Berkeltal (NSG Berkelaue) Gescher

The Berkel rises in a saddle of the Baumberge between Nottuln and Billerbeck, about 22 km west of Münster. Near the source runs the Baumberge watershed. Other watercourses, whose sources are nearby, flow to the sea in completely different ways.

The Berkel, initially flowing northwestwards, reaches the outskirts of Billerbeck after a good two kilometres, where it is reinforced at the mouth of a dry valley by a strong spring, which is also called the Berkel spring. Its valley widens into a wide lowland within the Baumberge. At Coesfeld it emerges into the valley sand plains of the western Münsterland Bay and then flows in a westerly direction through the towns of Gescher, Stadtlohn and Vreden, each about 10 kilometres apart. Behind Vreden, the Ölbach flows into the Berkel.

From the source to Vreden, the Berkelaue is designated as a protected area within the meaning of the Habitats Directive (Natura 2000 no. DE-4008-301) over a length of around 40 km. [6]

The Berkel reaches Dutch territory shortly after Vreden. For a few hundred meters, it forms the state border with the Netherlands. The Berkel flows via Eibergen, Borculo, Lochem and Almen to Zutphen, where it flows into the IJssel after 114.6 km. From Borculo, watercourses branch off from it, which first feed the Twente Canal before the diverted water reaches the IJssel by other means.

GPS Biker