Around Hoogstraten

Appointment at the Chapel of Our Lady of 7 Woes (V) in Achtel, a hamlet of Rijkevorsel. You are here at junction 29 and leave for 28. At the fork, keep right and follow the Achtelsestraat, direction Hoogstraten, immediately through an open agricultural landscape. In the distance you can already see the tower of the Sint-Katharinakerk of Hoogstraten. Past the agglomeration sign of Hoogstraten you cycle through a residential district to the Freedom. Follow this street to the right. There is no shortage of catering establishments here. You cycle past the St. Catherine's Church, ignore the road to Wortel on the right and pass the beguinage 1, worth a visit. Then take Tinnenpotstraat on the left and follow it, without caring about side roads, to the end. Turn right until Moerstraat. Follow it to the left and at the fork on the right take Princeven. You continue cycling between fields and meadows to junction 28, with a beautiful picnic area under the trees. Choose direction 33 here. At the T-junction turn left, on a wider asphalt road until you can turn right into the Blauwen Draaiboom. Follow this concrete road through the open agricultural landscape and past a grove to junction 33. Now follow the Vlamingweg to the right, direction 94. Cross the E19 and let yourself walk on the other side to junction 94. Continue cycling towards 51. Don't worry about side roads, carefully cross the Meerseweg and meander further through the open landscape. At the T-junction turn right and then left into Valmoer 2, a narrow concrete road, trimmed on the left with native oaks. Cross a crossroads and continue cycling through the open countryside. Ignore a road on the left and continue pedaling to the T-junction. Left. Ignore another side road on the left and you will reach junction 51 a little further. Turn left past Dutch greenhouses, direction 56, a junction of the Dutch cycling network West-Brabant. Leave the Blauwputten behind and you will cycle past the castle Maxburg 2, although you will not get to see much of it, because it is hidden in the green on the left of the road. Turn left at the next intersection. This side road is also called Maxburgdreef. On the left, behind the meadow, the wall of the castle domain. Opposite a farm you choose Maxburgdreef 53 and continue driving past a modern farm and the edge of the forest and through a grove. The latter is a difficult stretch, because you have to cycle on a soft dirt road. At the end you come to an asphalt road, which you follow to the right. Pay close attention past a tree nursery, because you are suddenly at junction 56. Choose here on the left, direction 90, through Klein Maalbergen, past greenhouses and some large Dutch agricultural or horticultural companies. After crossing the Dutch Aa, you will come to a T-junction. Follow the Mereltjesstraat to the left. From the style of the farms you can see that you are in the Netherlands. On the right a large greenhouse complex. Then you cycle through a lane to a T-junction. Now follow the Lentsebaan to the left. A little further on, the Lentsebaan turns into Tereik and you are back in Belgium and you reach junction 90. You now cycle towards 93 on a straight concrete road with only farms. A sign warns you of a dangerous intersection. That turns out to be just a road to come. Keep cycling straight ahead. Don't worry about side roads and after a few speed bumps you cycle through a residential area to a busy priority road. Follow it to the right on the separate red cycle path and then turn left into Braken. At the end turn left, still Braken until junction 93. Turn left here into the Donkweg, direction 96. At the end of the Donkweg, follow the busy N144 (Wuustwezelseweg) to the right, on a separate red cycle path. Then turn right onto the first street, Schottestraat, and leave Verbrand Hofstraat on the left. It continues between the fields, the road is lined with trees on the right and you only encounter agricultural traffic. You then cycle straight towards a huge greenhouse complex. At the T-junction turn left, over a narrow concrete road, through the open countryside and past a farm until the next T-junction. Right. You now follow the Neervenweg to the fork at a triangular square. Keep right and follow the Heiendweg until you can turn left into the Zandweg, actually a narrow asphalt road. At the end turn left into the Stapelheideweg, until you reach the busier Brechtsebaan. Cross, follow the red cycle path to the left for a while and then turn right into the Tommelbergweg. Cycle between the meadows to junction 96 and choose the right here, the Boerenijsje and direction 97. You now follow the Henxbroekweg to junction 97. Here you choose 09 and you come to a wider concrete road, which you follow to the right. Then turn left into Birdsong. Still through an agricultural landscape, but now the roads are often lined with trees. Picnic At a crossroads at a farm, you cycle straight on to Laboureur. In the distance you can see the tower of the Sint-Katharinakerk of Hoogstraten. At junction 09, with a picnic area on the Henweg on the left, turn right, direction 39. Then carefully cross the busy Hoogstraatsebaan (N115) and follow the red cycle path to the left for a while, until you can turn right into Rijkevorselseweg, a narrow concrete road between meadows and fields that turns into Korenblokweg. At hoeve Hoenderheide you follow at a T-junction Kleine Gammel to the right, until you can turn left into the Karreweg, a road with two concrete strips and a grass strip in the middle. You cycle between the fields, turn right past a grove and reach junction 39, with the beautiful picnic area Karreweg 3 on the corner. Now cycle towards 36. At the first intersection turn left, past an arborist, meadows and fields. At the next intersection continue straight ahead again and at the fork with a triangular chapel keep right. Don't worry about side roads and keep left at a fork. The Kruisboogweg takes you to the Hoogstraatsesteenweg. Cross it carefully and cycle into the Klaterstraat. You pass company Nostalgie, which rents out mirror tents. At the next intersection you are at junction 36. Follow Zwartbossen to the left and at the next crossroads turn left into Nering. This road takes you back to the center of Achtel and the starting point.