Summer holiday
in the Land van de Peel
he best summer memories are often found in the little things. An ice cream at the farm, bare feet in the grass, a story that surprises you. This summer we're taking you to special spots that capture the spirit of the Peel. Choose your adventure and discover the mystery of the Peel.
6 outings with kids in the Land van de Peel
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Shoes off, senses on
Take off your shoes and follow the Blotevoetenpad in Toon Kortooms Park. Along the way you'll pass observation towers, a rope bridge and a mud ditch, and it's easily accessible with a pram or wheelchair.
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Step into the world of knights
Helmond Castle has been the heart of the city for almost 700 years and is the largest water castle in the Netherlands. Castle residents take you back in time, from lord of the castle to cook, and at weekends you can join the exciting attic tour "Kasteel in brand!" (Castle on fire!)
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Step straight into 1900s Brabant at the Boerenbondsmuseum
Discover how butter and cheese were made, peek inside the country school and the bakehouse, and finish at the nostalgic sweet shop. More than 200 volunteers keep this living museum running.
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alk to a mammoth, thanks to AI
n the exhibition Uitgeleefd! Beesten & Botten, an AI chatbot lets you talk to four animal skeletons, including a mammoth, an aurochs and a medieval horse. The exhibition runs until 31 March 2027.
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Play the classics from your childhood
Step into the largest fully interactive computer museum in the world, home to more than 900 computers from the seventies, eighties and nineties. Most of them still work, so you can play them yourself.
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Taste fifty years of Brabant pancake tradition
Herberghe de Coeckepanne has been baking pancakes based on an old family recipe for fifty years. Alongside the classic pancake you can also try Brabant specialities such as sausage rolls and brawn, plus gluten free and vegan varieties.
More reasons to get out and about this summer - Six ways to discover more
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Cycle past the tastiest local produce
Cycle past the tastiest local produce
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Adventure with the family
Adventure with the family
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Farm, plate and terrace
Farm, plate and terrace
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Through the Peel at your own pace
Through the Peel at your own pace
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Art, castles and stories
Art, castles and stories
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Cool off in the water
Cool off in the water
Summer tip from forest ranger Stéphanie
“In the Mussenbaan area, unique plants and animals are getting a second chance.”
Looking to discover a special corner of the Peel this summer? Take a walk through the Mussenbaan area. This former agricultural area retains water, helping the fragile peatland of National Park De Peel to recover. That gives unique plants and animals a second chance too. You can still see traces of peat extraction throughout the Peel. In places, the ground level sits up to seven metres lower than it used to, because of the peat that was dug away. It's as if people once dug entire houses out of the landscape by hand! You can explore the Mussenbaan area via the blue route from Buitencentrum De Pelen (5.6 km).
The six municipalities aren't all equally close together. Deurne, Asten and Someren are around a fifteen-minute drive apart, so they combine well in a single day, for example the Blotevoetenpad in Deurne with Museum Klok & Peel in Asten. Gemert and Beek en Donk are close to each other in turn, think of the Boerenbondsmuseum and Pannenkoekenhuis Pluk, but they're further from Deurne, Asten and Someren, so allow extra travel time for that.
Both the Blotevoetenpad in Toon Kortooms Park in Deurne and the Boerenbondsmuseum in Gemert, municipality of Gemert-Bakel, are easy to visit with a pram or wheelchair and enjoyable for the whole family. The Boerenbondsmuseum also has a limited number of wheelchairs available, though these cannot be reserved.
Pick up the free Peelpaspoort for children aged 4 to 12. The passport makes outings more fun and more affordable, though some locations still charge admission. The Kabouterbos in Bakel (EN-URL niet geverifieerd) and swimming spot Berkendonk in Helmond are free. Visit the animals at kinderboerderij De Veldhoeve, where you only pay for a drink or snack. In Deurne, pick up three free children's routes at the VVV, and in Laarbeek you can cycle the children's cycling route.
Two reliable addresses are Herberghe de Coeckepanne in Lierop, municipality of Someren, which also offers gluten-free options, and Pannenkoekenhuis Pluk in Beek en Donk, municipality of Laarbeek, which has its own indoor and outdoor playground. That makes it easy to combine your pancake stop with an outing in that part of the region.
The Land van de Peel has plenty of indoor options. In Helmond you can play retro games at the HomeComputerMuseum or be knighted at Helmond Castle, almost 700 years old and the largest water castle in the Netherlands. In Gemert you can explore the craft houses at the Boerenbondsmuseum, and in Asten you can ring a bell yourself at Museum Klok & Peel. With young children, indoor playground Billy Barn in Helmond is a good choice