Mechelse Hei - Maasmechelen, Belgium
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T-Team!
N 50° 58.719 E 005° 39.490
31U E 686594 N 5650815
This pedestrian footbridge (also used by bicycles) can be found crossing the N763 in the nature area Mechelse Hei
Waymark Code: WM18GNM
Location: Limburg, Belgium
Date Posted: 08/01/2023
Views: 2
Just south of this wooden pedestrian suspensiionbridge you can find the beautiful Mechelse Hei national park. We were here to do a great multi geocache from 2005. Really worthwhile doing: (
visit link)
About the Mechelse Hei:
"The Mechelse Heide is a nature reserve between As and Mechelen-aan-de-Maas. The area is located on the eastern edge of the Kempens Plateau and is approximately 700 ha in size and is part of the Hoge Kempen National Park.
In 1967, the area was designated a nature reserve. Around 2000, a busy motorway that ran right through this area was closed to motorized traffic. The area is managed by the Agency for Nature and Forests. The soil consists of loamy sand with peat here and there. The area is European protected as part of a Natura 2000 area (Habitats Directive area BE2200035 and overlapping Birds Directive area BE2200727 'Mechelse heath and valley of the Ziepbeek').
There is a large heathland in the center of this area. In addition to the rare red heather, there are many types of gorse. Typical breeding birds are the tree pipit, the stonechat and the nightjar. Other animal species that can be found there are the smooth snake, the heather butterfly and the saddle locust. In addition to heathland, coniferous forests can also be found here.
A number of sand and gravel pits are found in the vicinity of the area. It concerns an area of ??346 ha, divided into a northern and a southern part. After excavation, these areas will be redeveloped as a nature reserve, where an agricultural conversion was originally envisaged.
A selection of a number of ice floe erratics can be seen on the Mechelse Heide. During gravel extraction, these blocks were ground."
Source: (
visit link)