Oisterwijkse Vennen

The Oisterwijkse Bossen en Vennen cover about four hundred and fifty hectares of sandy ground east of Tilburg, with somewhere around eighty fens - ven in Dutch, shallow acid pools formed in wind-blown hollows where the water table reaches the surface - scattered through woodland of Scots pine, oak and beech, much of it planted in the nineteenth century over former drift sand and heath. The fens differ from each other in water chemistry and each has its own vegetation, which is why the area has been studied for over a century. It was among the earliest Dutch nature areas deliberately opened to the public for walking, from the early twentieth century, and the network of marked routes dates from that period. Acidification from atmospheric deposition damaged the fens badly and restoration work has been running for decades.

What you actually see

• About eighty fens - shallow acid pools in hollows through the woodland.
• Planted pine and beech - nineteenth-century forest over former drift sand.
• Fens differing individually - each with its own water chemistry and plants.
• Restoration in progress - long-running work against acidification damage.

When to go

April to October. A day.

Honest expectations

Parking is charged at the main entrances and fills at weekends. Swimming in the fens is prohibited. Ticks are common. The area is busy - it is one of the most walked woods in Brabant.

Nearby

Kampina adjoins to the east; Tilburg is west.