Cycling along natural pearls
Nature is fun, beautiful, challenging. There is much to experience and much to learn from it but all these things are dwarfed by the importance that a healthy nature has for the existence of humans on earth. The smaller the number of species in flora and fauna becomes the less likely they are to be resistant to disease. To prevent species extinction we must protect nature. Especially since human survival on earth depends on a healthy nature.
This bicycle tour points out the bottlenecks but also how things can be better for nature. The tour goes through the villages Heeze (originally meant beech forest), Leende (comes naturally from linden), Leenderstrijp (Strijp means a row of farm houses) and Sterksel.
Brabants Vennenpad Stage 05 Geldrop
You leave Geldrop and walk towards the Strabrechtse Heide. North of the Strabrechtse Heide you walk through the Braakhuizensche Heide. This lesser known heath is a nice place for a long distance walk through extensive heathland. Along the Scheidingsven and the Waschven you walk across the Strabrechtse Heide. If you are lucky, on the heath you will meet the shepherd with his flock of Kempische Heideschapen. Castle Heeze is a beautiful attraction that should not be missed during this stage.
Brabants Vennenpad Stage 06 Heeze station
This sixth stage is a beautiful walk across the Groote Heide. The Groote Heide is a nature reserve that stretches from the south side of Eindhoven to well beyond the Belgian border. As soon as you leave Heeze, you are walking in nature. You walk through woods, over heathland and enjoy a beautiful part of the route along the stream Strijper Aa.
Smuggling Route The Groote Heide
With this 44 kilometer bicycle route you will discover De Groote Heide nature reserve. The route takes you across the border and lets you experience the story of a commies (customs officer) or a smuggler in the 1930s. This is the smuggler's route.
The route starts at the Smuggling and Border Museum and then passes several old smuggling trails, customs offices, border posts and border crossings. All iconic parts within the smuggling story around the border between Brabant and Belgium. This is a varied route with a nice connection between city, country, the Netherlands and Belgium. You cross unspoiled nature and pass pleasant villages known for their smuggling history. Discover the game of cat and mouse in the border area of De Groote Heide and follow in the footsteps of the smuggler with this bicycle route of about 44 kilometers.
About this route
This bicycle route was created by VisitBrabant Routebureau. The route is plotted via the Brabant cycling junction system. Simply cycle from one numbered node to another. Arrows show you the way between the nodes. Is there something wrong with the route signposting? Report it to us at visitbrabant.com/meldpunt. You can also call 0800-4050050 (free of charge).
Route map
View this route page on your phone or download the GPX file. Want to set off with a paper map? A route brochure is available of this theme route, download it here. The route brochures are also available at the VVV in Cranendonck and the VVV in Hamont-Achel.
Stories on the Border
Stories on the Border shows the versatility of the province of Brabant in a unique way. In fact, Brabant lies on the border of the Netherlands and Belgium as well as between the provinces of Limburg, Zeeland, South Holland and Gelderland. The border has a rich history with stories of smuggling, closed borders and borderless collaborations. It is not for nothing that this border has always played an important role in the life of the Brabander. Experience routes developed within this theme, show the story around the Brabant border and the unlimited character of the province. Check them all out at visitbrabant.com/verhalenaandegrens.
Nature Cycle Route Strabrechtse Heide
Northeast of Heeze you will find the Strabrechtse Heide, the largest contiguous heathland area in Brabant with numerous fens, forests and shifting sands. At first glance you might think you see an immense plain of only heather and heather, but nothing could be further from the truth.
Nature lovers enjoy a varied landscape with beautiful views. You pass the Beuven, the largest fens in the Netherlands. Special plants such as the water spoonbill and the carnivorous sundew grow here. The fens are teeming with dragonflies and if you look closely you may see the moor frog or maybe even a natterjack toad.
Tip: At the neighboring Natuurpoort De Plaetse there is a sheepfold where a flock of 350 Kempen heath sheep has its home. At Heidecafé de Strabrechtse Heide you can enjoy a drink or lunch. Also discover the heather garden, the insect hotel and the beehives.
