Yet he himself has very good memories of his time at the campsite. “Friday we went from school to the campsite, until Sunday. We also went during the holidays. It was great. And as children we only liked the blast furnaces. The factories looked very impressive. Like a kind of Christmas tree. there were plumes of smoke in all kinds of colors: red, yellow, purple. I had no thoughts whatsoever. “
Other visitors also think back to the campsite with a good feeling. 56-year-old Ron Berkhout from Amsterdam often came there as a child, he tells NH Nieuws. He then stayed with the family in a mobile home. He returned there in 1991 with his fiancé. He found the campsite a familiar environment, his fiancé thought it was a specter that she has not finished talking about to this day.
“We came through the dunes from the village and she saw the factory with the campsite underneath. She said, ‘what the fuck?’. Where did I end up?” I want to say that what had become normal for us cannot really be explained to an outsider. “
Socially no longer acceptable
The campsite closed in 1992. “It was no longer socially acceptable, such a campsite next to the blast furnaces.” Lawsuits followed and in the end residential recreation was banned, says Van der Kolk.
Meanwhile, the sculpture park Een Zee Van Staal is located on the site of the camping site. “Highly recommended. The images are very inspiring. I think it’s a bit strange to be there. But it’s nice that all the hills are still there and that you can still see how all the roads ran. Now I can go over them again. walk and reminisce. “
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