Cycling through water and cycling through the heathland

Our bike ride begins at a symbolic spot. Today we cycle across Limburg, where the long mining past still lingers. And so, C-Mine is a great place to start. Today, this former mining site serves as a melting pot for art, culture and creativity. But more about that later. First, we let our legs do the talking.

We kick-start our steel steeds and shake ourselves free of the traffic. Barely two minutes later, we are on a standalone cycle path that takes us onto a wonderfully peaceful road. Along either side, we are flanked by tall trees. It is a first encounter with the Limburg greenery, which we will be getting to know very well today. Indeed, most of our tour winds through Hoge Kempen National Park.

After this, we pedal on quietly to another fantastic highlight: Cycling through the Heathland. This is a brilliant experience on two (or more) wheels. First, an impressive wooden cycle bridge takes us into higher spheres. We finish up metres above the ground. From there, we can see a magnificent panorama of the national park. Immediately afterwards, we dive back into the nature. We are suddenly pedalling straight through the heathland of the Mechelse Heide, four kilometres long. The warm colours of late summer cast a brilliant glow on the scene. It gives us a smile, which we carry with us for a while.

After this first impressive interlude, we briefly leave High Kempen. But not to worry, it will not be for long. After a little detour, we are quickly back in another part of this monumental chunk of greenery. We arrive at Klaverberg Nature Park, located on and around the former Waterschei mining spoil heap. Here, too, we encounter a stunning vast landscape that we can cruise through. Those who want to get to know this piece of nature in a different way will find a splendid range of walking trails, rest areas and amphibian ponds here. What follows next is a new introduction with the region’s mining past. We cycle through the old mine site, which is now home to Thor Park, even passing under the old pithead frame.

After an extraordinary journey of discovery, we can move on again. Once more, we seem to be completely surrounded by trees. We meander between reserve De Teut and nature area Het Wik. These lead us to Cycling through the Water, a unique experience on a bike. We turn left and come onto an arrow-straight cycle path. This leads right through a pond, 200 metres long, from one bank to the other. The cycle path goes somewhat downhill. Half way along, this puts the water at eye level with us. We feel, see and smell the water. This is an almost magical place.

After this unique climax, our adventure slowly comes to an end. We just have time to stop at Bokrijk open-air museum, where you can learn about the history of everyday life.