To the Fort of Koningshooikt

Meeting at the grounds of football club VK Hooikt, Beekstraat 84 in Koningshooikt, borough of Lier.
GPS for starting place: enter "Beekstraat 74, Koningshooikt".
Here is a spacious parking.
Walk back to the Beekstraat and then turn right. The forest on the right is the (completely private) Juffrouwenbos, in which a castle is hidden. After 400 meters there is a first farm on the right. Just before this farm turn right. Continue half a kilometer, at a corner of the Juffrouwenbos, to the left in the Wielewaeldreef. Here there are young summer oaks and cattail and Canadian goldenrod grow. There are nest boxes from Natuurpunt.
1. At the end of the drive (here is a rest bench), walk to the right on a wide concrete road. After about a kilometer you come to a short cobblestone strip. Here at the T-point, turn left; Again on a concrete road.

After 500 meters you will see on the left a beautiful farm with a beautiful water feature on which ducks and moorhens are at home. Turn left into "Buurtweg 5". You now walk along the house and the canal around the farm. A little further on, Scottish highlanders sometimes graze. After 250 meters turn left and now follow a very wide winding grass road next to the Hagebeek for about a kilometer. There is a remarkable amount of giant balsam; according to some conservationists, a real plague plant. On the other side of the stream is a huge greenhouse complex. On the left in the meadows are a few more bunkers. A little further you will find a rest bench.

The grass road becomes a small concrete road. A little further on at a T-point you turn left into the Kraanstraat. The landscape remains green and quiet. After 600 meters, cross the main road and walk into Beukheuvel 51-63. Where the asphalt turns at right angles to the left, you go straight on a slightly rising grass path next to a fence. At the end there is a resting bench. You take the earthen stairs down here and you will arrive at the water around the Fort of Koningshooikt.

2. Walk to the right and enjoy the beautiful view of the water, the greenery and the many fishing spots. Most fishing spots even have a shack, garden or holiday home built; One is already more dilapidated than the other. Continue walking along the water. You will soon walk along a concrete road and walk past the entrance of the fort.

The Fort of Koningshooikt dates from 1908 and was part of the Fort belt around Antwerp. At the beginning of the First World War it was indeed fought over. After a few days of shelling with heavy mortars, the fort was taken by the Germans on October 2, 1914. In World War II, it only served as a warehouse for the German army during the occupation. Today, it serves, among other things, as a wintering reserve for, according to the last count, eight species of bats.

You step further, and opposite house number 14, you turn left onto a country road. This way you keep walking along the water. At the end of the next bend, climb right onto a short, steep path and go up immediately left, still parallel to the water. The path soon turns away from the water. After 75 meters you reach the forest. Here is a narrow stream. Cross this (there is a second crossing about 50 m away) and turn left on the forest path.
The forest path becomes a wider gravel road and where, just before a bend, it turns into asphalt, you turn right on a wide forest road. Here is an information board 'Welcome to the Brede Zeyp'. From here, always follow the pink walking arrow.
3. The Brede Zeyp is managed by Natuurpunt in collaboration with the OCMW of Mechelen, the owner of the forest. Walk past the barrier and continue up at the T-junction to the right. A little further on, at the next T-junction, go to the left and then to the right again. After 250 meters, turn right at the intersection with barrier and turn sharply left 200 meters further into a side path. Now walk straight out of the forest and continue along the forest edge.

Walk on the gravel road to the left, still along the edge of the forest. You come to an asphalt road; From now on, ignore the pink walking arrow and turn right. This asphalt takes you to the main road. Go to the right and then to the left into the Beekstraat. After a kilometer on the left, ignore the street Bossen and after another 750 meters you will come back to the exit to the site of VK Hooikt.