Brunssummerheide

The Brunssummerheide covers about six hundred hectares in southern Limburg on ground that sits above a thick layer of white quartz sand and clay, quarried commercially for glassmaking and ceramics, which is why parts of the reserve have exposed pale sand faces and pits with strikingly clear water. The heath itself is dry and wet heather with pine and birch, and its most valuable feature is the Brunssummerheide bog, a raised bog fed by groundwater seeping out where the sand meets clay - inland raised bogs are rare in the Netherlands and this one holds sundews, bog rosemary and a specialised insect fauna. The area sits on the old Limburg coalfield and the mining landscape is close, with spoil heaps and reclaimed pits around it. Adders, sand lizards and nightjar are present.

What you actually see

• White sand faces - pale quartz exposed by glass and ceramic quarrying.
• An inland raised bog - fed by groundwater seeping at the sand-clay junction.
• Dry and wet heath - six hundred hectares with pine and birch through it.
• Coalfield surroundings - spoil heaps and reclaimed mining ground nearby.

When to go

April to October; August for the heather. Half a day.

Honest expectations

Adders are present - stay on paths. Ticks are common. Swimming in the quarry pools is prohibited and the water is deep and cold. The reserve is ringed by towns and never feels remote.

Nearby

Heerlen and the Roman baths museum are south; the German border is east.