Lier, Schilde and Oelegem

At the bridge of the Frederik Peltzerstraat in Lier you will find the 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 quality. Particularly noteworthy is the Zimmertoren with a great clockwork machine by clockmaker Louis Zimmer. Next to the tower there is also a pavilion where the opus magnum of this clockmaker can be admired. The'Wonderklok\\\' was built for the world exhibition in 1935 and even Mr. Albert Einstein congratulated the builder for this. Schilde is a series of beautiful castles, villas and farms. You will also find the Schans van Schilde there, which is part of the Defence Line of Antwerp. The route takes you around the municipal domain Schildehof, a historical park landscape with forests, a pond, an orangery and a fitometer with a relaxing effect. The eye-catcher is a reconstruction of a 16th-century Renaissance garden with 400 herbs that 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. In the ecological vegetable gardens you will certainly get a few ideas. After walking 24 kilometres you will arrive at Fort Oelegem. It is a true paradise for bats in Flanders and one of the most important wintering places. Special is the presence of relatively large numbers of endangered species such as the fringed bat and the notched bat.