Raw peat near Rucphen
Rucphen, Oudenbosch, Etten-Leur
As early as 1250, Flemish wealthy individuals and church institutions bought large peat areas in West Brabant. The metre-thick peat bogs were very suitable for peat extraction. Peat is a fuel made from dried peat consisting of dead plants compressed in a wetland. This layer of peat was formed after the last ice age, about 10,000 years ago, when the ice began to melt and form pools in the landscape. The peat continued to grow for thousands of years until peat cutters put their spades in the ground to power cities like Ghent, Antwerp and Bruges. The common name for peat in this region is lees. To transport peat from the peat mining areas to the Flemish cities, several canals were dug out by hand. At the height of peat extraction, there were 350 kilometres of waterways in this area, known as peat canals. Where a peat canal connected to a river, a transhipment port, a peat head, was built. There the peat was loaded from the small peat barges, sold and put on seaworthy sailing ships. In 1300, such a port arose at Oudenbosch where large ships could moor from the rivers Mark and Dintel. The village of Oudenbosch owes its existence to large-scale peat production. The peat canals served not only for transport. Before a peat bog could be excavated, it had to be drained. Therefore, the reclaimed area was surrounded by drainage ditches, the so-called drains. After the water had drained away (a process of 2 to 10 years), peat cutting could begin in the spring. The excavated peat was piled up on legacies. It was piled up so that the wind could blow through it, making the peat even drier in the summer months. After the dried peat was sold to a peat barge driver, it was taken to the barge using wheelbarrows. On 4 March 1590, however, Adriaan van Bergen's Leur peat ship was carrying something very different from peat. During the Eighty Years' War, he suggested a ruse to Prince Maurice to use a peat ship to recapture the city of Breda from the Spaniards. Between 1250 and 1750, peat extraction remained an important economic activity in this region. During this period, peat cutters moved further and further south. As a result, the peat canals connecting the peat bogs to the navigable rivers became longer and longer. As soon as a peat area became exhausted, the area and its related infrastructure were abandoned. In 1970, Brabants Landschap bought the peat area the Pannenhoef to create more nature. Slowly, the area was transformed into a nature reserve of about 706 hectares, located between the municipalities of Zundert, Etten-Leur and Rucphen. And peat? That slowly disappeared from the Netherlands with the advent of coal as a fuel in the 20th century. On this route, you will come across several peat posts. The signs were placed by the surrounding municipalities to reflect the peat history. Halfway along the route, you can take a swim or rent a SUP at the Westpolderplas in Etten-Leur. This premium cycle route has been compiled by our editor: Elwin Croeze.
| Directions | Distance | Total distance | |
|
Start: Meerven , 4715 SL Rucphen | 45.7 KM | |
|
From
61
to
74
|
3338 M | 3.3 KM | |
| Head north | 876 M | ||
| Make a slight left onto Pierestraat | 546 M | ||
| Turn right onto Kade | 560 M | ||
| Turn left onto Sint Martinusstraat | 483 M | ||
| Keep right onto Sint Martinusstraat | 113 M | ||
| Continue straight | 54 M | ||
| Turn left onto Rucphenseweg | 706 M | ||
| You are now at section 74 | 0 M | ||
|
From
74
to
73
|
1441 M | 1.4 KM | |
| Head northwest on Rucphenseweg | 1.4 KM | ||
| You are now at section 73 | 0 M | ||
|
From
73
to
54
|
477 M | 0.5 KM | |
| Head east | 47 M | ||
| Continue onto Pastoor van Breugelstraat | 430 M | ||
| You are now at section 54 | 0 M | ||
|
From
54
to
84
|
759 M | 0.8 KM | |
| Head north on Pastoor van Breugelstraat | 103 M | ||
| Keep right onto Pastoor van Breugelstraat | 656 M | ||
| You are now at section 84 | 0 M | ||
|
From
84
to
80
|
3269 M | 3.3 KM | |
| Head north on Pastoor van Breugelstraat | 696 M | ||
| Make a slight right to stay on Pastoor van Breugelstraat | 19 M | ||
| Turn left to stay on Pastoor van Breugelstraat | 13 M | ||
| Turn right to stay on Pastoor van Breugelstraat | 376 M | ||
