Origin names Bentveld & Naaldenveld

The name Bentveld probably means originally 'field with growth of Bent'. Bent is a common name that is used for a kind of grass, long and small like a pipe. It used to be used as roofing. About the year 960, the Sint Maarten church in Utrecht in 'Benetfelda' owned two farmhouses. The 'Groot Bentveld', located opposite the entrance to 'Het Naaldenveld', is probably one of those farmhouses. The name 'Needle Field' indicates the relationship between the terrain and the Scots pine, a tree that is now everywhere but did not originate here. Over a century ago, it was successfully planted in the Needle Field.

Camping at the Naaldenveld

The entire Naaldenveld is about 40 ha. large, a large part is freely accessible as walking forest. Scoutcentrum het Naaldenveld is 18 ha. large and is private property of Scouting Netherlands. Scouting Netherlands bought the Naaldenveld in 1959. Before Scouting Netherlands became owner there could already be camped at the Naaldenveld. On an old map of 1935 the Meisjesveld has already been mentioned. Next to the Meisjesveld was the entrance, from the Zwaluwenweg. The site was managed by a Haarlem explorer group. The separation between the boys and girls' association was still very strict at that time. For example, the girls were allowed to camp on the Naaldenveld, but under the watchful eye of the camp staff.

Names of campgrounds

Originally, all campgrounds had a number. Since 2004, each site has its own name.
Some campsite names were given due to an incident in the past:

• There was a group who made a nice mess on their campsite. The campstaff described their campsite as the Ashtray (asbak).
• A more friendly example is the Kensington campsite. There was an English group that received a lot of mail. The campstaff went to the post with the message: "I'm going to Kensington".
• The Doodsmak thanks its name to the fact that the former manager made a trip through the forest on a good day and did not look good at all. He stumbled over a lot of dead wood, and then, as he described it himself, made a 'doodsmak' in a pit that lay behind the wood.

Other names speak for themselves:
• The 'Uitkijk' for the view of the Amsterdam Waterleiding Dunes, an area for drinking water for Amsterdam.
• The Ravine for the biggest difference in height on the site and as such an ideal place for a cable.
• Berg and Dal for the hillside campsite located after the 'Heuvelrug', which is the separation between the flat campsites in front and the slightly more elevated at the rear.
• Acht zee (Eight-Sea) was the name of the field where the kitchen rent-a-tent stood. This name is derived from the field 8c as the field was called. But then, just the other way, the -c- has become 'Zee'. In 2018 the kitchentent has been moved to the Prunusveld and Acht zee became a part of the Grote veld again.