Loonse en Drunense Duinen National Park

This is an area of drifting sand in the middle of Brabant, big enough that from the centre you see dunes, sky and a line of pines on the horizon, which is why people call it the Brabant Sahara. The sand is not a natural desert. The soil was stripped by centuries of grazing and turf cutting, the wind took over, and the open plains are now kept clear deliberately while marram grass and moss slowly fix the edges. Around the sand lies pine and oak woodland with walking routes, cycle paths and some of the longest horse riding trails in the country. A visitor centre sits on the Drunen side. The whole area is small enough to cross on foot in a morning.

What you actually see

• The open sand plain - bare dunes and wind ripples with no vegetation, unusual anywhere in this country.
• Pine and oak woodland - the belt of forest ringing the sand, giving the only shade for miles.
• Horse riding trails - long marked bridleways, with stables on several sides of the park.
• Wind-shaped dune ridges - low sand ridges that shift visibly from year to year at the exposed edges.

When to go

Spring and autumn are best: the sand reflects heat badly in midsummer and there is no shade in the middle. Early morning gives clean wind ripples before the day's footprints, and low sun in the late afternoon shows the relief. Weekends draw families and riders from the surrounding towns, so weekdays are noticeably emptier.

Honest expectations

It is smaller than the desert comparison suggests and can be crossed in an hour or two, after which you are walking in pine plantation. Loose sand is tiring and gets into everything. In July and August the middle is genuinely hot and glaring with no water and no shade. Housing, roads and a large theme park sit close behind the treeline, so the illusion is thin.

Nearby

Efteling is a few kilometres away at Kaatsheuvel, with Den Bosch and Tilburg both close.