The best running trails around Wuustwezel

Between 1895 and 2010, more than 2,000 missionary sisters were trained here to be sent out to missions worldwide. It marks the beginning of a beautiful semi-paved path to and through West-Beersgat, once known as the forest of the Antwerp Public Centre for Social Welfare (OCMW). In the second half of the nineteenth century, the heathland on the poor sandy soils had to make way for coniferous forests. After the Second World War, several stands of Scots pine were replaced by Corsican pine, larch, and spruce to create a production forest and hunting area. West-Beersgat is a large forest of over 68 hectares in Wuustwezel, which we traverse entirely via a "Dream Link."

the bridge is located on a gravel road. Here are some information boards and there is a column that explains the area of Marum in a spoken voice.

Next to the bridge is another nice resting place with nice interactive information about the area.

Old Bailey Bridge still does what it has to do. Ensuring that everyone can reach the other side dry-shod. The concept behind the Bailey Bridge, introduced in 1940 by English engineer Sir Donald Bailey, was to provide a temporary bridge that could be built quickly and manually in wartime and that could support the load of heavy tanks and other machinery.

West Beersgat Wuustwezel. It is not only the habitat for many birds, such as black woodpecker, goshawk and buzzard, but also offers space for fox, pine marten and roe deer.

Lovely forest, that tranquility that hangs there, as if the wind does not dare to come.

At this location, on the edge of the Marum nature reserve, there is a Bailey bridge from the Second World War. This bridge, designed by Sir Bailey, accelerated progress in the liberation of Western Europe. This bridge on the Grote Beek was built after the war, but it still gives a nice picture of this example of British engineering. The segments of the bridge are designed to be installed without special tools and without a crane. The segments are light enough to be lifted by a number of men. The bridge is built where the bridge is to be built, for example from the bank of a river. As soon as 3 sections of 3 meters in length are ready, these are moved one section length on rollers after which subsequent sections are attached to it. This process is repeated until the bridge reaches the other side of the river. The bridge that lies here is limited in length. Bridges connect people and landscapes, so we still enjoy the solidity of these bridge constructions today. Thank you Sir Donald Bailey and the municipality of Wuustwezel for maintaining this monument.

The Kleien Aa or Weerijs originates in Brecht near the Kempense Vaart. She crosses the Marum. During the Second World War, this stream was straightened and deepened. Recently, the stream was restored to its former glory at a number of strategic locations using historical maps. The water quality has been restored in recent years and, together with the restoration of the stream structure, they have succeeded in turning the Aa into a species-rich stream.