Hannebroekpad

The Hannebroekpad is a detour of about 5 km through the countryside on the north side of the village of Baarle-Nassau/Hertog. The starting point with parking is De Poort café at Bredaseweg 12, Baarle-Nassau. The path runs almost entirely on unpaved paths that can be rough and dusty at one moment, but can be full of puddles a few weeks later. The detour runs over forest paths, over (centuries) old sand tracks, over the fields and over a maintenance path along the stream.
A path along the route, now partially disappeared, was called the Hannebroekdreef by the farmers at Boschoven. You may even hear the screech of the Hannebroek along the way. The Dutch name of this noisy, chatty bird is Vlaamse Gaai. That name has nothing to do with its origin, but is rather a corruption of gai flammant, a reference to the flaming red-brown colors in the plumage. In Flemish, a hanne is a tame magpie or someone who is dressed conspicuously, trousers indicate the habit of making the nest in the trousers of the tree, the place where the trunk joins the crown.