When you say North Limburg, you actually say Forests, Estates, the Peel, Heide, Veen, meandering streams and of course the Maas. And that is exactly what this tour of Venray gives you. More than 150 km through nature, where 2x the Maas is crossed with a ferry service whose written history goes back to the year 1300. This ride will introduce you to, among other things, the Landgoed Geijsteren, the National Park Maasduinen, Landgoed de Hamert, the Grote- and Deurnsche Peel and much more. In this area you can still touch the history of World War II. On the way you pass the impressive German military cemetery Ysselsteyn. A moment of stillness is in order there because more than 31000 fallen German soldiers are buried! Shortly afterwards you will pass the Overloon War Museum, an impressive account of the battle of Overloon. Speaking of history...

The details of this ride in order of riding.

Shortly after the start, the route goes past the Geijsteren estate towards the Maas. Landgoed Geijsteren (also: Geysteren) is an estate and nature reserve of approximately 700 hectares, located west of the village of Geijsteren. The estate is privately owned and has been in the hands of the De Weichs de Wenne family since 1806. The houses on the estate can be recognized by their black and white shutters. The area mainly consists of coniferous forests. The bed of the Oostrumse Beek is particularly beautiful. This stream has a meandering course. There are also a number of cultural-historical monuments in the area. After the town of Geijsteren, the route follows the western bank of the Maas towards Vierlingsbeek. In Vierlingsbeek the ferry is taken in the direction of Bergen.

Veerdienst Vierlingen - Bergen is a connection that has existed for centuries. The oldest indications of a ferry service on this site date from 1300. At that time, the connection must have been no more than a rowing boat, in which only pedestrians could be transported. After the ferry, the route continues along and through the Geesterheide, a wooded area that belongs to the Maasduinen National Park. In this part of the route you pass the castle Well and follow the course of the Meuse.

Maasduinen National Park
The Maasduinen form the longest river dune belt in the Netherlands and were created by an interplay of water, wind and people. De Maasduinen National Park is one of three national parks in North and Central Limburg. It is a forest and heathland area, located on an elongated sandy ridge between the Meuse and the German border. It is largely located within the territory of the municipality of Bergen.

Well . Castle
Castle Well is a beautiful moated castle. The current castle was built in the fifteenth century, but it did not get its current appearance until later, in the seventeenth century. Behind the current castle are the remains of a tower mill from the fifteenth century. The current castle consists of a square main castle, which has a heavy square tower on the southeast corner. The outer bailey is U-shaped. It dates mainly from the seventeenth century. Like the main castle, this outer bailey has a heavy round corner tower. The helmeted roof of this tower is adorned by a ridge turret, in the form of a lantern. This tower stands on the corner of the north wing of the outer bailey. Also on the east side of the north wing is a slightly slimmer tower. The outer ward consists of three wings.

After the church village of Wellerlooi, the route bends to drive through and past the De Hamert estate. This estate is also part of the Maasduinen National Park. Here you will find the famous parabolic dunes, beautiful fens and moors. It consists of raised bogs and extensive coniferous and deciduous forests. The Geldernsch-Nierskanaal is also located north of Arcen between the German border and the Meuse.

Prince's grave
On one of the busiest hiking trails of Landgoed de Hamert, there is a centuries-old Prince's grave from the Bronze Age ca. 2000 BC. Traces of the grave became visible in the 2nd World War. It is one of the largest graves in the Netherlands, 24 meters at a height of 3 meters. Unfortunately, it is not known who is buried here. The Limburg Landscape has decided not to investigate this.
It is no coincidence that the royal grave is located on this exact spot. It lies on top of one of the highest drifting dunes in the Hamert nature reserve, which at that time consisted mainly of swamps. So the site does justice to the position of the man who was buried here, high and dry.

