".

2: The Wood Mosaic
By late morning the wood will have lost its night chill. Your feet will savour the feeling of gentle warmth after the relatively cold brook.

3: River Pebbles
The river pebbles also store the warmth of the day. The large pebbles invite a measured step and give your feet a generous massage.

4: Flat Gravel
The flat gravel is a little more demanding on the feet, but a marvellous experience after the river pebbles.

5: Pebbledash
Some of you will know this from your house or garden. You'll be surprised how comfortable this familiar surface feels after the previous foot massages.

6: Granite Setts
Once these served in village streets, now you can experience how differently the materials store warmth. They are very comfortable under foot and offer a pleasant interlude.

7: Fine Gravel
Not for everybody. Sensitive feet can go around the border. Those who make it through however raise the circulation in their feet enormously.

8: Coarse Gravel
As with the fine gravel you can go around the border. However the more slowly you walk and the more carefully you place your feet, the better the gravel can take up their shape. You should at least give it a try.

9: The Old Village Street
A small section of the old cobbled village street.

10: Planks
A sensation just like an old wooden floor. Thick oak planks that pamper and warm your feet.

11: Wooden Stakes
An unusual use for a flowerbed border. Laid flat these stakes make a pleasant obstacle before the long sandy path. which has a variety of sands with different grain sizes.

12: Crushed Stone
After the sand and a short paved section your feet can get ready for more enjoyment. The small rough stones will not seem so demanding after some of the earlier stations.

13: Mud
After the hard surfaces here is a completely different experience for the soles of your feet. Squelch through moist mud!

14: Perlite
These small beads of fired clay are normally used for insulation. Here however the porous surface massages the soles of your feet.
Take care not to slip: Please hold on to the rail!

15: The Humous Path
This romantic path along the "Liene" is covered in soft bark humous, a relief for your feet after the demands of the previous stations.

16:The Goat Trail
Back to nature. A small path with fruit trees along which goats were driven in earlier times. In the local dialect this is called a "Ziegenpatt". The middle of the path is worn so that you can enjoy the cool earth as well as the cut grass of the borders.