German Line - At a dead end & Industrial heritage

This beautiful route goes along many nice places. You won't be bored for a moment during this round. We start on the Noordkade from a large parking lot where the car can be parked. Please note, the first rows are a blue zone. Before and after the walk you can browse around here because there is plenty to see. You can score a nice cup of coffee near the starting point at the Noord Coffee Espressobar, under the large hourglass.

After leaving the Noordkade we walk along the N.C.B. laan towards the Zuid-Willemsvaart where we turn to the railway line of the German Line. What follows is an almost 4 km long walk on the railway of the German Line. We see transitions, switches, objects such as the "binoculars", the bridge over the Aa, the marshalling yard, Veghel station, a converted watchman's house and a bump block. On the way we also pass the old NS locomotive with number 252 and some wagons. Since February 2021, the old bridge over the Zuid-Willemsvaart can also be found near the marshalling yard.

After the bump block, after which the track has now been removed, we turn off through a residential area towards the Geerbos forest area. In the Geerbos we walk along some beautiful trees and we see an overgrown old garbage dump where in the winter people gratefully play with the sled.

The next goal is the nature reserve the AA-pants. We walk along the open-air skating rink (of which you of course see little in the summer). This is followed by a bat path through a small jungle and a little later we open the gate to a nature reserve with free-roaming cattle. Along the river Aa we continue through the free-range area towards the German Line.

The old railway bridge over the Aa is still intact and from the bridge you have a beautiful view over the Aa and Veghel. We have already walked over this before, now we cross this point for the second time. We walk further along the Aa and there is a very good chance that a bunch of geese will be spotted. A little later we bend and walk through a gate into the Broedershof.

The Broedershof is an old monastery garden of which fewer and fewer people know the existence nowadays. Nevertheless, it has a rich history. It recalls the stay of the brothers of Maastricht in Veghel from 1879 to 1988. On the spot where rental and owner-occupied homes are now located, there used to be the monastery, the chapel and the Aloysius school (later MTS). Behind the monastery was a large garden. The main building of the monastery has been restored and now serves as office space. The chapel has also been preserved and there you can now drink a delicious cup of coffee. Part of the monastery garden still exists. The elevation in the garden with the centuries-old beech trees has also remained intact. Many school photos used to be taken here. In the garden we also find the remains of the Maria cave.

Via the port of Veghel we walk again towards the Noordkade where we find a true collection of industrial heritage. SIEMei (Stichting Industrieel Erfgoed Meierij) shows various examples of this industrial and artisanal activity from the Meierij in its museum. The collection ranges from typesetting machines, wood chips and a dragline, to old telephones, tools and a band saw machine. The large objects can be admired outside.