Landschotsche Heather

Details: Parent Category: North Brabant province; Category: North Brabant - Walks; Last Updated: 20 September 2023; Hits: 705

Moderate

Walking tour through the Aardbossen, the Landschotsche Heide, Kuikseindsche Heide and Molenbroek. The Aardbossen is a narrow forest area that is crossed by the Groote Beerze.

Landschotsche Heather Tour

Landschotsche Heather Tour

Distance: 16 km

Duration: 3h30

Grade: Moderate

Gps track: Yes

Route description: Yes

Type: Circular walk

Height gain: No information available

Way mark: See PDF route description

Wheelchair: Unsuitable

Dog: Allowed on leach

Sea battles on the heath.

The old natural winding course of the Groote Beerze can be seen in this area. The Landschotsche Heide also called Landschotse Heide is a heathland with a number of large fens, of which the Keijenhurk is the largest. The area is a varied heathland, so we find both wet heath and dry heath. The cattle that graze there ensure that the heather plants are not overgrown by grass and scrub. The northern located Kuikseindsche Heide or Kuikeindse Heide is a forest area that mainly consists of softwood. In this forest, on a hill, the Biebult stands with various bee colonies. The Kleine Beerze brook is followed in Molenbroek. In Middelbeers, the Kleine Beerze splits, part of the water is drained off through the Kleine Beerze diversion canal and the Kleine Beerze itself continues as a small stream. As a point of interest one comes at the beginning of the walk along the Oude Sint-Willibrordus church or simply The Oude Kerkje, the church is a perfectly preserved brick Gothic village church from the 15th century. On the Landschotsche Heide you pass a place that was used by the German pilots in training for bombardment exercises. Before that they had simulated a harbor with boats in the form of 50 meter long and 7 meter wide earthen walls surrounded by a closed. In order to make it look as realistic as possible from the air, wooden cabins would also have been on the earthen ramparts. At one of the earthen embankments are still some practice bombs that were used at the time. At the end of the tour you pass Den Ouwe Tôrre, this tower was built between 1300 and 1350 against an existing church. The church was enlarged in the 15th century and the tower was raised. Later in the 17th century during the Protestant period the church was neglected. The tower remained standing and was restored in 1968.