Swartbroek - De Pelen - yellow - 11.8 km

The Leukerbeek forms the blue thread of your walk; sometimes you walk right next to it, and other times you walk a little further away through the rural landscape with rows of trees, fields, and bushes. The area consists of several depressions where peat bogs or "pelen" are located between higher sand ridges, on which the village of Swartbroek has developed. Peat bogs or "pelen," a term only used in the vicinity of Weert, are dish-shaped depressions that formed in warmer periods during the Holocene due to runoff meltwater in the sandy landscape. The "pelen," including Roukespeel, Moeselpeel, Kootspeel, Roeventerpeel, Sarven, and Banen, lie to the southeast of Weert and Nederweert. Swartbroek is a village that is part of the municipality of Weert. The Krang, a large nature reserve surrounding the village, serves as a breeding ground and resting place for many birds. The area is intersected in the north by the Leukerbeek and in the south by the Tungelroysebeek.