Lommel at its best

Lommel is a friendly Belgian town with a special history dating back more than 1,000 years. From the beginning of the thirteenth century, Lommel was part of the Meierij of 's-Hertogenbosch. It still has a Brabant character, you can hear this in the East Brabant accent. After the Eighty Years' War, Lommel also became part of the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands. In 1817, however, Lommel was exchanged with Luyksgestel and, as a Brabant city, it suddenly belonged to the part of Limburg that became Belgian a few decades later.

The route takes you through Lommel and some old centers such as Heide-Heuvel, a former mining village. In the center of Lutlommel you cycle through a spacious, green neighborhood. North of the city you cross the Bocholt-Herentals canal, after which you drive along the rippling water. This canal connects the Zuid-Willemsvaart in Bocholt with the Albert Canal in Herentals. It is one of the seven Kempen canals between the Maas and Scheldt.

A little later you drive across the Blekerheide, a nature reserve where the plain of scrub heather is bordered by Scots pines. You cycle across the border to the Netherlands through the Venakkerbos and the Stevensbergen, two nature reserves where heathland and conifers alternate. Both gently sloping areas are located in the transition area to the Kempen Plateau. In the Venakkerbos the height is a maximum of 44 meters above sea level, the highest point in North Brabant.

At the end of the route you drive through part of the Lommel Sahara where you will mainly find fragrant coniferous forests. This area takes its name from a desert-like landscape further away. The Lommel Sahara was created by nature pollution. Due to the fumes from the former zinc factory, the flora here disappeared like snow in the sun. To prevent the expansion of the sand plains, a new forest was planted. With this tranquil nature reserve as a beautiful result.