Luyksgestel, Lommel

With this cycle route, you will discover the smuggling past of Nellie from Luyksgestel. Look back on her story with her and experience life as a smuggler in the Brabant countryside.

At a young age, Nellie started innocently smuggling packets of butter to earn a sweet. But later in life, smuggling became a necessity for daily maintenance. Together with her little brother Toon and his friends, Nellie devised various schemes to get butter and cigarettes across the border.

For her little brother Toon, this was not enough. He decided to get a calf across the border on his own, but was caught and had to spend several weeks in jail. Nellie absolutely did not want this to happen again and made sure from then on that she would make the plan. But is it still so innocent? Or does it go from bad to worse?

The route starts in the cosy centre of Luyksgestel and takes you past the highest natural point in North Brabant, before crossing the border and the canal towards the Belgian town of Lommel. Afterwards, try to cross back across the border unseen past the customs house and cycle down the smuggling path to outsmart the customs officers. Watch out for the crow's feet in the centre of Luyksgestel and finish your cycle route with a tasty snack and drink on the terrace.

Border Stories
Border stories demonstrate the versatility of the region of North Brabant in a unique manner. North Brabant is located on the border of the Netherlands and Belgium and between the provinces of Limburg, Zeeland, Zuid-Holland and Gelderland. The border has a rich history with stories about smugglers, closed borders and borderless collaborations. There is a reason why this border has always played an important role in the life of the people of Brabant. Experience routes that have been developed with this theme tell the story of the Brabant border and the unlimited nature of the region. View them all via visitbrabant.com/en.

Photo: ©VisitBrabant Routebureau