Oisterwijkse Vennen

Oisterwijk lies in North Brabant between Tilburg and ‘s-Hertogenbosch, a town with city rights since 1230 wrapped in one of the best-known walking landscapes in the province. The Oisterwijkse Bossen en Vennen, woods and fens, run east into the Kampina, both held by Natuurmonumenten, giving a long stretch of connected ground without a road through it. The fens are the character of the place: dark, still pools left in sandy woodland, reflecting pine and birch, quiet enough that the loudest thing is usually the water birds. Paths are flat, sandy and well-marked, and the town centre is a short walk from the trees.