Along the water, through nature in the Boxmeer area

Boxmeer, North Brabant, The Netherlands

Cycling route: 147321

based on 11 reviews

Provided by: Groots Genieten

45.3 km
02:39 h
798 kcal
24 m

Description

Boxmeer is located on the left bank of the Maas and is surrounded by beautiful meadows and nature reserves. It is wonderful to cycle through the wide landscape or along the banks of the Maas. The route first introduces you to the unique landscape of the Maasheggen and De Maasduinen National Park. The Maasheggen form a unique landscape in Western Europe. Nowhere else will you find so many may and blackthorns together. Thanks to human intervention, these shrubs grow into each other and form an impenetrable hedge that meanders through the landscape like a ribbon, just like the nearby Meuse. The thorny hedges served as field boundaries, sheltered the animals from the wind and provided wood for making tools. This'weaving\\\' of hedges already existed in Roman times: Julius Caesar described his annoyance about it, it took him a lot of effort to pass these green walls with his army. Only around Boxmeer many ancient hedges have been preserved. At Vierlingsbeek you cross the Maas to Bergen, after which you turn a little later to another beautiful old landscape: National Park de Maasduinen. It may not be obvious, the combination of dunes and Limburg. But our southernmost province does have them, even if they are river dunes. These sand hills were created at the end of the last ice age, when the Rhine and Meuse left behind large amounts of sand and clay. In dry periods, the westerly wind blew up the river sand into shifting dunes. These dunes are almost all covered with forest, this was the only way to protect the surrounding fields and meadows against drifting grains of sand. In addition to rolling forests, you also drive through heathland and along fens. In this nature reserve you pass two more striking buildings. The first is the ruins of Kasteel Bleijenbeek. In February 1945, this castle was destroyed by an RAF bombing raid. The ruin has been neglected ever since. Bleijenbeek Castle must have been built at the end of the fourteenth century: its western predecessor was probably destroyed by the Maas. The castle's most famous owner was the infamous sixteenth-century general Maarten Schenck van Nijdeggen, who served on both sides during the Eighty Years' War. A little later you drive past belt mill Nooit Gedacht. Past Afferden you cycle through the low-lying floodplains of the eastern bank of the Maas. In the village of Heijen you will pass the castle Heyen from the sixteenth century. The Maas acted as friend and foe: the canals made the fortress almost impregnable, but the water also often flooded the area, so that the castle was cut off from the outside world. During the Eighty Years' War, the Spanish scoutmaster Thomas de Hodaye escaped through the window in the prison room. He was helped in this by his lover: she had rowed across the Meuse to hand him the necessary tools. In Gennep you cross the Maas again, after which you drive back to Boxmeer through the landscape of the Maasheggen. Here you can take a trip to the Castle of Boxmeer, where the Castle Museum Boxmeer is located in the former basement.
Hotel Windmill Museum Rune Forest Cultural routes Nature Route Monument routes Castle

Height Profile

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Below you will find various suggestions for breaks that you can visit during your route. These are divided into different categories, making it easy for you to choose.

Directions

# Description Distance
17
17 (het Zand, 5831HH, Boxmeer, North Brabant, The Netherlands) 0.00 km
4
4 (5836BB, Boxmeer, North Brabant, The Netherlands) 1.66 km
38
38 (5827AD, Boxmeer, North Brabant, The Netherlands) 4.11 km
55
55 (5821BG, Boxmeer, North Brabant, The Netherlands) 10.31 km
40
40 (Staaiweg, 5821AM, Boxmeer, North Brabant, The Netherlands) 11.22 km
89
89 (Oude Kerkstraat, 5854AA, Bergen, Limburg, The Netherlands) 11.93 km

Reviews

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