Beautiful Tiny House in Nature Close to Antwerp, Belgium

WALKING & CYCLING Wuustwezel has 8 themed walks ranging from hikes along several magnificent castles to routes across the border which were once used to smuggle dairy products. More information at here. Here are our 3 favorite hiking trails in the region: - Beergatspad (12,7 km): download here the map and GPX file - Het Uilenpad (7,5 km): downlaod here the map and GPX file - Het Bruynleegtpad (6km of 9km): download here the map and GPX file Here is our favorite bicycle route in the region: - Erfgoedroute (31 km): download here the map and GPX file KALMTHOUTSE HEIDE (20 MIN. DRIVE) Your cabin is located in the municipality of Wuustwezel in the province of Antwerp, a stone's throw from one of the oldest and largest nature reserves in Flanders, the Kalmthoutse Heide. This nature reserve is a rare relic of the once vast European heathland landscape. There are plenty of beautiful walking and cycling routes available in the Kalmthoutse Heide, where you can discover rare animal and plant species. Walking and cycling maps are available for you in your cabin. If you are coming by car, there is parking available at Heidebloemlaan as well as at the reception of De Vroente in Putsesteenweg 129, Kalmthout. WATCHTOWER DE KLOT (10 MIN. DRIVE) Uitkijktoren "De Klot" | Wuustwezel: Nature reserve De Maatjes is a cross-border marsh landscape. It is largely located in the municipality of Zundert and in the Belgian municipalities of Wuustwezel and Kalmthout. At the point where the three municipalities meet, a 7-meter-high watchtower has been built, from which you can look out over the surrounding area. The name 'de Klot' refers to a piece of peat. Between 1250 and 1750 peat was extracted here on an almost industrial scale. The peat was transported to Roosendaal, Bergen-op-Zoom, Antwerp, ... From the lookout tower you can still see peat relics in the landscape. After peat extraction, this area spontaneously evolved into a heather landscape. The fertility of this area began at the beginning of the 20th century. The land consolidation around 1970 gave the landscape its current appearance. From the tower you can, as it were, see 800 years of landscape evolution. The nature reserve has great ecological value. Nature lovers and bird watchers quickly find their way to the tower. Furthermore, plans from the First World War show that the Death Wire ran near the tower. As part of the many commemorations, a reconstruction of this wire has been placed at the base of the tower. Various cycling routes run along De Klot and you can also cross the border along several hiking paths. Sneygaertseweg, 2990 Wuustwezel Google Maps Coordinates: 51°25'18.9"N 4°32'03.2"E BAILEYBRIDGE (15 MIN. DRIVE) A bailey bridge is a bridge that consists of standard segments and as such can be built very quickly. The bailey bridge on ‘Schietveldweg’ was recently renovated. This bridge was built by the Belgian army at the end of the Second World War to allow heavy vehicles to cross the ‘Kleine Aa’. Currently it is only used as a connecting road between Loenhout and Wuustwezel for cyclists and pedestrians. Schietveldweg 2990 Wuustwezel Google Maps Coordinates: 51°22'59.6"N 4°37'07.0"E MAXBURG’S NEEDLE AND CASTLE (20 MIN. DRIVE) Maxburg’s Needle is a square tapered stone column. It has the shape of an obelisk, a symbol of the supremacy of the four winds, of fortitude, virtue and power. Maxburgdreef, the private property of the residents of Maxburg Castle, was a beautiful broad avenue, surrounded by rhododendrons. At Terbeekseweg number 19, where the lane began, there is still a depot where the lords of Maxburg changed horses when they drove their carriages to Kalmthout station to take the train to Antwerp. The Needle stood on a roundabout in the first bend of the Maxburgdreef. A bit further on, after the long bend, at the intersection of Maxburgdreef and Vaasweg stood the second vase, a large stone vase on a pedestal. From here, the lane led straight to the castle. The Maxburg Castle was named after the builder Maximiliaan Van den Berghe, head of the flourishing gin distillery "Van den Bergh en cie" (1843) in Antwerp. In about 1853, he bought the old "Heyhoef" in this northern border region with about 1200 hectares of land; this "heyhoef” was one of the duke's farms that was built in 1755 on the Blankenaart by order of the first Duke of Hoogstraten, Niklaas Leopold van Salm-Salm. The bluestone stone at the street with the inscription "Celui qui fait pousser deux brins d'herbe, là où il n'en venait qu'un seul, a fait plus pour l'humanité que le conquérant qui a gagné vingt batailles" (meaning : He who makes two blades of grass grow where there was only one, has done more for humanity than the conqueror who won twenty battles) by Jonathan Swift shows Van den Berghe's passion for agriculture.