Swartbroek - De Pelen - green - 5,3 km

You continue hiking through much woodland nature, along ponds, watermill De Hoop, and the war cemetery in Swartbroek. Swartbroek is a church village that is part of the municipality of Weert. De Krang, a large nature area surrounding the village, serves as a breeding ground 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 the difference in elevation and moisture, many different species of plants and animals occur. The humid flower-rich grasslands ensure the presence of many butterfly species. The area consists of several depressions in which peelvennen or pelen are located between higher sandy ridges on which, among other things, the village of Swartbroek arose. Peelvennen or pelen, a term used only in the Weert area, are bowl-shaped depressions that formed during warmer periods in the Holocene in the cover sand landscape due to runoff meltwater. The pelen, including the Roukespeel, Moeselpeel, de Kootspeel, de Roeventerpeel, het Sarven, and de Banen, lie southeast of Weert and Nederweert. Later, the Leukerbeek was dug through these peelvennen to drain and cultivate them.