Lier, Schilde and Oelegem

At the bridge of the Frederik Peltzerstraat in Lier you will find junction 89 where the cycle route starts and from where you follow the water for a while. Lier is a town where the Grote and Kleine Nete flow together and has a high postcard content. Particularly noteworthy is the Zimmertoren with a great clockwork machine from clockmaker Louis Zimmer. Next to the tower is also a pavilion where the opus magnum of this clockmaker can be admired. The'Wonderklok\\\' was built for the 1935 world exhibition and even Mr. Albert Einstein has congratulated the builder for this. Schilde is a succession of beautiful castles, villas and farmhouses. You will also find the Schans van Schilde, which is part of the Defense Line of Antwerp. The route leads you around the Schildehof municipal domain, a historic park landscape with forests, a pond, an orangery and a fitometer with a relaxed effect. The eye-catcher is a reconstruction of a 16th-century Renaissance garden with 400 herbs, which the famous botanist Rembert Dodoens mentioned in his'Cruydeboeck\\\'. You will find kitchen, cosmetic and textile herbs. In the educational bee garden you will learn something about the relationship between flowers and insects. You will probably get some ideas in the ecological vegetable gardens. When you have covered 24 kilometers you will arrive at Fort Oelegem. It is a true paradise for bats in Flanders and one of the most important wintering places. A special feature is the presence of relatively large numbers of endangered species such as the frilled tail and the basketed bat.