Chaamse Forest Route

Your route starts at Brasserij Offcourse. Today you cycle through the green border area between Breda and Tilburg. The extensive and dense forests here used to offer sufficient opportunities to cross the border unnoticed. Perfect area for smugglers, who steal through the forests here with, among other things, butter. The Chaamse Bossen was originally a rugged area with sand drifts and wet heath, but it was reclaimed between 1900 and 1935. You will also discover the Bels Lijntje, the former railway line between Tilburg and Turnhout that now serves as a cycle path. The construction of the Bels Lijntje took a lot of effort. For a long time, a cross-border line was unthinkable: after the secession of Belgium in 1830, both countries lived at war. Unimaginable!