Loonse en Drunense Duinen
Image: Jostijn Ligtvoet
In the Loonse en Drunense Duinen you will find forest, heathland and especially sand, a lot of sand. It is one of the largest areas of drifting sand in Western Europe. The wind can blow undisturbed in many places and that creates an ever-changing landscape.
Buried villages
Before we get to recreation, a history lesson. Don't feel like it? Then read on under the heading 'Record Keepers'. The drift sand area was created in the late Middle Ages. This used to be a heath land landscape, but overgrazing and too frequent plowing created an ever-expanding wasteland. When William of Orange applied scorched-earth tactics during the Eighty Years' War, things did not improve. The sandy soil became exposed in larger and larger areas, allowing the loose sand to be scattered by the wind. This process reinforced itself and was almost unstoppable. The sand buried entire settlements. The medieval village of West loon and farmstead de Ersteling are even buried under it.
Record holders
In the Loonse en Drunense Duinen you will find the fastest sprinter on earth. No, not Usain Bolt. The green sand running beetle! At 8.5 kilometers per hour, this creature is the fastest sprinter in the world. Relatively speaking, that is, 125 times its own body length per second. The largest predator in the Netherlands also lives in this park. About 100 badgers live in setts throughout the area. Unfortunately, they are shy, so you won't easily run into them.
Move your feet (or legs)
You can hike, bike and mountain bike here. Hiking routes range from 1 to almost 6 kilometers. Natuurmonumenten, together with tour clubs, mapped out the black mountain bike route. The route is a single track of 26 kilometers with many height differences. Very suitable for the experienced mountain biker. On the route there are also some shortcuts which allow you to bypass the toughest parts if you don't want to make things too difficult for yourself. Dogs can also stretch their legs here. Here you will find an off-leash route for walkers with dogs. You don't have many of those in Tilburg.
The spot
A must-see is lookout point Bosch & Duin. From here you have a beautiful panoramic view over the large shifting sand plain. An ideal place to dream away or make an Insta-worthy selfie.
Parking
- Schoorstraat, 5071 RC te Udenhout
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