Around Tilburg 12: ZZW (Riel, Regte Heide, Belgium, Goirle)

Tilburg, North Brabant, The Netherlands

Cycling route: 295489

Provided by: Boudewijn Waijers, Utrecht (NL)

39.5 km
02:19 h
696 kcal
26 m

Description

The route starts and ends at Tilburg station. It contains an unpaved but passable part. This is avoidable; the route becomes a bit longer as a result.

From the station we leave in a westerly direction. Soon we pass a striking war memorial . It is located on the facade of the former patronage building and dates from 1941. It was placed by the local residents to beg Mary for protection during the war.

From here we continue past the water tower of Tilburg, built in 1897. It is fifty meters high and contains a reservoir of 1000 cubic meters. Since 2008, the water tower is no longer in use. On your left you will see the former convent of the Sacred Heart . The annual procession used to depart from here, in which a relic was carried around the center of Tilburg. In 2015 it was converted into an apartment complex.

A little further, on your right, is the Kromhoutpark , a former barracks. Some of the old barracks buildings are still there. A little further, on the corner of Diepenstraat and Jan Steenstraat, is the memorial for Coba Pulskens , a Tilburg resistance fighter from World War II. Elsewhere in the city another avenue is named after her.

We continue the route towards Goirle. You will see the Willem II Stadium on your left. Immediately after passing the highway A58 we turn right. We pass an old sand pit, now a lake. After crossing the road to Turnhout (Belgium) we pass café-restaurant De Commanderie , where there is also a playground.

We drive through Riel. There is a war memorial monument in a front garden on the corner of Dorpsstraat and Beatrixstraat. In Riel you will also find the church, a few catering establishments, and a bicycle repair shop on the village square. We leave the village street and continue through the countryside on the Oude Tilburgsebaan. Some time later we come to a crossroads where there is a crucifix. Here we turn left, to the hamlet of Riels Hoefke . You pass an information board.

At the crossroads at the Riels Hoefke you will find a Mary grotto from 1920 in the woods on your right. It is only ten meters from the road, but is not visible from the road. Here we turn left about 250 meters on a partly unpaved road. Here we cross the Riels Laag , a stream valley of the Oude Leij with a lot of special flora and fauna.

On the other side you will arrive at the Regte Heide , one of the larger heaths of Brabant. There is also an information board here. The Regte Heide is one of the few places where the bell gentian still occurs in the Netherlands. In addition , you will find burial mounds from the Bronze Age . We return to the Riels Hoefke, where we now turn left at the three-fork. This is where the unpaved part of this route begins.

If you prefer not to drive on unpaved roads, it is wise to return here to the crucifix and continue your way to junction 74. There you follow the Bels Lijntje to junction 70 and continue in the direction of Alphen. Between node 70 and Alphen you will return to this cycling route'Around Tilburg 12\\\'.

The unpaved part of the route is reasonably passable, unless it has rained heavily. This part takes you along the brook valley of the Oude Leij and through the woods of the Riels Hoefke. When you have left the forest again, you will find De Hoevens estate on your left. This includes a campsite, a natural cemetery, and a bat cave. Here we turn right (from here the road is paved again). A little further on we arrive at the Bels Lijntje , from where the route takes us to the left to Alphen.

The Bels (\\\'Belgian\\\' in the local dialect) Lijntje is the former railway line from Tilburg via Baarle Nassau to Turnhout. The construction of this 31-kilometre long route started in 1865. In 1934 passenger transport was discontinued, and in 1973 the last'real\\\' train ran. Until 1982, a tourist steam train ran from Tilburg to the border on the route, but at the end of the eighties the entire line was removed and replaced by a tourist cycle path.

There are now a few catering establishments close to the former station of Alphen. From here we follow the road towards Poppel (Belgium) for some time, through the municipality of Baarle-Nassau . Note that the house numbers here are provided with a Dutch flag: in the sister municipality of Baarle-Hertog they are provided with a Belgian flag, so that you can see whether a house is on Dutch or Belgian territory. Finally we cross the border. At node 51 in the hamlet of Groot Bedaf (Belgium) we turn left onto a cycle path towards node 75.

This cycle path follows the border between the Netherlands and Belgium. At some point you will see a boundary marker on the left, with an information sign. We continue to follow the border on the Belgian side to the hamlet of Aarle, where a terrace annex ice cream parlor annex VVV information point is located near a house. Here we leave Belgium again over the Nieuwe Leij .

A little further on we arrive at node 77. Here we go a little back and forth to the left; on your left are the monastery and estate Nieuwkerk or De Ooievaartsnest , and the Naturentuin Goirle . Both can be visited; inform yourself in advance to avoid disappointment.

We continue to Goirle, on a cycle path located right next to the Nieuwkerksedijk. The Regte Heide is again on your left. In Goirle we drive through the center, where there are two war memorials , a tourist office and a windmill . There are many opportunities in and around the De Hovel shopping center to enjoy a snack or a drink. In the Kerkstraat you will find many typical old workers' houses . We follow the  Abcovenseweg, an old road to Tilburg, where we pass a small petting zoo .

When we arrive in Tilburg we pass the King Willem II college . This is the oldest secondary school in Tilburg; it dates from 1865. In 1948 it was awarded the title Royal as the first and only HBS in the Netherlands. In 1866, when the school was still located in a palace built by King Willem II , Vincent van Gogh was one of the students here.

The route continues past the house where Vincent van Gogh lived during his study years (on Sint-Annaplein). Here is a plaque on the first floor. A little further on, right in the center of Tilburg, you will pass the palace-town hall , where the aforementioned King Willem II college was once located. It now houses, among other things, the wedding hall of the municipality of Tilburg.

In the center we pass the Onze Lieve Vrouwe ter Nood chapel , the tourist office and the Hiroshima monument , before finally returning to the station.
Bicycle storage Law enforcement Tourist office Railway station catering industry Church Bicycle cafe Bicycle maintenance Bicycle rental Breakdown service Restaurant Burial mound Chapel or cross Windmill Nature reserve-OLD Estate Monument Water tower Green border crossing Deer park Playground Arable farming, pasture or grassland Forest Heather Nature Route Border route

Height Profile

Directions

# Description Distance
Tilburg (5038CG, Tilburg, North Brabant, The Netherlands) 0.00 km
Monument Boomstraat Tilburg (5038GT, Tilburg, North Brabant, The Netherlands) 1.10 km
Watertoren (Park watertoren, 5038NP, Tilburg, North Brabant, The Netherlands) 1.68 km
Monument Karl-Heinz Rosch (Karl-Heinz Rosch, 5133AH, Goirle, North Brabant, The Netherlands) 7.43 km
76
76 (Terover, 5131RB, Alphen-Chaam, North Brabant, The Netherlands) 17.77 km
78
78 (Pineind, 5111PJ, Baarle-Nassau, North Brabant, The Netherlands) 19.32 km

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