Rucphen, Oudenbosch, Etten-Leur

As early as 1250, Flemish wealthy individuals and church institutions bought large peat areas in West Brabant. The metre-thick peat bogs were very suitable for peat extraction. Peat is a fuel made from dried peat consisting of dead plants compressed in a wetland. This layer of peat was formed after the last ice age, about 10,000 years ago, when the ice began to melt and form pools in the landscape. The peat continued to grow for thousands of years until peat cutters put their spades in the ground to power cities like Ghent, Antwerp and Bruges. The common name for peat in this region is lees.

To transport peat from the peat mining areas to the Flemish cities, several canals were dug out by hand. At the height of peat extraction, there were 350 kilometres of waterways in this area, known as peat canals.

Where a peat canal connected to a river, a transhipment port, a peat head, was built. There the peat was loaded from the small peat barges, sold and put on seaworthy sailing ships. In 1300, such a port arose at Oudenbosch where large ships could moor from the rivers Mark and Dintel. The village of Oudenbosch owes its existence to large-scale peat production.

The peat canals served not only for transport. Before a peat bog could be excavated, it had to be drained. Therefore, the reclaimed area was surrounded by drainage ditches, the so-called drains. After the water had drained away (a process of 2 to 10 years), peat cutting could begin in the spring. The excavated peat was piled up on legacies. It was piled up so that the wind could blow through it, making the peat even drier in the summer months. After the dried peat was sold to a peat barge driver, it was taken to the barge using wheelbarrows.

On 4 March 1590, however, Adriaan van Bergen's Leur peat ship was carrying something very different from peat. During the Eighty Years' War, he suggested a ruse to Prince Maurice to use a peat ship to recapture the city of Breda from the Spaniards.

Between 1250 and 1750, peat extraction remained an important economic activity in this region. During this period, peat cutters moved further and further south. As a result, the peat canals connecting the peat bogs to the navigable rivers became longer and longer.

As soon as a peat area became exhausted, the area and its related infrastructure were abandoned. In 1970, Brabants Landschap bought the peat area the Pannenhoef to create more nature. Slowly, the area was transformed into a nature reserve of about 706 hectares, located between the municipalities of Zundert, Etten-Leur and Rucphen.

And peat? That slowly disappeared from the Netherlands with the advent of coal as a fuel in the 20th century.

On this route, you will come across several peat posts. The signs were placed by the surrounding municipalities to reflect the peat history.

Halfway along the route, you can take a swim or rent a SUP at the Westpolderplas in Etten-Leur.


This premium cycle route has been compiled by our editor: Elwin Croeze.