Slenaken, Spades and Eijsden

You cycle through the sloping Limburg area of Altembroek to the Veursbos, which is located east of Veurs in Belgium. The forest is partly a slope forest, so be prepared for a steep climb and the reward of not having to pedal anymore when you go to lower ground. The Veursbos is located on top of a spur of the Margraten Plateau. The streams Gulp, Veurs and Noor run around the ridge. The Veursbos is a field rush and beech forest. The trees grow here on nutrient-poor, loamy and stony soil. Deciduous trees rise high to the sky and dwarf shrubs stay a little closer to the ground. It is a rare forest type in the Netherlands and in Flanders, because the trees can only grow well when the climate is cool and moist. The trees are doing well in the Veursbos, but the shrubs and mosses are having a hard time. Herbs are common. Especially the white woodrush and the medlar will recognize plant lovers in the vegetation, in addition to the obvious beech trees and summer oaks. You cycle to Sint-Pieters-Voeren, where you will see a beautiful castle in the Maasland Renaissance style. The Commanderie is a former commandery of the Teutonic Order, which was donated in 1242 by Daniel van Voeren when he entered it. The castle was the commandery of Alden Bielden, where the commander stayed. The complex consists of a main building, a farm, stables and a gatehouse. The oldest part of the fortress is the L-shaped wing, topped by a tower. A number of ponds were added to the original moats around the castle in 1885. Trout, sturgeon and eel were, and still are, bred here. You cycle to Eijsden, where you see the beautiful old grain mill of Eijsden, which was built in 1788. This undershot water mill ground corn, but has not been used since about the 1950s. As a result, the mill and the waterworks fell into a bad state. Although the mill was completely restored in 1980, it is no longer used for its original purpose. Five hundred meters further on, Castle Eijsden looms. This castle is also called'de Borg\\\' or'Laag Caestertburg\\\' and is a national monument. The present castle was built in 1636, rebuilt in 1767 and then restored. It consists of two wings that are perpendicular to each other, both of which have a heavy corner tower on the outer sides. The whole is surrounded by a moat and the castle has a gatehouse with forecourt. The park, laid out in 1900, is freely accessible. For the next castle you have to cycle to the next village. Kasteel Oost in Oost-Maarland was originally a moated residential tower, but it was expanded and adapted over time. Now that tower is the core of a stately mansion. The oldest wallwork probably dates from the twelfth or thirteenth century and can be found in one of the side walls. However, the residential tower was not built until 1548. Not much can be seen of the old structure of the castle since it was radically altered in the 1950s. Also get off your bike in Libeek. Until 2011, Libeek, or Liebik as the Limburgers call it, was part of Margraten. The place was founded in the thirteenth century and the Libeek farm is located in the town, the oldest parts of which also date from the thirteenth century. A knightly house once stood on this site, but after the castle changed hands in the sixteenth century, the fortress was gradually converted into a tenant farm. Libeek has the largest farmhouse in Limburg, which surrounds a square courtyard, and the house, which is made of marlstone, was built and improved in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The last historic castle complex that you can visit is in Mheer and bears the same name. It is a castle with four wings and a U-shaped lower court. The small courtyard within the four wings is reached via a footbridge over a dry moat. The west wing is the oldest part of the castle; this part of the castle was built in the early fourteenth century. At the end of the same century, the north wing was built and the east wing, topped by a robust round tower, dates from the fifteenth century. Incidentally, the tower was built on foundations from the late eleventh century. The south wing was built around 1570 and the current castle was complete. Above the entrance gate of the outer bailey you see a hard stone mezekouw. Kasteel Mheer is the only castle in the Netherlands with a so-called pitch nose.