The last leg -the power of the Peel

I still had to walk the final stretch of the Sniederspad ­­from Bladel to Retie. Frans Spronk had chosen Tuesday the 16th October 2007 for this event. We parked our cars halfway between Retie and Kasterlee and also at Bladel from where we took off. After a few hundred meters the typical Peel landscape with its unsurfaced roads made me feel in another world. Or was it a reminiscent moment of the holidays with my aunt at the village of Best in the fifties? The wide sandy paths were lined by pine woods and corn fields.
The temperature was around 12 centigrade with a slight overcast sky. We walked and talked and enjoyed the surroundings. The Peel and Reusels’ heath and its curious man made 540 m big “grote cirkel” are typical for the area.

The E40 motorway and a 1934 signpost marked the Belgian-Dutch border but the typical sandy and marshy landscape remained the same.

We walked along the marchy wooded borders of a litlle stream near the channel from Antwerpen to Turnhout. For the first time after summer the sun reached the forest floor awakening beautiful mushrooms and warming old pensioners and the occasional dog.
The almost straight sealed Goorstraat near Retie looked very suitable for car racing youths but this 3 km long road was fairly quiet and Mississippie was not even leashed most of the time. After Retie, sunset played a serious but astonishing game with the forests and fields.

In almost darkness we arrived at the car park at the crossing of Reties Heike and the Desselse baan. The trip was a near perfect one with app. 80% non surfaced roads and beautiful scenery.

Distance walked: 35,2 km. Avg. operall speed: 4,4 km/hr. Duration: 8 hrs.
Personal rating: ****

Dworp-Ittre on the GR12

On Saturday 13th October 2007 Simone and I set off to ply the hills of Vlaams Brabant south of Brussels. In Halle bus 155 took us to stop “Destelheide” a mere 5 meters from the GR. It went uphill right away. After some corn fields we came to a series of lakes called Sept Fontaines. (the language border is here sharper than its country counterpart) The dampness of autumn here had a “warming” effect but soon we traversed shady woodland. We also often walked along forest borders enjoying grassland as well as the woods. The variety of toadstools was enormous. Many chestnuts were not left to nature. The highest elevation of the track was 148 m but the climbing was not very severe since temperatures were around the 16. We touched the “Haller bos” with its straight Dutch named lanes before crossing the busy E25. Hereafter it went in south-westerly direction to Brain le Chateau and from there southwards to Ittre. A very interesting stretch was the peaceful Potter landscape area where we had to cross a muddy cattle filled meadow. In Ittre we arrived at a bus stop. The bus driver took us 5 minutes later to Brain le Comte and from here we took the train back to Halle. All in all a very interesting walk

Personal rating: ****
Distance: 19,4 km. Hilly: Hill up 284 m. Lowest elevation: 38 m. Highest: 148 m.

The Sniedersway from Turnhout to Retie.

On the 8th October 2007 I was pleased to walk this stretch of the GR565 with my friend Frans Spronk who is a well trained 4 daagse runner. We certainly had a lot to talk about since it may well be that our last trip together was more than 5 years ago. Our cars were parked In Retie and Turnhout resp. At 10.30, after a mid-morning coffee at the railway station “buffet” , we set off in northerly direction. (Retie lies south east of Turnhout!) Soon we entered a nice wood where 3 biologists were counting the living animals in a sample of pool water. They were studying the effect of pollution with nitrates and phosphates and are supposed to give a solution for the restoration of this woodland swamp. After 8 km we entered Turnhout again and visited the beautiful and ever so quiet “Begijnhof” It was already noon and our hunger was stilled with a quick calorie rich bite from a stall. The sun was shining but although we walked in shirts the temperature was near ideal. From Turnhout we went south crossing the freeway and enjoyed the tranquillity of the many forest paths. The surroundings were less observed than at other trips due to the attention needed to share mutual experiences. We bordered the military domain west of Kasterlee. These are usually disserted and very quiet. Here too. The path hit the main road to Kasterlee and went in south easterly direction to Tielen. South of Kasterlee we ran short of water but a friendly teacher permitted us to get a new supply in her school. After Goor we crossed the Turnhoutse baan and followed the course of the Kleine Nete. By that time we had walked almost 38 km and Retie was not in sight yet. The sun was setting and 18.45 so we decided to go to the main road hoping for a bus to pass. At 19.43 we caught the bus to Retie having walked 41 km by now. Frans wanted a to celebrate this trip with a typical Belgian sin: French fries. Unfortunately, we did not find a “frietkot” and moved on to Turnhout and parted.

Personal rating: ***
Distance covered: 41 km. 38 on the GR565