The Kempen never gets boring

Cycling around Valkenswaard in Brabant guarantees a long day in the nature of the Kempen. This route also takes you through some old hamlets and through the village of Westerhoven.

Kempian landscape
The route takes you across De Groote Heide and through the Leenderbos. This Kempen landscape with its small height differences was created during the last ice age by deposits of sand. Heathland, forests and winding paths: it is wonderful to cycle here. In the vast and quiet coniferous forests under Aalst and Waalre you will pass a few quiet fens. A little later you drive through the valleys of the Dommel and the Keersop, untouched landscapes where you can still see hay meadows and hedgerows here and there.

Cozy Westerhoven
In Westerhoven you can make a stopover at Het Wapen van Westerhoven. On the Dorpsstraat is the neo-Gothic Sint-Servatius church from 1855. The adjoining presbytery dates from 1861. On the Dommel you will pass De Venbergsemolen. This water mill was first mentioned in a document from 1227. In 1331 it became the ban mill of the Norbertine Priory of Postel.

Saint Valentine's Chapel
If you want to see a Brabant chapel including a wonderful well, you can drive into the sand path of the Loverensedijk from the Provincialeweg. After a minute's drive you will arrive at the Sint-Valentinuskapel, a national monument from 1947. During the construction of the current chapel, 4 oak beams were exposed, which show that there was already a chapel there in the Middle Ages. Next to the chapel is a well that, according to tradition, dates back to the eighth century. Medicinal properties were attributed to the water. Saint Valentinus was especially invoked for epilepsy, fever and skin disorders. Remarkable: the water in the well is higher than that of the Keersop flowing past it.