The Vrachelse Heide and De Moeren

In the municipality of Oosterhout there is a former heathland and shifting sand area of 149 ha, which is nowadays mainly planted with Scots pine. There are still remnants of the heathland and shifting sand area, but these can mainly be found in the eastern part of the area. More mixed forest has also been planted there. In order to limit the shifting sand area, farmers used to grow oak scrub here. Rare plant and animal species hide among the trees: harebell and heather purrie emerge between coarser trees and shrubs, while the colonies of red wood ant and ant lion do their hard work in the sandy soil. The area attracts birds such as the green and black woodpecker, but also birds of prey such as the Eurasian falcon, goshawk and various species of owls hunt from the trees for smaller rodents that scurry between the leaves on the ground. This route leads you through nature to the Spinolaschans, also known as the Grote Schans. The original castle was built in 1624-1625, but was also used during the siege of Breda. Until 1952, the Spinolaschans served as an extremely good defense because of its favorable location on the river Mark, but after that time it was demilitarized. In 2007, a number of pools were created on the west and north sides of the former military complex, as an ecological connecting zone between the polder and the surrounding nature reserve.