City and kenaol

This route runs through De Moer, De Reeshof in Tilburg, Dongen and Kaatsheuvel. Also a piece along the Wilhelminakanaal; an important sailing route in the region.

From De Moer, KP38, cycle towards the canal. From the bridge, KP57, you will see Sluis III on your right and cycle into a Vinex neighborhood called De Reeshof. This was once an agricultural area. In 1980, the first house was completed. Currently, nearly 45,000 people live there. It is a city in itself with all the amenities. What is special is that the street names all refer to a city or village in the Netherlands and for each suburb they all start with the same letter.

After KP43 you are back in the countryside towards the Wilhelminakanaal, which is 68 km long and connects the Willemsvaart near Laarbeek with the Amer near Geertruidenberg. There are 5 locks and the canal is partly suitable for ships up to 1350 tons.

All along the route for ships up to 650 tons. The canal was much needed around 1800 for the transport of fertilizers for agriculture and raw materials for the wool industry. The dirt roads towards the harbors were very bad in those days.

At KP09 we cross the bridge again and end up in Dongen. The name derives from 'Donken', the word for high sandy ridges in peat and clay areas. In the 14th century, Dongen belonged to the Barony of Breda. Dongen lies on the small river Donge. This served well as an outlet and supply of water for the tanneries (photo), where leather was made from animal hides. The leather and shoe industry flourished in the 20th century. There was plenty of water, oak bark and hides here; all needed for production. The shoe industry in De Langstraat virtually went under between 1970 and 1985. This because of fierce competition from low-wage countries. Route 1 provides even more information about Dongen.

Then we cycle through a rural landscape from Dongen through Dongensevaart, KP07, to Kaatsheuvel, KP51. Here you can still 'efkes aonlegge' in the center and/or do some shopping. Then 'efkes durtrappe' and you are in our smallest village De Moer, where it is always nice to stay in or around the nice taverns.