Enjoying the Belgian nature on foot

In the north of Belgian Limburg, close to the border with the Netherlands, you can enjoy walking through beautiful nature reserves and friendly villages. This route takes you through the valley of De Dommel, through coniferous forests and through towns such as Achel, Grote Heide and Sint-Huibrechts-Lille. You can take provisions with you, but along the way you will always find a terrace where a delicious fresh Limburg pie is served. The valley around the river De Dommel offers you a picturesque landscape. You are surrounded by alder swamp forests, wet grasslands, hedgerows and poplars. It can be boggy here, so make sure you have good walking shoes. Between Grote Heide and Achel you walk through a coniferous forest where you can admire many villas. Some are the size of a real castle. In Achel itself you can see many historic buildings. For example, the local tourist office is located in a former Teutenhuis from 1880. Teuten were well-organized traders and craftsmen who traveled through Western Europe from the Kempen with their merchandise. They built some beautiful mansions in this area. East of the center you will pass the former Grevenbroek Castle, a fortress whose history dates back to the fifteenth century. The Grevenbroek family lived in this castle for three centuries. In the eighteenth and twentieth centuries, monks and fathers stayed in the building for several decades. In 1992 a Dutch family bought the property and built a small golf course. A restaurant was opened in the castle. A little further on you will pass the former Monastery Catharinadal, a remnant of a fifteenth century Franciscan monastery. During the French Revolution, the sisters were evicted and the whole was transformed into a farm. The current buildings with their beautiful facades in brick masonry date from 1815. Today a cheese dairy is located in the building. You walk the last part of the route along the Bocholt-Herentals canal. It is wonderful to walk along the rippling water. On the shore, the decor changes from a quiet and green village neighborhood to meadows and fields. Via the valley of the Dommel you walk back to the starting point of the route: the visitor center in Hageven, a nature reserve west of Grote Heide.