Swartbroek - De Pelen - orange - 4,5 km

You then pass the watermill De Hoop and enter the center of Swartbroek, where you will find a war cemetery. 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 ground and resting place for many birds. The area is traversed 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 are present. The humid, flower-rich grasslands support the presence of many butterfly species. The area consists of several depressions containing peelvennen or pelen between higher-lying sand ridges on which the village of Swartbroek, among others, was established. Peelvennen or pelen, a term used only in the Weert region, are dish-shaped depressions that formed in the cover sand landscape during warmer periods in the Holocene due to runoff meltwater. The pelen, including 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.