Sonnevanck - Long stream route with heather and sand drift

The stream rises from the Uddelermeer and flows across the Veluwe to the north. The natural course of the stream continues after the Leuvenumse Bos flows open at Hierden in Lake Veluwe.

What is there to see?
The Leuvenumse Beek, also known as the Staverdense Beek, is one of the most beautiful and cleanest streams in the Netherlands. The stream can flow over the high sandy soils of the Veluwe thanks to a clay layer in the subsoil that was deposited during the penultimate ice age.
The stream is one of the last naturally winding streams in the Netherlands. It is not actually one stream, but rather a swampy area with a system of streams and streams that are partly meandering and partly canalized. The stream is one of the few lowland streams in our country. This means that it is fed by surface water and groundwater. The rainwater and groundwater collect in a system of ditches and small streams, which flow into the main stream. During prolonged rainfall, the stream overflows its banks. There is not really a source where the water bubbles out of the ground, but more of a natural drainage of a wet valley with stagnant groundwater, which means that the water cannot sink into the subsoil because there is a poorly permeable layer. The stream is characterized by slowly flowing water and a meandering (snaking) course associated with it. The meandering of the stream has resulted in the banks being eroded steeply by the water in the outer bends. The clear water and the steep banks make it an ideal place for the kingfisher to breed.
The stream starts as the Staverdense Beek (or Oude Beek) at the southern tip of the Uddelermeer, runs south for a while and then makes a 180 degree turn before flowing further north. From the Uddelermeer the stream first flows to Staverden Castle and then over the Leuvenum estate further north. The stream runs through forest and has a winding stream valley with grassland (stream-accompanying sparse grassland). In winter you can see some rushes and reeds in the stream valley next to grass, but in summer it turns into a colorful flower meadow. The forest is moist and rich in ferns. Because the forest used to be too wet for the oaks and beeches that people wanted to plant there, the forest was drained. The ditches that were dug then can still be seen.