In the land of Pallieter

With this tour we stay near the Albert Canal, east of Antwerp, in the land of Pallieter. We cycle between the Kleine and Grote Nete. Near the latter is the Oude Schipke, a café where the shooting for the film Pallieter took place. Next to it you will find 't Schipke, a modern tavern. Once there, you are almost back at the starting point at the nature reserve De Beemden in Kessel.

Appointment at tavern-brasserie Opa's Eethuisje (V) in the Elzestraat in Kessel. With Grandpa's Eatery on the left and the football fields on the right, you start. You ignore side streets and cycle straight on until, past a grove, you reach the Netedijk. Follow the Kleine Nete to the right. You bolt past De Beemden (1) with beautiful terrace and fishing club Ons Genoegen with clubhouse 't Zoontje, and turn right before the bridge. Cross the Broechemsesteenweg and turn left. Just before the bridge you cycle again to the Nete and you are at junction 75. Follow the meandering Kleine Nete towards 13. On the right you see an old Netearm (2). Leave the pedestrian bridge and continue cycling to junction 13. Leave the dike here, direction 25. Via an unpaved road you arrive at an asphalt road junction 25. Follow it to the left towards 23, past the legendary tavern De Slappe Uier (3), known for 7 draught beers, rice porridge and baking herring. You meander further to a T and follow the Drijkoningenstraat to the right, still towards 23. The signage leads you to the Bouwelsesteenweg without any problems. Cross over and cycle into the Boshoek. The railway over and past the Sint-Antoniushoeve and the 'milk vending machine'. Continue through the agricultural landscape to junction 23. If you opt for the shortening, turn right here, direction 24.
2. For the full tour, turn left towards 22. You cross the Nile stream and the asphalt becomes gravel road. Continue along the edge of the forest and ignore the drive to the Middeldonkhoeve. Again over asphalt to junction 22. Turn left, direction 46. At the fork turn right, direction windmill (4) of Bouwel. Just past the 'beautiful mill' you turn left into the Molendreef. Along an O.-L.-V. from Lourdes grotto and sports hall De Molen you come to the road Herenthout-Grobbendonk and junction 46. Cross and continue cycling through the car-free Langedreef, towards 45. At the end of this cycle path turn left and then right into Verbindingstraat. Then continue through the Zellestraat, past the Zellese Hoeve to junction 45. Here you choose left, direction 44, past a forest and on the T turn left. Then turn right into Bergen nos. 1-13. Diagonally to the left you see a gentle slope, hence the name. It goes up slightly and so you can enjoy the 'mountain feeling'. You arrive at the Herentalse steenweg. Just right and then left with a 'hairpin bend' into Oosterhoven. Continue cycling until you can turn right into the Klein Baan. On the T, at the Grothoeve, turn left, still direction 44. At the fork, choose on the right. Now follow the Hoge Weg to junction 44. If you want to take a closer look at the Hogewegmolen (1842) (5) of Noorderwijk, you can cycle straight ahead. Our tour turns right, through the Kruisstraat. On the left, behind the fields, you can see the mill. At the end of the Kruisstraat follow Duipt to the right. Continue along the Paardenhoeve, the Depthoeve, the Hoendershof and T.I.R. der Kempen, the clay pigeon shooting club of Frans Peeters (bronze medal Olympic Games of Seoul in 1988). Ignore side roads and follow Duipt to the end. On the T turn right, past the Roepkapelhoeve and then left into Bertheide, direction the Schedelhof. To visit this museum with 1,200 skulls and skeletons of mammals, birds and reptiles from all over the world, you have to cycle straight ahead.
3. Our tour turns left just before until junction 26. Turn right, direction 51, into a dead end road, past a row of birch trees to the Leefdaelhoeve with chapel. Here you turn right onto the unpaved field road. After a bend you reach the Wimp. Via the narrow bridge over Bodemval 2 you cross the river, towards wiekevorst church. The field road turns into a cobblestone road, the Valleistraat. At the end turn right. Ignore the Belstraat on the left, where the Molenroute passes, and take Dalstraat no. 16 on the right. The asphalt turns into an unpaved field road. Past a farm again over asphalt to junction 51. Cross the Herenthoutse weg and cycle towards 25 through Wimpel. On the left the impressive barn (1741) (6) of the historic Wimpelhoeve. You come to the Heerweg and follow it to the left until you can turn right into the Neerhofweg. Ignore side roads and cycle past a beautiful chapel. The Neerhofweg becomes the Lenkestraat. Cross the Saffraanbergstraat and after a while you will get the ornate church tower of Itegem in sight. You arrive on a busier road, which you follow to the left on a dotted line cycle path to a fairly complicated intersection. Follow the signs to Heist-op-den-Berg and junction 25. Cross the Grote Nete and follow the Nieuwendijk on the left. The asphalt becomes gravel road and you enter the Hallaarstraat. Turn right for a while, direction itegem centre, then left into Huizebeekstraat until junction 25. Turn right here, direction 33. You follow the Langendijk, cross the Vogelzangstraat, cross the Isschotweg and immediately take the Parklaan on the left. At the first intersection turn right into Hanssenslaan. You cross the Heibergstraat and continue cycling through the Jachtlaan. On the left a forest with park allures. Cross the Bevelse Steenweg to the Driehoekstraat. At the end, follow the Hooiweg to the left, a wide concrete road with dotted line cycle path. After a few hundred meters turn right into the Haringstraat. At the fork turn left, on a dirt road. Past the Cromvelthoeve and a sign 'only agricultural vehicles, riders, walkers and cyclists' and a sign warning of a gravel road. Loose gravel, past a farm and then again unpaved to the dike of the Grote Nete. Follow it to the left until you reach the footbridge.
4. Here you cross the Grote Nete and drive past 't Schipke (7). Now a modern tavern, with the Oude Schipke next to it. In 1975 recordings were made here for the Flemish film Pallieter. At that time the dikes had not yet been raised and there was a more modest bridge. Cycle into the Eikendreef, turn left, until junction 33. Turn left, until you reach the Bevelse Steenweg and junction 34. Choose 23 here. Just left and at the fork keep right, direction Nijlen and Bevel. Past tavern Diamant, past the park of the Steynehof and on until you can turn right into the Steynenhofweg. On the left, ignore the Herdersweg. The Steynenhofweg turns into the Zwart Water. Cross the Herenthoutsesteenweg and continue cycling to junction 23. Turn left, direction 24. Again on the Herenthoutsesteenweg just right and then left into the Legebaan. Ignore all side roads and cycle to the Bevelsesteenweg and junction 24. On the other side continue into the Legebaan, direction 76, and ignore side roads. The Legebaan turns into the Kraaistraat and you arrive at the Grote Steenweg. Follow the red cycle path on the other side to the left, direction Lier. After more than a kilometer on the right the Grote Puttingbaan and immediately after that right again into the Heidestraat. Ignore side roads, cross the railway and follow Heidestraat to the left. Turn right with this street and continue cycling to the T. Follow the Lindekensbaan to the left and turn right into the Vaerestraat, along the Kesselse Heide (8). Turn left at the first intersection. Follow Vogelzangstraat to T. Turn left until you reach the starting point.