A4D - Route 25 - 10km - End route

The route starts at football club Viola in Alphen NB at Speelveld 3.
Parking is possible.
This route via't Zand and eventually follows a part of the Bels Lijntje .
The Bels Lijntje was a railway line between Tilburg and Turnhout and this route formed the Dutch part of Spoorlijn 29. Until 1865, the entire area between Turnhout and Baarle-Nassau was dominated by vast heaths. In that year the construction of the railway line between Turnhout and Tilburg was started. The railway was built and operated by the"Grand Central Belge\\\", which is why the railway was called"Belslijntje\\\" in the (North Brabant) vernacular.
In the beginning, the railway was used for passenger and freight transport, later only freight was transported. Recently, part of the route was completed at such a pace that one of the"crew members\\\" had time to get off the locomotive and armed with a red flag to warn the other traffic about the danger. approaching smoke and steam spewing monster.
During the journey of more than 25 kilometers via the enclave of Baarle-Nassau and Baarle-Hertog, the train passed more borders than the Orient Express. Until 1934 there was a regular passenger service and after that it was used occasionally for pilgrimages (to Scherpenzeel and Lourdes) and for football matches between the Netherlands and Belgium. For Nato considerations, the line was retained. The'Bels Lijntje\\\' last ran in 1972 and after that a cycle path was built on the route of the railway line. It is a dry ecological corridor. The verges are managed in an environmentally friendly manner. Butterflies, amphibians, reptiles, birds and small mammals migrate along this line.