The best MTB trails in Het Hurkske

Gemert Castle is one of the village's most striking historical buildings. The complex dates back to the 13th century and was owned for centuries by the Teutonic Order, which had its commandery here. Because of this long history, you'll find a mix of architectural styles on the grounds: medieval elements, an impressive gateway, later residential wings, and a moat that encircles the entire complex. The castle itself is not freely accessible, but from the road and surrounding paths, you have a beautiful view of the walls, towers, and gatehouse. The surrounding area is charming, with old tree-lined avenues, water features, and historic outbuildings that complete the setting. It's a pleasant place for walkers to stop and take a photo or soak up the tranquil atmosphere around the moat.

Torreven can be admired in all its splendor

The castle is currently being renovated. A 5-star Hilton hotel is being built. There will be apartments for sale (starting at €1 million). The restaurant GEM, featuring Michelin-starred chef Soenil Bahadoer, recently opened. Everything is expected to be completed by the end of next year.

In the far west lies a military complex and south of the Mariahoutse Bossen one finds the Heieindse Loop. The area connects to the Vresselse Bos in the west, to the forests of Olen and Mosbulten in the southwest, and to the forests Lijnt and Het Geregt in the east. North of the area lies an extensive agricultural development. In the southeast a small marsh area, the Rietven, connects to the Mariahoutse Bossen. This is now a marsh area with birch and summer oaks. The area is freely accessible. There are walks, bridle paths and an extensive mountain bike trail has been set out in the forest.

The Mariahoutse Bossen, also called Lieshoutse Bossen or Lieshoutse Heide, is an elongated Dutch forest area of 158 ha that is located immediately north of Mariahout. The forest, which is owned by the municipality of Laarbeek, is a young heathland development and mainly consists of plantations of Scots pine, although other tree species can also be found, such as beech. In the southwest of the area lies the Torreven (sometimes also called Torrenven or Torenven). This is an elongated fen that threatened to silt up and was cleaned up in 1992. The area surrounded by heathland remnants is now managed in such a way that the forest edge is pushed back, which counteracts silting up because the wind has more play on the water surface. Here and there, parts are also being stripped of sods and the area is grazed by sheep.

Drifting sand and the Handel rampart. Around 1800, the drifting sand posed a threat to Bakel, De Mortel and Handel. The crops in the fields were buried by the drifting sand that blew off the heathland around the villages. In those days, Gemert-Bakel looked a lot like a desert. The cause was that the cattle had eaten all the vegetation and the farmers had cut too many heath and grass sods to fertilise the fields. This created large bare patches of sand. Fortunately, most of the sand was captured in the trees and shrubs of the Handel rampart. A rampart of oak trees was often constructed specifically to capture the sand around the fields. In Handel, this rampart was up to 8 metres high; the Handelse mountains. The highest parts of the rampart were dug up for construction sand in the mid-20th century. Artificial fertiliser was invented around 1850. The sod cutting is no longer necessary and the heath can recover. Unlike cover sand, which is bright blond in colour, drift sand has a slightly greyish-grey colour. This is because humus-rich topsoil has been blown along with it. In the municipality of Gemert-Bakel, there are also beautiful drift sand areas at Stippelberg, Esp, Hoogen-Aarle and on the Grotelsche Heide. But nowhere in Gemert-Bakel is the edge wall as well developed as at Handel. source: www.heerlijckvrijspel.nl

Beautiful nature with heathland and forest

For the experienced MTB'er 😅