Swartbroek - De Pelen - blue - 3,2 km

Swartbroek is a church village that is part of the municipality of Weert. De Krang, a large nature reserve surrounding the village, serves as a breeding area and resting place for many birds. The area is intersected in the north by the Leuker beek and in the south by the Tungelroysebeek. Due to differences in elevation and moisture, many different species of plants and animals occur here. The moist, flower-rich grasslands support the presence of many butterfly species. The area consists of several depressions containing peelvennen or pelen between higher sandy ridges, on which, among other things, the village of Swartbroek developed. Peelvennen or pelen, a term used only in the Weert area, are dish-shaped depressions that formed during warmer periods in the Holocene in the cover sand landscape due to runoff meltwater. The pelen, including Roukespeel, Moeselpeel, de Kootspeel, Roeventerpeel, Sarven, and Banen, lie southeast of Weert and Nederweert. Later, the Leukerbeek was dug through these peelvennen to drain and cultivate them.