The Laarbeek trail - Stage 2 (of 5)

Directions

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

1.
With your back to the church leave RA, follow the road to a road on the left before a park with kiosk, ignore the road on the right.
At this road LA, road with the park on the right, then past house no.5 LA, enter narrow alley with a café on the right, a little further through a wooden pedestrian lock.
Before back of houses RA, also a narrow alley.
At end of alley, at T-junction RA, paved road, immediately afterwards LA ‘Kapellaan’.
For entrance to a care centre, at T-junction RA, kn32 follow 52, follow the road to a crossroads.
# With chapel Onze Lieve Vrouw in 't Zand on your left, this chapel was built at the end of the 16th century and has traditionally been a place of pilgrimage.
At this junction LA, ‘Janssensstraat’, wn route.
In a slight bend to the right of the road LA ‘Valkendijk’, wn route, follow the road to the 2nd road on the right, ignore other side roads.
At this road RA, ‘Buizerdstraat’, wn route, road with a BMX terreintje on the left.

2.
In bend to the right of the road keep left, hardened footpath with a wooden footbridge, wn route. 

In a slight bend to the right of the road LA ‘Valkendijk’, wn route, follow the road to the 2nd road on the right, ignore other side roads.
At this road RA, ‘Buizerdstraat’, wn route, road with a BMX terreintje on the left.

2.
In bend to the right of the road keep left, hardened footpath with a wooden footbridge, wn route.
# Further on, the walk goes through a sheep grazing area, dogs are not allowed there. As an alternative: at the end of the footpath, at the crossroads, turn right and follow the road. In this bend RD, wide unpaved path. At T-junction RA, path with a metal barrier a little further on. At the end of the path, at T-junction LA, follow the hardened road until path on the right before a stream in a slight bend to the left of the road. Continue at point 4 penultimate line.

At the end of the footpath, at crossroads RD, paved road, ‘Laag Strijp 20-22-24’, wn route, after approx. 70m the road turns into a paved footpath, follow the footpath to the forked gate on the left.
At the swing gate LA through the swing gate, wn route, semi-paved path through grassland with a 2nd swing gate further on.

3.
At 3-spot with a bench on the right keep left, wn route, further on through a folding gate and follow the path further until crossing in front of the gate to Croy castle. 

# If the gate is open, you can also follow the avenue RD to unpaved path beyond the forest plot on your left. At this path LA, path between moat and the forest plot, further between posts in a beech hedge and through a ditch. Turn right into the road to the right of the small park, kn53 follow 69, follow the road ‘Kasteelweg’ to a path on the left at ‘Martien Hoeve’ no.4. Continue at point 3 last line.
# The oldest parts of Croy Castle probably date from the mid-fifteenth century. In 1472, one Rutger van Erp owned a castle with farmstead here. In 1477, he sold the castle to Jacob van Croy, the namesake of the castle. Later, several noble families occupied and expanded the castle.
At junction LA, paved road, kn52 follow 53, a little further at 3-spot keep right, ‘Croylaan’, wn route.
At junction keep left, kn53 volg 69 (at the junction slightly further along the road on the right), a little further also at Y-junction keep left, ‘Kasteelweg’, follow the road until unpaved path on the left hand side at ‘Martien Hoeve’ no. 4.
At this path LA, dead-end unpaved path with a metal barrier further on.

4.
Well past the barrier RD, ignore wide path on left, then after approx. 50m RA, narrow path with BL sign ‘Croy’ and a hedge on right and fence on left. 

At the end of the path at T-junction LA, then after about 40 RA walk via a small dam in a watercourse to a lower path on the other side of the watercourse, immediately afterwards at 3-junction with sign ‘Opengesteld’ RA, the path bends to the left.
Before a forest parcel, at T-junction RA, the path bends to the left, then past a bend to the right RD, ignore path with sign ‘Opengesteld’ towards a stall on the left.
At T-junction LA, follow the paved road to a path on the right before a stream in a slight bend to the left of the road.
At this path turn sharp RA, unpaved path with the stream on the left, kn69 follow 30 (stands slightly further to the left of the road).
At 3 junction with concrete bridge on left keep right, wn route, follow the path with stream Goorloop on left hand side to a junction with a hardened road.

