Easy hikes and walks around Barnstedt

The Pixie toilet, which I discovered by chance behind the chapel, was spotlessly clean, mosquito-free, equipped with toilet paper including a spare roll and smelled very pleasantly of the sea breeze due to the approx. 50 liters of blue perfumed water in the collecting container under the toilet seat. But: it wobbles. Unfortunately, this toilet does not stand flat on the ground, but on four rather small wooden blocks that are not on the same level. As soon as I got on it and put down my backpack, the thing wobbled considerably, only calmed down a little while I was sitting and wobbled so much when I stood up that I thought someone outside was shaking it. In no time at all, I pulled up my pants, opened the door and stepped out of the rocking ship. The uneven position and the vibrating amount of water in the tank make using the toilet a real indoor-outdoor adventure.

The rest area offers two shady benches and two covered areas. There is a large fire pit in the middle.

Unfortunately not recommended without sufficient cushioning or with luggage.

Quiet and secluded place, almost a peaceful forest

Can still be ridden by bike.

The nature reserve "Barnstedt-Melbecker Bach" is located in the Uelzen and Bevenser basin in the district of Lüneburg on the border with the district of Uelzen. It encompasses the lowlands of the Barnstedt-Melbecker Bach with its side streams Glindenbach and Billerbeck from Betzendorf to Melbeck as well as adjacent valley edge areas. As part of the Fauna Flora Habitat (FFH) area "Ilmenau with tributaries", the area is of outstanding importance for nature conservation. As a tributary of the Ilmenau, the Barnstedt-Melbecker Bach is characterized by a near-natural, strongly to slightly meandering, predominantly shaded stream with diverse structures. The mostly scree-rich river bed of the upper reaches is replaced by a sandy to gravelly bed in the middle and lower reaches. There are also moderately developed, structurally poorer stream sections. On the wet to freshly damp locations of the lowlands there are numerous spring rivers flowing in from the side. The brook valleys are characterized by damp forests, in particular floodplain and broken forests, which accompany Bach or occur in larger complexes in partly very good condition. In addition, these are closely intermeshed with reeds and reed beds, meadows and pastures. Natural oak and beech mixed forests often grow on the edges of the valley. The area is more characteristic as a habitat, e.g. T. endangered animal and plant species. The lowlands serve primarily as a habitat for a number of rare species of birds, mammals and fish (e.g. creek lamprey and bullhead). In the nature reserve, the living conditions of the characteristic flora and fauna are to be preserved and further improved in the future through suitable maintenance and development measures. Source: www.nlwkn.niedersachsen.de

Apparently "only" a hill in the forest, now overgrown with trees. Prehistoric but very interesting evidence of the history of the settlement of the region. "The first documentary mention of Melbeck can be found in document No. 90 of the monastery of St. Michaelis Lüneburg on May 11, 1265. This document confirms the sale of the watermill in Melbeck by the Knight Huner von Oedeme to the miller Friedrich von Melbeke. Friedrich v. Melbeke was a member of the Melbeke patrician family in Lüneburg. Despite this documentary mention, Melbeck is likely to be much older. Age research up to 1200 BC Chr. Mention, for example, that there are plenty of burial mounds south of Lüneburg. Ergo, this Melbeck area was already populated earlier. Grave finds and grave goods prove this assumption amply. " Source: www.melbeck.de

The Billerbeck in Melbeck is a side stream of the Barnstedt-Melbecker Bach and with its lowlands is part of the nature reserve "Barnstedt-Melbecker Bach". From 2009 to 2011 parts of the Billerbeck were renatured in the eastern section. The straightened stream, which has long been used as a sewage ditch, has been able to develop freely in its new meandering stream bed on four hectares since summer 2011. A diverse new habitat for plants and animals has arisen around Billerbeck.