Margraten, Valkenburg and Cadier en Keer

The beautiful Savelsbos, which consists of the sub-forests Eijsderbos, Rijkholterbos, the Riesenberg and the original Savelsbos, has been designated as a nature reserve.

Here, smooth elms, beeches and maples rise high into the sky and summer oaks and horse chestnuts wave stately in the wind. The onion-like plant wild garlic blooms en masse in eroding places and ameliorate spurge also grows under the trees. Predators such as stoats and polecats hunt the garden dormouse, but the pine marten also looks for its prey in the narrow belt of sloping forests. The green woodpecker and the wryneck drum enthusiastically on the trees. They are just two of the more than seventy bird species that like to visit the Savelsbos. Cycling through the forest, you will notice narrow, steep dry valleys and you will see terraces that refer to the wine growing from Roman times.

The Veursbos, a woodrush and beech forest, is also beautiful and lies east of the Belgian Veurs. The forest is partly a hillside forest, so prepare yourself for a steep climb and the reward of not having to pedal when you go to a lower area. 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 type of forest in the Netherlands and Flanders, because the trees can only grow well when the climate is cool and humid. Herbs are common there. Plant lovers will especially recognise the white woodrush and the medlar in the vegetation, next to the obvious beech trees and summer oaks.

Then you cycle to the Oude Molen. This watermill is also located on the Geul and runs on turbine power. The mill was built in 1860 and later rebuilt in 1902 after the mill burned down. The mill was used as a corn mill and for generating electricity. The mill is currently used as a home.

Watermill de Kruitmolen also uses the water of the Geul river. In 1820, permission was granted to establish and build the Kruitmolen. Initially, this watermill was used to produce gunpowder, which explains the name of the mill. Later, the mill was set up as a paper mill and later still, electricity was generated with the mill. This national monument is also in the top 100 of the Dutch UNESCO monuments.

Next you come to Chateau Sint Gerlach. This complex was built in the twelfth century as a monastery. In 1574, during the Eighty Years' War, Lodewijk van Nassau destroyed the monastery during a campaign against the Spanish. In 1661, the monastery came into Spanish hands, after which it did not return to Dutch possession until 1786. It was not until the nineteenth century that the monastery was converted into a castle, and during the Second World War the castle was occupied by the Germans, while after the liberation it housed American soldiers. In 1994, the castle was purchased by the current owner, who immediately had it restored.

After this you cycle to the Geulhemermolen, a mid-stroke mill built in 1244 that was used to grind grain. In 1588 the mill was leased for three barrels of good rye per week for a period of three years. A contract from 1632 shows that the lease price was eventually no longer paid in kind but with money, namely one hundred rijksdaalders in installments of half a year. Since then the mill has been sold, bought back and even exchanged regularly.

The hamlet of Sint-Anthoniusbank is very pleasant and consists of about 40 houses. In the hamlet, you can find many historical elements, if you know where to look. Despite its small scale, you can find two closed square farms, but also a monumental farm that, despite its nineteenth-century construction, dates back to the seventeenth century, a former monastery in which apartments have been created and an old farm with remains of a square tower and a covered well. Until 1827, the hamlet belonged to the municipality of Heer en Keer, but after that it became the municipality of Cadier en Keer. In 1982, Cadier en Keer municipality came under the municipality of Margraten, which merged with Eijsden in 2011.

The last historical castle complex that you can visit is in Mheer and bears the same name. Four wings and a small, U-shaped lower courtyard are accessible via a footbridge over a dry moat. The west wing is the oldest part of the castle; this part of the castle was built at the beginning of the fourteenth century. At the end of the same century, the north wing was built and the east wing, on which a robust round tower stands, dates from the fifteenth century. Incidentally, the tower was built on foundations from the late eleventh century. Around 1570, the south wing was built and the current castle was complete. What is special is that Mheer castle is the only castle in the Netherlands with a pitch nose.