Starting at intersection 87, the route takes you via intersections 88, 86, 85, 75, 36, 35, 38, 40, 42, 41, 4 and 5 back to 87.
You can find a description of some of the route’s highlights below.
Situated on the southeast side of a extensive area of farmland situated between the hamlets of Meterik, Middelijk, Veld-Oostenrijk and Schadijk, Horst has evolved into the centre of Limburg’s mushroom sector. The mushroom-growing activities in and around Horst tend to be housed in modern warehouses that often give no clue as to what’s inside.
The Kasteelse Bossen woods contain the ruins of Huis Ter Horst. The house was dismantled after 1840 as a way of raising money to pay off the owner’s debts. Nowadays a restaurant, a fish pond, a beehive hut and a duck pen are located in the grounds.
Melderslo is the home of De Locht farm which houses the national asparagus and mushroom museum. The farmhouse was built in 1859 in an open space (locally called a ‘locht’) on the heathland.
You will cycle past the meandering Groote Molenbeek, one of the many brooks and streams carrying water from the Peel region’s wetlands to the River Meuse. This stream has only recently regained its meandering character.
The ‘Heemsbeemden’ is a marshy area in the Blakterbeek valley. The area comprises low-lying wetlands and dry grass lands. The farmers from Sevenum had a plot of pasture land of between 10 and 50 are (an ‘are’ is equivalent to 100 square metres) that they used as hayfields. They harvested reeds that were used to thatch roofs and collected firewood.
The village of America dates back to the end of the 19th century. It was named after the local station along the Eindhoven-Venlo railway line. Many Germans were employed as peat diggers at that time, and to earn extra money they kept bees in beehive huts on the heathlands. The plant that predominantly grew there was common heather, which has the Latin name Erica. Hence the Germans referred to the station as ‘Am Erica’, which evolved into the place name America.
The Schadijkse Bossen woods are primarily made up of pine forests which date back as far as the 18th century.
The windmill ‘Eendracht maakt Macht’ (open: Saturdays 1.30 - 5 p.m.) has worked as a polder mill (drainage mill) and was installed as a way of funding the salary for the rector of the parish church.
Working lace producing machines are the core of De Kantfabriek Museum. Here the story of the textile industry in the region is told, supplemented with tantalising temporary…