Nature Cycle Route Nature Border Park the Groote Heide
Marvel at the deep purple heathland, fresh green forests, streams, rivers and fens, and the many cultural-historical attractions. The Groote Heide in North Brabant is a unique destination for nature, tourism and recreation. Its village character with urban amenities within easy reach is striking.
This cross-border nature reserve of no less than 6,000 hectares crosses Cranendonck, Eindhoven, Heeze-Leende, Valkenswaard, Hamont-Achel and Pelt. The bicycle route runs through nature reserve De Malpie with beautiful heathland, fens, woodlands and the river Dommel. Its versatility makes this area ideal for relaxing walking and cycling tours. Fun fact: thanks to the unparalleled beauty of De Malpie, Valkenswaard was awarded "Walking Municipality of the Year" in 2016. That promises something!
The route continues through the Leenderbos which consists of beautiful coniferous trees. Work is also being done here to bring back the heathland more and more. The forest is populated by deer, foxes, wild boars, hares and rabbits. Are you a bird lover? Bring your binoculars and look for the kingfisher, bittern, whinchat and nightjar.
Chapel Friary Providentia
Late neo-Gothic chapel with tower.
Chapel of the friars' house Providentia
In 1920, the Friars of St. Joseph settled in Sterksel and founded Providentia House. These were followed in 1926 by the White Fathers, a missionary order. These came from St. Charles in Boxtel. They bought the hotel from the bankrupt reclamation company to start St. Paul's College, a boarding school, in it. In 1965 they stopped their activities. The chapel of Providentia was consecrated in 1932. It was dedicated to St. Cornelius, the patron of epileptics. Its architect was Anton J. Bartels. The building is neo-Gothic, but the interior has features of Art Nouveau. Finally, in 1950, the White Sisters (Missionary Sisters of Our Lady of Africa) settled, so there were then three congregations present in Sterksel. These sisters remained until 1998. In 1991, Providentia became completely secular.
Art tour 'Stimuli and Tingling'
Art Route: Stimuli & Tingling at Kloostervelden
How do you increase the opportunity for encounters and social interaction? Placing visual art is an answer to this question. This is how the nearly two-kilometer-long, permanent art route "Prikkels en Tintelingen" was created on the former institution grounds Providentia. Three artists were inspired by this special place, its history and its residents. They created artworks based on the healing power of nature.
Artwork: The World Within
In Kloostervelden, nature and the landscape can be experienced by everyone. The green surroundings lend themselves perfectly to encounters, but at the same time also to peace, quiet and contemplation. On the south side of Kloostervelden, Will Beckers' design The World Within creates a contemplative space in an open grassland that offers shelter and will develop into a place of rest, contemplation and encounter. The Corten steel sculpture depicts a small part of a brain lobe in an enlarged manner. The "protective" inner space provides space for reflection and finding inner peace that can promote the healing process. The braided, natural inner wall depicts the constant dynamic rhythm of our thoughts. On the outside, trees grow against and over the sculpture, forming a new organic skin, as it were, as a sign of new life. The work represents the cycle of our consciousness, as an infinite, continuous process of thinking in our brains.
Artwork: Everything will bloom wherever your eye turns
Surrender to the subconscious mind is necessary for people to sleep. More and more people struggle with this surrender to sleep because we are too much "on" and often don't remember what a healthy lifestyle is. Nature can help us regain our peace of mind. In the flower garden, flora and fauna come together. In scents and colors, there is something to experience. To emphasize and reinforce this, Gijs Frieling has created a painting on the ceiling of the arbor that stands in the middle of the flower garden. The arbor is painted with a rose bush with different colored flowers and buds, on a blue background of the night. Complemented by various plants known for their relaxing effects, such as lavender, hops and chamomile.
The work is titled: Everything will bloom wherever your eye turns. It is a phrase from the song Where'er you walk by Georg Friedrich Handel, which Frieling translated. He placed the text in the outer ring of the arbor in painted letters.