Plateaux Hageven

Boundaries blur in Hageven-De Plateaux, a Dutch-Belgian nature reserve. A walk here leads through
woods and heathland and past fens and ingenious water meadows, a water system from the early
nineteenth century.
De Plateaux
De Plateaux is a partially wooded heathland area. The water meadows are located near the Dutch-
Belgian border and are hay fields that have long been irrigated with (calcareous) Meuse water,
through an extensive system of gullies and channels. These (culturally) historic water meadows,
forests and footpaths past heathland and fens make for a truly memorable walk. The winding paths
will take you to and across the border between Belgium and the Netherlands with no prior warning.
Without realising, you just might find yourself on the other side!
Hageven
Hageven is a mosaic made up of different types of nature. The flanks and tops of the dunes are the
driest parts of the area. Nowadays the sand does not disperse the way it used to, as grey hairgrasses
and bristly haircap mosses have largely fixed the sand.
The Turfven is a remnant of a ring fen, an extremely rare type of fen. In the past the peat that
accumulated in the Turfven was extracted and used as fuel. Sand extraction near the fen has created

a second pool, which is connected to the original fen. Both water bodies were used as fishing ponds
for many years, but as of 2004 the focus of area management has been on restoring the raised bog
ecology. The surrounding hay meadows are being transformed into heathland grasslands, an ideal
habitat for dragonflies and butterflies.
Natuurpunt's Hageven visitor centre makes for an excellent base of operation to explore this special
nature reserve. 
Tip
The Hubert Lehaen Trail (1.5 km) is wheelchair accessible, and the Tweelanden Trail (9.7 km) is also
accessible with prams.