Deurnsche Peel, Mariapeel and the Peel Region Museum

Your cycle route starts on the terrace of Eethuis en Cafetaria't Veen in Helenaveen. Here, on the border of North Brabant and Limburg, lie the remains of a raised bog area that centuries ago covered more than 30,000 hectares. A small part of this is the Deurnsche Peel / Mariapeel. Due to peat extraction, there are peat canals, peat pits and ponds in an overgrown heathland, which attract rare butterflies and dragonflies. You can learn more about De Peel in Museum De Peelstreek, with a collection of machines, tools and utensils from farms. And you will pass Griendtsveen, a small hamlet with only a few inhabitants. The village was founded around 1885, when De Peel was reclaimed. Griendtsveen is therefore probably the only village in De Peel that does not have an agricultural background.