5.
At this crossing RA, paved road, kn30 follow 54.
Before a moat on the left hand side LA through a wooden gate with a small gate, unpaved path, kn54 follow 59
After approx. 170m, just before a wooden barrier LA, wn route, follow the path to a T-junction at a hardened road well past a wooden gate with a small gate.
At this T-junction LA, paved road, the wn route is abandoned.
Past stream the ‘Goorloop’ RA, grass/maintenance path with the stream on your right. 

# At high water level of the Goorloop or if the grass/maintenance path is difficult to walk on due to overgrowth, turn around and follow the road back, following the road to the T-junction. At this T-junction LA, immediately afterwards in bend to the right of the road RD, wide gravel path, ‘Croylaan nr 4-1-2’, follow the gravel path to junction with the stream. Continue at next line starting at: then after approx. 30m LA......... .
Just past a pond and bench on the left, at the end of the path, at T-junction LA, gravel path, then after approx. 30m LA towards the forest, before the forest the path bends left, just past a bend to the right the path follows the forest edge on the right.
After approx. 220m RD, ignore well-marked path through the forest on the right.
After approx. 130m RA, a well-marked path through the forest.
At T-junction LA, follow wide path approx 270m to junction with narrow path and on right hand side a wooden pedestrian lock with sign ‘Opened’, ignore narrow side paths.

6.
At this junction RA, after approx. 90m the path bends to the left.
At end of path, at T-junction LA, wide path with separate paved cycle path.
At crossing RA, wide straight path, wn route.
After approx. 350m RA, path with 6 posts and sign ‘Opengesteld’, wn route. 

At T-junction LA, wn route, a little further follow the path with a slight bend to the left, ignore the path on the right, wn route, follow the path further until a junction past Gasunie pole ‘A521’, well before the junction the wn route is abandoned, ignore side paths.
At this crossing RA, follow the path to a crossing, ignore narrow side paths.
At this crossing RA, follow the path to a 5-spot (the narrow path over a small hill on the right is included) approx. 50m past a clearing with a fen (is often dry) on the left.
At this 5-junction LA, wn route, follow the path that after approx. 80m bends wide to the left around the clearing that can be seen between the trees on the left to a path on the right just before a crossing, ignore other side paths.

7.
At this path RA, wn route, the path runs parallel to the path on the left, after approx. 60m the path bends to the right away from the path on the left.
At junction with a narrow path RD, wn route.
Just before leaving the forest, keep right past wooden posts, the wn route is abandoned, a little further also keep right, follow the path with forest edge on the right until a 5-spot at a hardened road past an agricultural parcel on the right, ignore side paths.
At this 5-spot enter the 2nd path on the right, the narrow gravel path with a row of wooden posts and a fence, wn route. 

Past a bench, at 4-junction RD, ‘Heicamp’, wn route, follow the path on the other side of the hardened cycle path and enter the wide path.
Before bench, at 4-spot LA, wn route, follow wide path to junction past house no.2, ignore side path.

8.
At this crossing LA, ‘'t Brierke’, wn route is abandoned, then at crossing with a main road RD, unpaved path.
At the end of the path, keep left at the Y-junction, hardened road, then follow the road with a curve to the left, ignore the cycle path on the right.
At junction with a main road, cross the bridge RA, follow the cycle path on the other side of the main road, then past a row of posts to the left of the cycle path, descend the embankment LA, unpaved path, down at T-junction RA, paved cycle path with the Wilhelmina canal on your left.
Past the Bavaria factory site, at 3-junction RA.
At junction RD, follow cycle/footpath, then at end of path RD, ‘Havenweg’, ignore road on left.
At Y-junction RA, follow the road to a small square with a kiosk, the end point. To bus stop Bavaria, follow the road Ribbiusstraat with the church on the right a bit further until a T-junction at a through road. At this T-junction RA, through road Provinciale Weg towards a roundabout, before the roundabout is bus stop Bavaria on the left, the end point.

Legend:
RA = turn right, RD = straight on and LA = turn left
BL = Brabants Landschap
Walking networks:
Green/yellow markings, kn stands for a node pole with numbered direction, wn stands for network route pole with direction only.