Two-day walking route in De Groote Heide

The walk starts about ten kilometres south of Eindhoven, at the Natuurpoort de Plaetse. This is the starting point for our two-day walk across the vast Strabrechtse Heide. Most of the heathland is managed by foresters from Staatsbosbeheer. The foresters ensure that the nature of the Strabrechtse Heide is protected, keeping this delicate ecosystem in balance. As a visitor, you are allowed to go to quite a few places, although you are asked to be considerate of the animals and plants that live here. For example, you already do that by staying on the paths and not talking too loudly.

But if you really want to do it right, the Strabrechtse Heide is the place for a silence walk. During such a silence walk, you become completely absorbed in all the sounds, colours and scents of this nature reserve. Much of the year, you will be accompanied on your walk by some sheep herds on the heath. Floortje Dessing visits the shepherd of the Strabrechtse Heide in the NPO programme 'Floortje Blijft Hier'. A great episode to take a look back at!

You continue this two-day walk towards Kasteel Heeze, which became a fiefdom of the Duke of Brabant in 1334. This special castle consists of two parts, namely the medieval castle Eymerick and the newer castle from the 17th century. Today, the castle is occupied by the noble van Tuyll family, but a large part is still open for guided tours. A special experience, as most of the original furnishings from the 17th century are still intact! Find out here when you can go for a tour of this special castle.

Something the De Groote Heide nature reserve is known for is water. Besides the large number of fens, meandering rivers (with many bends) like the Tongelreep, the Dommel and the Aa are characteristic of the area. A unique phenomenon that is very photographic and lends itself to the most beautiful canoe trips.

During this walking route, you will pass PUUR Kanoverhuur en route, where you can take a canoe trip on the Dommel river for 2 or 4.5 hours, giving you time to stretch your legs in the canoe or give your arms a work-out. Such a trip from the water gives you a different perspective on De Groote Heide.

After a day of hiking and canoeing, you will have used up quite a bit of energy. Time to rest in the evening and recharge for the next day.

My favourite place to stay near De Groote Heide is this fine bed & breakfast near Valkenswaard. Here, you sleep in a log cabin in the greenery of someone's backyard. A bit of glamping'ish, as you are provided with all the comforts, with the centre of Valkenwaard within walking distance.

Day 2, time to hit the road again! The next stop is Natuurpoort de Malpie. This is the starting point for beautiful walks and cycling routes through the nature reserve of the same name. The Malpie forest used to be used as a production forest for mining. From the moment this industry disappeared, the Malpie changed more and more into deciduous forest. You notice this by The large number of birds that now live there. Sometimes you can even hear the tapping of woodpeckers in the early morning and in the evening when the sun sets, you can see the silhouettes of bats in the sky.

On to the next ‘nature gateway’: the Achelse Kluis. The name of this nature gateway comes from St Benedict’s Abbey, which was built in 1656 as a border chapel and later developed into a monastery. What makes it special is that this monastery is still in use today.

The abbey also brews its own monastic beer every day, which you can sample in the inn. Perfect for a lunch of abbey soup, an Achel Trappist beer and a Trappist ice cream to finish. Incidentally, you’ll find breweries all over De Groote Heide. In this region, having your own brewery is a cultural phenomenon. Virtually every village here has its own beer.

The last part of this two-day walking route goes along the smugglers' route at the border with Belgium. Traditionally, products such as butter, milk and tobacco have been smuggled across the border here. In World War I, people used the smugglers' route as an escape route to safe Holland. When the Germans got wind of this, they stretched the Death Wire on the border in 1916. This 2,000-volt high-voltage wire meant death for many.

Later, in the Second World War, the smugglers' route was used again to flee the Netherlands to neutral territory. Only when Europe's internal borders disappeared did the smuggling route become less popular. Nevertheless, smuggling still takes place to this day. You will now find a reconstruction of "Den Dodendraad" where information boards take you through this fierce chapter of history.