Green Nature Point Walk Barebeek valley - Mechelen (Mice)

The Barebeek valley, the pearl along the Dijle, offers a wide landscape full of variety. The rows of pollard willows form beautiful lines in the landscape. They delimit the plots and provide resting and orientation places for birds and insects. The often hollow pollard trees are a natural habitat for owls and woodpeckers. On the
Molten buns also grow plants such as bittersweet. Ditches and canals are the growing place of yellow lis, pentecostal flower and true cuckoo flower. You can also find water mint, real valerian and swamp-forget-me-not. In
spring dotter flowers turn the meadows yellow. In the summer it is buzzing with bees, butterflies and
other insects.
Especially in winter, the marshy meadows along the Barebeek are regularly flooded. For many ducks, geese and meadow birds this is a blessing. There is a good chance that you will see herons, lapwings, moorhens, mountain ducks or barnacle geese. In this wet area, the storks of Planckendael feel completely at home. The flowery ditches attract a lot of insects and the wet meadows offer them exactly the food they like
find. They carefully hunt snails, earthworms, grasshoppers, beetles, frogs on foot,
mice and moles.

A shortened route (3.5 km) is indicated with brown signposts

Thanks to the collaboration between Natuurpunt and the City of Mechelen, the entire area is accessible
for wheelchair users and families with strollers if you follow the indicated direction. source: Natuurpunt

Accessibility

Parking: along muizenhoekstraat near the Visitor Centre of Natuurpunt

Public transport: The SNCB station Muizen is a 10-minute walk away. You can also take the city bus 3 in the direction of Muizen at Mechelen station and get off at the Brugstraat stop