The best MTB trails in Het Hurkske

Gemert Castle is one of the village's most striking historical buildings. The complex dates back to the 13th century and was owned for centuries by the Teutonic Order, which had its commandery here. Because of this long history, you'll find a mix of architectural styles on the grounds: medieval elements, an impressive gateway, later residential wings, and a moat that encircles the entire complex. The castle itself is not freely accessible, but from the road and surrounding paths, you have a beautiful view of the walls, towers, and gatehouse. The surrounding area is charming, with old tree-lined avenues, water features, and historic outbuildings that complete the setting. It's a pleasant place for walkers to stop and take a photo or soak up the tranquil atmosphere around the moat.

The castle is currently being renovated. A 5-star Hilton hotel is being built. There will be apartments for sale (starting at €1 million). The restaurant GEM, featuring Michelin-starred chef Soenil Bahadoer, recently opened. Everything is expected to be completed by the end of next year.

a beautiful church, especially in May

Drifting sand and the Handel rampart. Around 1800, the drifting sand posed a threat to Bakel, De Mortel and Handel. The crops in the fields were buried by the drifting sand that blew off the heathland around the villages. In those days, Gemert-Bakel looked a lot like a desert. The cause was that the cattle had eaten all the vegetation and the farmers had cut too many heath and grass sods to fertilise the fields. This created large bare patches of sand. Fortunately, most of the sand was captured in the trees and shrubs of the Handel rampart. A rampart of oak trees was often constructed specifically to capture the sand around the fields. In Handel, this rampart was up to 8 metres high; the Handelse mountains. The highest parts of the rampart were dug up for construction sand in the mid-20th century. Artificial fertiliser was invented around 1850. The sod cutting is no longer necessary and the heath can recover. Unlike cover sand, which is bright blond in colour, drift sand has a slightly greyish-grey colour. This is because humus-rich topsoil has been blown along with it. In the municipality of Gemert-Bakel, there are also beautiful drift sand areas at Stippelberg, Esp, Hoogen-Aarle and on the Grotelsche Heide. But nowhere in Gemert-Bakel is the edge wall as well developed as at Handel. source: www.heerlijckvrijspel.nl

For the experienced MTB'er 😅

Really a very nice track with a great flow. One of the best maintained tracks in the region. Super good to combine with the routes in Deurne and Vlierden.

In addition to its use as a corn mill, it was also used as an oil mill and possibly as a hulling mill, which is exceptional in North Brabant. Until 1964 it was used by private millers, today it is operated by volunteer millers.

The Vogelenzang mill is a round stone mill located on the Molendreef in Lieshout in the Dutch province of North Brabant. This mill is situated in a very rural area. The current miller of the Vogelenzang mill is Pieter Sanders who lives in the white house near the mill. The Vogelenzang mill was drawn several times by Vincent van Gogh around 1880. This mill is also part of the award-winning Vincent van Gogh cycle route. This belt mill was built in 1819 and is used as a corn mill. It was built to replace the post mill that was blown down in 1816. The current mill contains a number of parts of that post mill. It is one of the first stone mills built in the Peelland Quarter. The mill is probably the work of a South Holland millwright. The bricks were baked on site from loam that was obtained from a fen located behind the mill.