Set course for Pulle, a district of Zandhoven, for a wonderfully green walk. Enjoy the silence in this surprising piece of nature.

Text and photo Mark Dedapper

Pulle, where the walk starts, is a district of Zandhoven and has a remarkable church with a tower from the 15th century. You walk through the beautiful and quiet nature reserve Lovenhoek. Wooden boardwalks and bridges help you cross the moist stream banks. The landscape consists of old deciduous forests, ponds, heath, and wet marsh forests. Sheep and Galloways provide natural grazing. Lovenhoek is originally the name of a vanished hamlet that had about ten farms until the 1930s. Only an old barn and a chapel testify to this. During this walk, you partly follow the junctions of the Kempen Beemden network and here and there the red-yellow signs of the Regional GR (SGR) or the orange triangle of Natuurpunt.

The route

Parking can be found around the church of Pulle (Torenstraat 4). Bus: Line 427 – stop Pulle Dorp – at the traffic lights Torenstraat to the starting point at the church (V). Opposite the church, street 'Bollaar' (yellow-red signs SGR). At the fork, turn left. At the T-junction, turn right onto Koolmeeslaan. Past house number 6, hard path left. At the road, go right. Cross the grassy field straight ahead (SGR). Further on, path between two rows of trees and keep going straight along the hedge until you reach the road - right. At the end of the road, hard path left. At the paved road, turn right (Heirbaan). At the T-junction, you arrive at KP 70 – left onto the wide forest road (Heirbaan) (1) until KP 73. Here you leave the SGR that goes to the right. Just a tiny bit straight ahead and left to KP 17. At a small bridge (2) over the Molenbeek, go straight and a little further narrow path right to KP 17. You now also follow the orange triangle of Natuurpunt. At KP 17, turn right towards KP 99. About 150 m further narrow path right to KP 81. You will soon follow the winding course of the Molenbeek and spend quite some time walking through the Lovenhoek reserve (3). Follow both the junction points and the signs of nature reserves closely. At the T-junction (KP 81), turn right and a few meters further left towards KP 75. You are back on the route of the SGR. Attention: after a while, you will come across a wider path, which you leave to the left after a few meters. At KP 75, go right to KP 74. You are here in the old hamlet of Lovenhoek. At KP 74, leave the SGR and go left towards KP 76 – here you can go right for 50 m to the beautiful chapel of Lovenhoek (4). At KP 76 (place name sign Vorselaar), turn right towards KP 77. Here, turn right to KP 12. At KP 12, earth road right towards KP 78. Attention: at the crossroads, turn slightly left and immediately take the narrow path to the right (Trawantelberg). At a concrete road, you arrive at KP 78 – right. You will subsequently follow directly KP 79 and 71. At KP 71, turn right onto Hertestraat until KP 70 – left towards KP 69. At the wider road, follow slightly left (Heirbaan). First street left (Lijsterlaan). Past house number 15, you leave the junctions and take the paved path to the right. At the end, turn right and immediately left (Kloosterstraat). At the T-junction, turn left (Dorpsstraat) until you reach the church. For the bus: past the church, turn right (Torenstraat).