Discovering the Hildesheim Forest: A Serendipitous 19-Kilometer Hike
I discovered the beautiful Hildesheim Forest for myself during the COVID pandemic, when it wasn’t allowed to leave your own federal state. And that turned out to be a real stroke of luck. I never would have thought that there are such beautiful hiking opportunities around the city of Hildesheim in Lower Saxony. After I happened to pass the Broyhansweg parking lot on May 1st, I picked up a few flyers there. The hike recommended in one of them—“The Grand Hildesheim Forest Hike”—will be our challenge for today. In addition to lovely forest trails, there are also a few sights to discover: the Hudestein, the Beusterburg, Mathildenhall, the Klosterstübchen at Haus Escherde, and the boundary stones at Kiekebusch.
Detour to the Hudestein
We start from the Broyhansweg parking lot near Diekholzen. Burkhard quickly downloads the free hiking app from the municipality of Diekholzen, and then we’re off. At almost the same time, a couple with a dog arrives. When we turn right at the railway bridge, the man gives me a conspiratorial look and says, “Heading to the observation tower?” “No,” I reply, “I was just there on Thursday.” Into the forest we go. The first point of interest is the Hudestein. It’s actually not part of the suggested route, but since we’re already here, we decide to include this short detour. It adds about 2.5 kilometers to the hike, bringing today’s total to nearly 19 kilometers.
From the Hudestein, we return to the ridge trail heading toward Heyersum. We originally wanted to take a shortcut that runs parallel to the main route. But the path is so overgrown that we abandon the idea. We hike downhill over the Escherberg toward the Beusterburg—though there’s nothing left of it except an information board. We take a short break here, during which I nearly lose my reading glasses in the leaves. That was a close call. The trail continues downhill as we head toward the Klosterstübchen at Haus Escherde. I’m not sure how long the tavern is open today, so we pick up the pace to avoid finding it closed. Through a beautiful tree-lined avenue, we approach the monastery and the hamlet. Even at the village edge, we can hear voices coming from the beer garden. Perfect—the Klosterstübchen is open.
A Cold Beer for the Hike
We make ourselves comfortable in the beer garden and order two Radlers (beer mixed with lemon soda). After nearly three hours of hiking, the break and refreshment are just what we need. My eyes fall on an adorable short-haired dachshund at the next table. Of course, I can’t resist petting the dog. The little creature greets me most warmly, complete with a slobbery kiss. Eventually, I manage to tear myself away from the dachshund. We plan our route back, deciding to take a slightly different path than the one suggested.
We head back into the forest, past a hut and an old quarry. Along the trail we spot some lilies of the valley. It starts to rain lightly, but fortunately only briefly. After about 45 minutes, we reach Mathildenhall. Well, the flyer made it seem like there was more to see. In reality, there’s nothing here apart from another information board. We continue straight ahead. We’re practically on the home stretch now. We walk along a beautiful forest path and pass a few boundary stones in the Kiekebusch. We’ve now been hiking for five hours; evening is approaching, and we’ve covered nearly 19 kilometers when we cross the old Beuster Bridge. Just a few more meters and we’ve made it—we’re back at our starting point, the Broyhansweg parking lot.
