Grand tour around Handel

From here you depart in a northerly direction to the outskirts of Berkhoek and Huize Padua. Huize Padua is a hamlet named after the psychiatric institution of the same name. The history of Huize Padua goes back to the end of the 17th century, when a hermit settled in Handel. You walk around House Padua.

Pilgrimage Trade
Handel is known for being a place of pilgrimage. One of the most famous and largest pilgrimages to Handel is the Handel Procession. This procession is done annually by a thousand pilgrims on foot from Valkenswaard. Handel is the oldest Marian pilgrimage site in North Brabant. Behind the church is a processional park, in which the'wonderful well\\\' is located. The water of this is said to have a medicinal effect. Another legend tells that the statue of Mary in the church was found in a tree. This so-called'Mariaboom\\\' was struck by lightning and split open. The statue of Mary was found in the middle of the tree.

By nature
Between Handel and Boekel (north of Handel) lies the cover sand ridge that marks the border with the Peel. The sand ridge is wooded and forms a nice contrast to the elongated ditches and dirt roads of the Peelontginningen. You can hardly imagine it now, but until a century and a half ago, the Peel was a wild, impenetrable area. Now it is a wonderful walking and cycling area.