With priest-poet Anton van Wilderode through the Land of Waas to the Heath Forest,

With priest-poet Anton van Wilderode through the Land of Waas to the Heidebos, a sublime piece of nature

Reynaert the Fox and Mercator, one infamous, the other famous, are the best-known inhabitants of the Land of Waas (Waasland) that stretches between the rivers Scheldt and Durme, up to Lochristie and the Dutch Zeeuws-Vlaanderen. In the northwest lies Moerbeke, a vast municipality whose territory you will hardly leave during this walk.

During the journey along paths and field tracks, you will encounter all kinds of biotopes: sandy and largely unproductive arable land and meadows where maize cultivation and grass cutting provide food for livestock, but also coniferous forest, deciduous forest, heath, dry grasslands, and lanes, of which the nature reserve Het Heidebos is a beautiful example. At times you might feel like you are in the silent Kempen if it weren't for the proximity of the noisy A11 Antwerp-Knokke.

Departure: parking at the old station of Moerbeke-Waas (Statiestraat, 9180 Moerbeke-Waas)

You make extensive use of the Waasland Walking Network, which recently received an update with the Moervaartvallei Walking Network, which is limited to the territory of the municipalities of Wachtebeke, Moerbeke, and Stekene.

The white-red stripes of the GR 122 will only be found here and there on a tree. Sometimes you walk only a few dozen meters with it, and other times several hundred continuous meters.

You will almost exclusively encounter strips of asphalt or concrete at the beginning and the end of your walk. You mainly walk on sandy earth paths or grassy trails. In the first part of the walk, you travel through the barren, extensive agricultural land with straight field roads. The long walk in the Heidebos, the highlight, is a prime example of variety. Mud, even in the wet winter months, is exceptional.