| Turn left onto Vaartweg | 1.4 KM | ||
| Turn left to stay on Vaartweg | 791 M | ||
| You are now at section 80 | 0 M | ||
|
From
80
to
83
|
3947 M | 3.9 KM | |
| Head east on Markt | 100 M | ||
| Turn left onto Fenkelstraat | 181 M | ||
| Make a slight left onto Professor van Ginnekenstraat | 167 M | ||
| Turn right onto Kade | 252 M | ||
| Turn right onto Wilhelminaplein | 394 M | ||
| Turn left onto Markt | 408 M | ||
| Make a slight right | 181 M | ||
| Continue onto Bosschendijk | 961 M | ||
| Turn right onto Bosschendijk | 1.3 KM | ||
| You are now at section 83 | 0 M | ||
|
From
83
to
78
|
1896 M | 1.9 KM | |
| Head east | 28 M | ||
| Continue onto Sint Bernardusstraat; St. Bernardusstraat | 1.1 KM | ||
| Turn right | 17 M | ||
| Make a slight left | 34 M | ||
| Make a slight right onto Hofstraat | 166 M | ||
| Turn left onto Sint Janstraat; St. Janstraat | 555 M | ||
| Turn right onto Sprangweg | 17 M | ||
| You are now at section 78 | 0 M | ||
|
From
78
to
82
|
1967 M | 2 KM | |
| Head east on Sprangweg | 254 M | ||
| Turn right onto Palingstraat | 1.7 KM | ||
| You are now at section 82 | 0 M | ||
|
From
82
to
20
|
1355 M | 1.4 KM | |
| Head southeast on De Opslag | 1.4 KM | ||
| You are now at section 20 | 0 M | ||
|
From
20
to
2
|
2341 M | 2.3 KM | |
| Head north on Rioolseweg | 1.7 KM | ||
| Turn right onto Bollendonkseweg | 660 M | ||
| You are now at section 02 | 0 M | ||
|
From
2
to
44
|
3058 M | 3.1 KM | |
| Head east on Windgat | 665 M | ||
| Turn right onto Achtergat | 774 M | ||
| Turn left onto Achtergat | 280 M | ||
| Continue onto Westpolderpad | 937 M | ||
| Turn left | 402 M | ||
| You are now at section 44 | 0 M | ||
|
From
44
to
7
|
992 M | 1 KM | |
| Head southeast | 39 M | ||
| Turn right onto Leurse Dijk | 63 M | ||
| Turn right | 17 M | ||
| Turn left | 537 M | ||
| Turn left | 7 M | ||
| Turn right onto Leurse Dijk | 329 M | ||
| You are now at section 07 | 0 M | ||
|
From
7
to
23
|
5014 M | 5 KM | |
| Head west on Lange Brugstraat | 99 M | ||
| Turn left onto Van Bergenplein | 538 M | ||
| Make a slight left | 26 M | ||
| Continue onto Lichttorenhoofd | 1.1 KM | ||
| Turn left onto Bredaseweg | 275 M | ||
| Turn left to stay on Bredaseweg | 32 M | ||
| Turn right onto Hoge Vaartkant | 464 M | ||
| Turn right onto Bollenstraat | 521 M | ||
| Turn right onto Hoge Vaartkant | 1.2 KM | ||
| Turn left to stay on Hoge Vaartkant | 715 M | ||
| You are now at section 23 | 0 M | ||
|
From
23
to
21
|
487 M | 0.5 KM | |
| Head southwest on Zandspui | 487 M | ||
| You are now at section 21 | 0 M | ||
|
From
21
to
19
|
2750 M | 2.8 KM | |
| Head southwest on Zandspui | 12 M | ||
| Turn left onto Rijsbergseweg | 269 M | ||
| Turn right onto Klappenberg | 419 M | ||
| Turn left onto Schuitvaartjaagpad | 2.1 KM | ||
| You are now at section 19 | 0 M | ||
|
From
19
to
87
|
681 M | 0.7 KM | |
| Head southwest on Schuitvaartjaagpad | 162 M | ||
| Make a slight right onto Ettensebaan | 519 M | ||
| You are now at section 87 | 0 M | ||
|
From
87
to
86
|
1374 M | 1.4 KM | |
| Head west | 1.2 KM | ||
| Make a slight right onto Pannenhoef | 165 M | ||
| You are now at section 86 | 0 M | ||
|
From
86
to
9
|
1292 M | 1.3 KM | |
| Head northwest on Oosteindseweg | 640 M | ||
| Make a slight left onto Lokkerberg | 652 M | ||
| You are now at section 09 | 0 M | ||
|
From
9
to
77
|
4085 M | 4.1 KM | |
| Head northwest on Oosteindseweg | 932 M | ||
| Turn left onto Turfstraat | 1.6 KM | ||
| Turn right onto Klein Zundertseweg | 544 M | ||
| Turn right onto Akkerstraat | 823 M | ||
| Turn left onto Omgangstraat | 178 M | ||
| You are now at section 77 | 0 M | ||
|
From
77
to
12
|
3694 M | 3.7 KM | |
| Head southwest on Vorenseindseweg | 136 M | ||
| Make a slight right to stay on Vorenseindseweg | 1.6 KM | ||
| Turn left onto Commandoweg | 693 M | ||
| Turn right onto Zundertseweg | 234 M | ||
| Turn left | 705 M | ||
| Continue onto Vennestraat | 331 M | ||
| You are now at section 12 | 0 M | ||
|
From
12
to
98
|
880 M | 0.9 KM | |
| Head west | 227 M | ||
| Turn left | 56 M | ||
| Continue straight | 597 M | ||
| You are now at section 98 | 0 M | ||
|
From
98
to
61
|
562 M | 0.6 KM | |
| Head north | 562 M | ||
| You are now at section 61 | 0 M |