Swartbroek - De Pelen - red - 11.1 km

You also walk through the rural surroundings of Swartbroek with its vistas and along the Tungelroyse Beek with its Ellerschans. Scattered along the route, you can see quite a few raised fields. These are higher in the middle than at the edges and were formed in the Middle Ages by plowing from the outside in. Swartbroek is a church village that is part of the municipality of Weert. The Krang, a large nature reserve that encircles the village, serves as a breeding ground and stopover for many birds. The area is bisected in the north by the Leukerbeek and in the south by the Tungelroysebeek. Due to the differences in height and moisture, many different species of plants and animals can be found. The moist, flower-rich grasslands contribute to the presence of many butterfly species. The area consists of several depressions where peat bogs or "pelen" are located between higher sand ridges, on which, among other things, the village of Swartbroek has developed. Peat bogs or "pelen," a term used only in the vicinity of Weert, are dish-shaped depressions that formed during warmer periods in the Holocene in the sandy landscape due to runoff meltwater. The pelen, including the Roukespeel, Moeselpeel, Kootspeel, Roeventerpeel, Sarven, and Banen, are located southeast of Weert and Nederweert. Later, the Leukerbeek was dug through these peat bogs to drain and reclaim them.