In Wadden sea there is an enormous displacement of water during low and high tide. Twice every day, during the low tide, large parts of the Wadden sea fall dry making it possible to cross the bottom of the sea and this is the time for a mud walking.

What is a mud walking

Mud walking or wadlopen (in Dutch) is a spectacular experience for everyone that loves nature and adventures. A regular mud walk consists of wrestling through miles of mire and deep mud, wading through channels of water before arriving on the one of the islands in the Wadden area. Mud walking is not the same as simply walking along the sea. When the tide moves out, huge mud flats are left behind and you will sink up to your ankles in mud and I suppose that it can be really heavy when your feet are sinking deep in the mud.

During a mud walk you can easily explore the nature. The Wadden sea is known for its beautiful nature scenes and life. There are shells and worms that live in the bottom of the sea which are visible during the low tide that there is almost no water. Also, the trained guides that take you across the seabed, point out birds, fish or plants along the way. Texel, one of the islands of the Wadden sea is know as the bird island, but Texel's nature has much more to offer than just birds. Many unusual plants and animals are also found outside of these reserves. There are still things to be discovered in the nature of Texel and new species are reported every year. And who knows? You may be the lucky one to discover one of them during your mud walk.

Do you feel like it?

The perfect place for mud walking is Texel, the closest and largest of the five Wadden islands. Texel is located in northern Holland, north of the port Dan Helder and can be reached via a 20-minute ferry trip. Den Helder is easy to reach by car or train and it is almost one and a half hour from Amsterdam.

If you found these activities interesting you can learn more at texel.net

And don't forget to take your oldest shoes!

photos by wiebering, texel.net