Intro
The GR 12 trail between Maria-ter-Heide (Brasschaat) and Deurne takes you through the suburban area around Antwerpen. Normally you would expect lots of concrete and buildings, and you would mentally instruct yourself to rejoyce in every piece of green you might meet along the road. Cynics will probably add that there won't be much to feast on. But they're wrong. If you're not familiar with the region, there's more green in this suburban area than you would ever imagine.
Back and forth
It takes about 40 minutes for bus 640 to get you from Antwerpen center to Maria-ter-Heide where Bethaniënlei and N1 roads meet.
We returned from the center of Deurne (Wim Saerensplein) by taking tram 5. It brings you all the way to the central station of Antwerpen. If you walk a little further you arrive at the Turnhoutsebaan (where the Rivierenhof park is situated) and there you can take tram 10, which also gets you to the center of Antwerpen. Lots of possibilities, that's one of the advantages of urban areas.
The hike
- From the N1 road the trail follows the anti-tank canal for another kilometer.
- Upon leaving the canal you enter the little forest Inslag.
- The trail passes through Brasschaat along the older village quarters which isn't too bad. The exclusive residential quarters normally associated with Brasschaat are not part of the trail.
- From the Park of Brasschaat GR 12 leads us through green areas for over 6 km. It's nice to walk here. Hhard to believe but nevertheless true.
(click the picture for more images on Picasa)
- The Castle and the Park of Brasschaat are public property, but that wasn't always so. At the beginning of the 20th century the domain was bought by mister Thijs, founder of the Bank of Antwerpen. Following the good taste of his wife he managed to adapt the castle to the then prevailing architectural trends, and he had the park reshaped into what we can still see today. But the financial crisis of the 1920's forced him to sell it again, and finally in 1949 it became the property of the community of Brasschaat. Those were the times when bankers assumed responsability for their financial situation. Today, mister Thijs would have let the government pay for his losses, and he himself would feel no shame whatsoever to keep his royal salary and bonusses. The times, they're a changing ...
- The park and the idyllic little hunting pavillon (commonly called the Peppermill because of its shape) offer nice views. Rododendron and bamboo bush surround the Laarse Beek flowing through the park.
- Almost unnoticed the park is replaced by the Peerdsbos. In the 13th century this area became the property of the Sint-Elisabeth hospice in Antwerpen. At first it served the provisioning of the hospice: food, game, fuel wood. Later on the religious owners found a more profitable destination. The numerous castle retreats that were being built in the region around Antwerpen needed large quantities of young trees and plants for their parks. The Peerdsbos was turned into a vast tree nursery and started making good money on that activity. This prosperous period is still witnessed by the good irrigation system and the beautiful wide lanes. Now the Peerdsbos is government property.
- The GR 12 trail now crosses the E 19 highway and the new HST-railway complex. It passes by the castle domain Vordenstein. More state-owned property, but not accessible from the side where our trail passes by.
- From Schoten the trails follows the towing path along the canal for over 3 kilometers. This area is fully urbanised, but the canal itself offers enough diversion, so the hike doesn't get boring. Bridges, lock chambers, house boats and even a marina pass before your eyes. Before you know it, you've arrived at the Albert canal.
- Where the Schoten and the Albert canals meet another GR trail joins GR 12: the Renier Snieders trail (GR 565). Both will coincide until we reach the center of Deurne where GR 565 starts. We completed the GR 565 trail earlier on (see the report Deurne - Zoersel , so we know what follows.
- The hike's last highlight is the Ertbrugge domain, an oasis of green in this urban area. From the path we can see the wellknown Wijnegem shopping center. The number of hikers you'll find there at any given moment by far exceeds the few hikers we met throughout today's hike.
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