The best dog-friendly hikes and walks in Dal Kleine Nete

A moment through the drier nature...

beautiful view over the meadows!

A rabat, what's that? I bet you've seen rabats during a forest walk? That alternation of ditches and raised areas that become more visible the drier the ditches are? These raised areas or embankments are rabatten. And they were used in the past - and still are - to create dry patches of land in forestry to plant trees. What does that have to do with this area? Well, there's an information board about a rabatten forest here, and the method was used quite extensively. And that's how it happened: Empress Maria Theresa of Austria wanted the heathland to be fully afforested with Scots pine under her rule. So much so that the Kempen farmers who left their heathland unused had to pay higher taxes and potentially lose their land. They would and had to dig ditches, rabatten, and plant - although they often dug and raised trees to avoid fines instead of actually planting pine. Because those farmers weren't keen on doing that anyway: the heathland was productive, for example, through flocks of sheep and honey production. You can read more on this information board and see it on-site, as you would in many other forests in the Kempen region, including Limburg.

The Nete Canal connects the Albert Canal at Viersel with the navigable section of the Nete River, downstream of Lier near Duffel. A little further on, the Nete flows into the Rupel, the waterway to the Scheldt. The canal allows ships from the south or west to reach the Albert Canal without having to pass through Antwerp. The section between the Rupel and Duffel was already navigable in 1839. The section to Viersel, via Lier, only followed in 1952. Since 1955, the Nete Canal has been the main supply route from the Albert Canal for Antwerp's drinking water supply, operated by the Antwerp Waterworks.

Here you can still see the remains of a straight trench, dug in 1914 at the beginning of the First World War. Advanced sentries were established on the front line between Fort Kessel and Fort Broechem. From there, soldiers could observe enemy advances and patrol the surrounding area. This trench is a remnant of that. Trenches allowed soldiers to move quickly and unseen across the barren heathland. Now, the trench adds some relief to the landscape, giving other plant species a chance to thrive.

In the 19th and 20th centuries, the Kesselse Heide was a popular location for military exercises. It was used successively by the Belgian army (specifically the Achterbist region), during World War II by German soldiers, and in the post-war period by the Allies. Locals would sometimes "play" with the soldiers as children, participating in exercises such as quickly reassembling a weapon. However, from the early 1950s onward, the fun ended: the start of the Korean War and more frequent exercises led to stricter rules. Perhaps for the best, as the soldiers had access to heavy artillery. The heath contained several gun pits, part of the defense line around Nijlen. The famous "Horseshoe Pit" was one of them. This pit was originally circular and was (possibly) dug during the First World War to wash the soldiers' horses. Later, a small land bridge was added, making the island in the middle accessible. For many locals, it served as a beautiful swimming hole and a place for summer recreation.

The Kesselse Heide is a provincial green space covering 79 hectares, 61 of which are open to the public. The initial acquisition took place in 1978, and it has been expanded since then. The entrance is located in Nijlen, at Vaerestraat 4. The space is freely accessible daily from sunrise to sunset. There are two ponds in the area. These old wells not only provide a pleasant change of scenery but are also a boon for the many plants and animals. Since 1996, the Kesselse Heide has been a protected landscape. It is one of the few remaining remnants of the once vast Kempen heathlands. The heath is a living community created in our region by humans. Historical agricultural practices created a landscape that has been preserved through human intervention: grazing by sheep, burning the heath, and sod cutting. Sod cutting is the removal of the topsoil and vegetation. A dug-out sod of plants and their roots is a sod. If heathland is left untreated, it will evolve into oak and birch forests, and the typical species associated with a heathland habitat will disappear. In the mid-19th century, the Kesselse Heide—like many other parts of the Kempen region—was afforested with Scots pine, a valuable timber for mining. However, during both World Wars, these sod-covered forests were felled, and from then on, the heathland was able to expand again. Current management consists of removing trees and mechanically cutting sods to give the open heathland every chance to thrive. https://youtu.be/NoPf0HSeFz8

Some orientation and explanation on an information board with, among others, "Het Goor", "het Hoogbos" and the "Hoge Heide" as parts of the Provincial Green Area Kesselse Heide.