South of Breda, bordering the city, is a beautiful and varied forest; the Mastbos. This forest was created around 1515 by order of Count Hendrik III of Nassau-Breda with seed of Scots pine. Before its construction, this area was a heathland with some smaller oak forests. In 1621, Prince Maurice ordered the expansion of the Mastbos. A plan known as 'Maurits' Square' was made for this purpose. The historical route goes partly through the square and partly follows the boundaries of this expansion plan. This also immediately explains the name of the route.
The good accessibility, but also the variety in the area ensure that we have already covered quite a few kilometres in this forest. With the dog through the off-leash area, with the children along the gnomes' path, but also strolling along the many fens and through the woods. To be honest, in all those years I never realised it was a landscaped forest because it really doesn't feel like one. But yes, if you walk the historical route, a bit of history is part of it.
Het startpunt van de route is bij de Stouwdreef 1 in Breda. Dit is net iets voorbij restaurant Boswachter in ’t Mastbos (overigens een prima eet/drink plekje). Naast het restaurant staat een grote kaart met de verschillende wandelroutes in het gebied. De Historische route is 8,3 kilometer lang en is goed aangegeven door middel van paaltjes met daarop een paars vierkant met een wit schiltje met oranje kasteeltoren.
At the start of the walk, you walk along a wide avenue with beautiful tall trees on both sides. Halfway down this path you turn left after which you soon walk along nice winding paths. The first large pond you come across has a bench with a nice view over the pond. During the walk, rain and sun alternate and the dark clouds with sun make for a beautiful sight so above the fen. We continue walking on narrow sandy paths between tall ferns and a bit further on there is a beautiful open area.
We get some additional historical info as we approach 'Maurice's Square'. A sign has an explanation of this. To be honest, I didn't read it in full because just then it starts to rain heavily and we duck under the umbrella. Fortunately, the shower is short-lived. The route continues between two small fens, along a small sand drift, and finally through another beautiful forest section to arrive back at the starting point.
This varied circular walk is 8.3 kilometres long. There are no restaurants along the way (only at the start), unless you take a small diversions. However, there are plenty of benches to rest a bit, enjoy the surroundings, or have a bite to eat or a drink. A number of shorter walks start from the same starting point, and a very nice walk starts on the south side of the Mastbos as well. In short, plenty of choice in this beautiful area.
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2 comments
Leuk om te lezen en prachtige foto’s
Heel leuk om te lezen Andy! Ik heb ook nog wat geleerd over de geschiedenis van dit mooie bos. 😉
Gave foto’s ook en ik herken echt de mooie plekjes van deze paarse route.