The Rupel region has an important place in the economic and social history of the province of Antwerp due to its important concentration of brickyards. On this walk you will find brickwork heritage but above all a wonderful nature that reclaimed the clay pits.
Distance: 5 km.
Time: 1h15.
Grade: Easy.
Type: Circular.
Gps Track: Yes.
Route description: Yes.
Wheelchair: Not suitable.
Dog: Allowed.
Height gain: Flat.
Trail: Paved and unpaved.
Marking: Walking nodes.
Hiking shoes recommended.
Advertisement.
Old clay pits.
During this short nature walk you will dive into the old clay pits for a meeting with a unique nature and the remains of old brick factories. The most beautiful pieces of nature in the Rumstse clay pits are found in the immediate vicinity of Terhagen village. To the north-west of Veldstraat, a pioneer forest of about 20 hectares has been created. The forest consists mainly of birch, but is clearly evolving towards an oak-birch forest. An abundance of many mushroom species and a beautiful population of spotted orchis make this forest a real fairy tale forest. The last part you walk towards Rupel to return to Terhagen.
Download PDF for nodes to follow.
After heavy rainfall, waterproof shoes or boots are no luxury.
The route has been shortened due to remediation works between nodes 160 and 199.
POI 1 - Museum Rupelklei.
The Rupel region has an important place in the economic and social history of the province of Antwerp due to its important concentration of brickyards. The region along the Scheldt and Rupel has impressively molded man and landscape and although many of the traces of this are now less clear, a reminder lives on in the Rupel community that is likely to disappear due to aging. From the 14th century to the 16th century, brickworks were often erected on the site where, in the absence of natural stone, bricks were needed to erect a building and the bricks were baked in field ovens. An important aspect is the relationship between agriculture and the brick industry. Only from the 16th century onwards could we really speak of a concentration of companies that established themselves at a fixed location (the municipalities of Hemiksem, Niel, Boom) because of the use of walled ovens that could not be moved.
Museum Rupelklei.
www.museum-rupelklei.be.
