The Laarbeek trail - Stage 5 (of 5)

Directions

Reference is made to route posts at various points. The entries are intended only as additional landmarks.

1.
On Koppelstraat at the bus stop before Piet van Thielplein and with your back to Piet van Thielplein leave LA towards a bridge, follow the road with before the bridge kn74 follow 13/19 to a junction beyond the bridge.
At this junction RD, ‘Mgr. Verhagenstraat’, kn74 follow 13, follow the road to a road on the right before a wide watercourse past house no.46, ignore other side roads.
# The wide watercourse is a dug diversion canal that used to serve as a connection between the Aa and the Zuid-Willemsvaart. Due to the expansion of the industrial area to the north, part of the canal was filled in.
At this road RA, ‘Parallelweg’, kn13 follow 67, a little further the paved road turns into a gravel path, further on past a concrete bridge on the left the path narrows, continue to follow the path with the wide watercourse on the left until a junction at the next bridge.
At this crossing LA across the bridge, wn route, on the other side of the bridge RA, path with the wide watercourse on the right.
In a bend to the right of the path keep left, follow the grass/maintenance path with the wide watercourse on your right until a T-junction just before the next concrete bridge.
# If the vegetation on the grass/maintenance path is too high, you can also follow the cycle path on the other side of the wide watercourse to the path on the left before the next bridge.

2.
At this T-junction LA, the wide gravel path bends slightly to the left, continue to follow the gravel path to a junction just before the gatehouse of Eikenlust Castle.
# The gatehouse of Eikenlust Castle is the oldest surviving part dating from around 1500.
At this junction, turn LA, path with a wooden gate with a sign saying ‘Open’.
Follow the path with a bend to the right, ignore the narrow path on the left, path with the narrow side of the moat on the right, after the moat the path bends slightly to the left and goes through a wooded area.
After leaving the forest parcel, at T-junction RA, straight path.
After approx 90m RD, ignore path on left hand side, continue to follow the path to a bridge with a concrete block on left hand side in 3rd bend to right of path.

3.
At this bridge LA cross the bridge with the concrete block, on the other side the path bends to the left with a little further stream the Aa on the left.
At the end of the path, at the T-junction, follow LA, kn67 follow 67, cycle path along the main road, then slightly past the stream RA, kn67 follow 66, cross the main road, note very busy road (in case of doubt, you can also walk to the traffic lights in front of the bridge over the Zuid-Willemsvaart and cross there), on the other side RD follow road ‘Peeldijk’, a little further also RD, ignore road ‘Pater Eustachiuslaan’ on the right, follow kn66 17, further on cross a viaduct and continue to a junction past catering establishment ‘de Brabantse Kluis’.
At this crossing RA, ‘Kloosterdreef’, kn17 follow 18.
# At the beginning of the 20th century the Missieklooster Heilig Bloed was built. The accompanying farm, a long-gabled farmhouse is older and dates from about 1845.

4.
Slightly past the main entrance to the monastery LA, unpaved path, lane, kn18 follow 2.
Just before a crucifix keep to the right, wn route, path through the edge of an agricultural parcel.
Past the agricultural plot, at 3-spot LA through a metal pedestrian lock, wn route, then at a junction with a wide path RD, the path bends to the left and runs parallel to the wide path, further on the path bends to the right away from the wide path with a plank immediately after this bend.
At T-junction RA, long straight gravel path, kn2 follow 19.
After approx. 250m LA, path with an SBB sign and a wooden barrier, wn route, the path with small parcels of grassland on both sides bends to the right at the edge of the forest with a ditch on both sides and further on slightly past an information panel a plank over.
# The rampart described on the information panel dates from the period 1350 to 1450. It is a sand wall with a ditch or watercourse on both sides. This rampart served as a border between two communities. Further on, where the path passes through the edge of the forest, one crosses the land ridge. Because the forest is laid out as a ravine forest, the land ridge is hardly noticeable.

