The Mortel / esperenloop

Source: Trage Tochten

We make a beautiful and especially calm walk in the Brabantse Peel starting from the village of De Mortel. Through forests and farmland between Gemert and Bakel. The start is at the Catholic church of Saint Anthony Abbot, built in 1904 based on a design by Caspar Franssen. After a winding path through the fields, we quickly pass the first long-gabled farms, which are mostly converted into residential farms today. The Grotelse Heide is a typical reclamation forest with many coniferous trees, but the variation with open grasslands and tree lanes makes it never boring. Remarkable is the 128-meter-high KPN transmission tower, also known as Mortelse Toren, which we continuously see towering above the landscape during this walk. The highlight is the narrow path along the surprisingly winding heath stream Esperloop. This spring-fed "source stream" at the edge of the Peelrand fault is the habitat of the common brook dragonfly. The Snelle Loop is a bit straighter, but also beautiful. The wide sandy paths or cart tracks through the Brabant farmers' land lead us past various farms and communities with resonant names like Speurgt, Grotel, Tereyken, Milschot, and Ren. On the edge of Gemert, we walk along the Kromstraat past a peculiar corner-gabled farm and along long-gabled farms that have a long history. The Oude Bakelsedijk takes us past the centuries-old fields of Hooge and Lage Kranebraken back to De Mortel.