Herentals, Lichtaart and Vorselaar

With this route you will discover the beautiful valley of the Kleine Nete. Along this river there are still a few former floodplains, which are home to the rare fauna and flora of water-rich areas. The floodplain system is an old agricultural technique, in which hayfields along rivers were regularly irrigated with fertilizing river water. The irrigation ensured a higher hay yield. In the second half of the previous century, the Kleine Nete valley was canalized and the connection between the river and the hayfields was broken. As a result, it became very difficult for numerous plants and animals to survive in the Kleine Nete valley. Nature management is now trying to get the rare plant and animal species back here and is succeeding quite well. You will find plants that like to grow in very wet places along small rivers, such as thistle and long speedwell. In the sub-area't Zomerklokje even grows the rare plant of the same name, which looks a bit like a snowdrop. And the Nete valley is also home to water birds such as the common teal and the grey heron. The starting point of your route is the town of Herenthals. Herentals is the 'historical capital of the Kempen', thanks to its rich past of more than 800 years and a wealth of ancient monuments. In the past, 'cycling emperor' Rik Van Looy made Herentals famous with his more than 500 victories. It is a vibrant city with a busy centre and many nice restaurants and cafés that ensure that you will never be bored here. A perfect place for a cup of coffee before the day starts! With this route you will not only encounter a lot of nature, the cultural highlights are also worth it. In Vorselaar there is a moated castle called the Borrekens, which was built around 1270 by the knights of Rotselaar with white sandstone from Vilvoorde. Later it was surrounded by stone walls. After a beautiful rural route through, among other things, the Goorkes nature reserve, you will eventually cycle along the Bocholt-Herenthals canal back to the starting point.