In the next part of the route, the Maas will be crossed again with the Ferry Service Arcen - Broekhuizen. A so-called Gierpont with motor. The Broekhuizen ferry is already mentioned in the old accounts of this Land van Kessel (part of the Duchy of Gelre) in 1431/1432 as "die dat volck voirt ende weer over vuerden". During the heavy glaciation of 1433/1434, the lord of the land "gave the feathers to Broichusen umm noets will van ijse 1 guilder". The springs at Broekhuizen are also spoken of in the plural in slightly later times. Perhaps there were two then. Two are also depicted in the oldest drawing from 1749. Incidentally, there was also a foot ferry at Ooijen (near the Hamert in Well), mentioned in 1466 and it is still on the map from 1870. That ferry right must have belonged to the seigniory of Ooijen.

A nice detail is that in 1850 the penal provisions and rates from the French period still applied for the "Dominial springs on the Maas" in the Duchy of Limburg. For example, the tenant of the ferry was prohibited from insulting, threatening or mistreating the passengers. There was an extensive list of tariffs with the example "For a loaded cart, for the carriage of food or crops, with a horse, donkey or two oxen and the driver seven cents". Violation by the ferryman was punished relatively severely and his sentence was posted on the board in the village!

After the town of Meijl at the southernmost point of the route, the ride goes clockwise around the enormous nature reserve De Grote Peel National Park. This National Park is a vast, wetland and quiet raised moor area that is mainly known for its many bird species and special history. Everywhere in the landscape the 'scars' of peat extraction in the past are still visible. The Groote Peel itself can be explored on foot, partly thanks to the bat bridges. All peeling areas can be admired all around by bicycle. After the Groote Peel, the route goes up north towards the Deurnsche Peel.

Before reaching the Deurnsche Peel, the route continues through the small village of Neerkant (1895 inhabitants). In Neerkant you will find the "Museum Technique with a soul". In this museum a total overview is given of all kinds of technical objects from the year 1900 to 2000. For example radio, telephone and TV. Furthermore, various spaces have been furnished in a nostalgic way, such as a living room, shop and a kitchen in which an image of the time is displayed from the past.

After Neerkant, the route reaches the Deurnesche- and MariaPeel. The Deurnsche Peel is on the left of the road and the MariaPeel on the right.
It is a wild and inaccessible raised moor area between Deurne, Griendtsveen and Helenaveen. It is bordered on the western side by the Deurne Canal and on the eastern side by the Helenavaart.

After a long straight road through the Deurnsche- and Mariapeel, the route goes straight up towards the Overloon dunes. The Overloon dunes are a collective name for forests and nature reserves near the town of Overloon. In total, this area covers 720 ha. Terrible battles were fought in this area during WWII. You can touch this history because the route passes the German Military Cemetery Ysselsteyn and the Overloon War Museum.

The Ysselsteyn cemetery contains 85 fallen soldiers from the First World War and almost 31,000 from the Second World War on a total of 17 hectares. A cross was placed for every soldier who died. The data (name, burial location, date of birth and death, rank - if known) are applied in white on the natural stone. There are also unknown soldiers buried there. On these graves there is a cross with the text "Ein Deutscher Soldat". In addition to the graves of German soldiers, you will also discover other special stories through a guided tour.
After Ysselsteyn the route continues north towards Overloon. Along the way you pass forest areas with names such as "Zwart Water" and "Het Helder" to finally drive through the village of Overloon.

Village Overloon
A beautiful village in a beautiful wooded area. Historically, Overloon is mainly known for the 'Battle of Overloon', which took place at the end of the Second World War. During this battle the village was almost completely destroyed, after which the liberation was a fact on 16 October 1944. The War Museum now stands on the ground of one of the largest battlefields of this World War.

War Museum Overloon
'War belongs in a museum'. That is the message of the War Museum in Overloon. In the museum in the middle of the forest you will experience the occupation and persecution, but also the resistance and D-Day. And of course attention is paid to the Battle of Overloon during the liberation of the south of the Netherlands, which ensured that the entire village was shot to rubble.
As a visitor you are invited to think along about war and oppression. How far can you go when it comes to preserving and, if necessary, regaining freedom?

After Overloon, the route heads towards the end point, Hotel Asteria in Venray.