5.
At T-junction LA, wn route, further on past a duckboard the path bends to the right and goes through the edge of the forest, after approx. 140m the path bends to the right in front of a bench back into the forest with two duckboards close by.
Approx. 140m past a bend to the right RA cross a plank, kn19 follow 20, past the next plank the path bends to the left, continue to follow the path to a T-junction past a wooden barrier.
At this T-junction with a house on the right hand side LA, wide path, wn route.
Past the forest edge on the right RA, grass/maintenance path with a watercourse on the right, wn route is abandoned.
At the end of the path, at T-junction LA, follow the path to a crossroads.
At this crossing RA, oak avenue.
At crossroads LA, follow the paved road to a road on the left about 70m past a bend to the right, ignore other side roads.
At this road LA, a little further at a T-junction RA, kn10 follow 7, cycle path along a main road.

6.
On the viaduct past a main road RD, kn7 follow 6, ignore the cycle path on the right, continue to follow the viaduct that now crosses the canal to the end of the railing.
At the end of the railing cross the road in LA and descend the embankment via a dirt track, the wn route is abandoned, at the bottom sharply LA, paved road under the viaduct.
Just after the viaduct, in a slight bend to the right of the road, keep right, unpaved path with the Zuid-Willemsvaart canal on your right.
RD, ignore path with a metal gate on the left, further on the path bends left with a wide curve with a crossing of canals on the right.

7.
About 100m past this bend, turn LA, gravel path with a small bridge past the 2nd bend to the right.
RD, ignore the path on the left, follow the path further until you reach an open gate.
Past the folding gate, keep left to walk to the road, at the road RA, immediately afterwards at T-junction RA cross a bridge, follow the road to a junction past a bridge over the Zuid-Willemsvaart, ignore side roads.
At this junction RD, ‘Klokkengietersstraat’, follow the road “Klokkengietersstraat” which turns into ‘Dorpsstraat’ until narrow road Sengersweg on the right past house no.77.
Keep right at this road, follow the road Sengersweg to a junction with a footpath through a park on the opposite side of the junction, ignore side roads.

8.
At this crossing RA, follow the road to a 4-junction, ignore side roads.
At this 4-junction RA, ‘Julianalaan’, then after approx. 30m LA, road through a park with a playing field, the road bends to the right and becomes a dirt road.
Approx. 70m past the 3rd bend to the left RD, ignore a small bridge on the left, a little further also RD, ignore a small bridge on the right, the path bends to the left with after approx. 50m past this bend a small bridge, past the bridge continue to a metal gate and on the left a wooden gate.
Before the gate, the path bends to the left and continues to the T-junction.
At this T-junction RA, immediately afterwards keep left, the path bends sharply to the left, continue to a small parking area past a swing gate, on the parking area keep right and walk into the path with pollard-willows.
At the end of the path, at the T-junction RA, follow the paved road to a T-junction.
At this T-junction RA, ‘Beekseweg’.

9.
Before the Wilhelmina canal, continue to follow the road with a bend to the right, ignore the cycle path along the canal on the left, follow kn34 follow 33, a little further LA over the bridge ‘Oranjelaan’, on the other side at junction RA, ‘Wilhelminaweg’, follow kn33 follow 31, follow the road with the Wilhelmina canal and further on past a bend to the left the Zuid-Willemsvaart on the right until a junction with a through road and on the right a bridge over the canal.
At this junction RD cross the through road, note very busy road (when in doubt, you can also walk to the traffic lights on the other side of the bridge over the Zuid-Willemsvaart and cross there), kn31 follow 54, dead-end road, ‘Dijkstraat’, a little further on with a separate paved cycle path.
Just past house no.21 LA cross a small bridge, gravel path, wn route, on the other side at 3-spot keep left to cross a 2nd bridge, the wn route is abandoned, then RD, ignore road on right hand side.
At 4-junction follow 2nd road on left, then after 60m at 3-junction RA.
At junction RD, ‘Kerkstraat’, follow the road until the church, the end point of the path, continue to a bus stop, past the church at T-junction RA, “Koppelstraat”, then at 3-junction RA, along the road are bus stops ‘Brandstraat’.

Legend:
RA = right turn, RD = straight on and LA = Left turn
Walking network:
Green/yellow markings, kn stands for a node post with numbered direction, wn stands for a network route post with direction only.