Astense Aa – Cycling Route

This bike ride is part of a series of walking routes, of which two routes go from A to B and from B to C, and four loop routes that overlap the first two. Below are the links to the walking routes.

Astense Aa – from Helmond to Leensel
Astense Aa – from Leensel to De Peel

AstenseAa1 Helmond-Vlierden
AstenseAa2 Vlierden-Liessel
AstenseAa3 Liessel-Neerkant
AstenseAa4 Neerkant-Meijel

Over the past tens of millions of years, tectonics in the basin of the Astense Aa have caused multiple peat edge fractures and elevation differences. During the last Ice Age (approximately 116,000 to 11,700 years ago), a cover sand landscape was formed in this area, consisting of stream valleys between cover sand hills and low land dunes that slope northwest.

While cycling, you may notice that the area between Helenaveen and Liessel has undergone a different land reclamation history than the area between Liessel and Helmond.
It was not until the second half of the 19th century that peat was extensively extracted in De Peel. When artificial fertilizer became popular, it was possible to cultivate heather areas and extracted peat soils on a large scale. To drain the heather and peat areas, the meandering Astense Aa was extended with a straight drainage ditch. The land consolidation and scaling up in the second half of the last century also had a significant impact.
In the early Middle Ages, settlement along the meandering lower reaches of the Astense Aa sporadically occurred on the cover sand ridges. The marsh landscape and wet forest in the stream valley were hardly accessible. Especially from the Full Middle Ages (11th – 13th century), the landscape changed drastically. The traces of this are still recognizable in the form of road and path structures, stream crossings, settlements and hamlets, old fields, dug waterways, and hedgerows.

The bike ride, approximately 46 kilometers, starts from the parking lot at the church in Helenaveen. From there, the road follows the Helenavaart to the inlet of the Astense Aa at the Canal of Deurne. The route then goes via Neerkant, Leensel, to Achterste Diesdonk. This neighborhood is close to the mouth of the Astense Aa. The return route goes via Vlierden and Liessel back to Helenaveen. Along the way, there are plenty of catering and picnic options available.