Benedensas

The area of de Slikken van de Heen and the Dintelse Gorzen are ideal for hiking. You can walk there via the little bridge over the locks of Benedensas. In this former tidal zone at the estuary of the Steenbergsche Vliet you will find Scottish highland cattle and wild shetland ponies and you can hear the swamp birds like the small reedwarbler sing. Several types of waterbirds that eat here and the rich vegetation with fresh and salt loving plants keep surprising the visitors over and over again. Those who want to know all about it can engage in an excursion of Natuurmonumenten.

Cultural history

The lock in the lock complex Benedensas dates from 1824. In 1884, a sluice was built next to the lock and was expanded in 1913. The whole complex is unique in The Netherlands. It was the second hydraulic structure that was placed on the list of monuments. This means that Monumentenzorg takes care of the area en the contributed to the renovation of the complex, begin 1960’s. When the Philipsdam closed, the locks were no longer in use and the cultural-historical value of the area remained. The German bunker tells another historical story; although it’s far away from the coastline, it used to be a piece of the Atlantikwall. The living room style restaurant Beneden Sas is now located in the former barge house.

Hiking and biking

Benedensas isn’t only a cultural-historical monument, it is also included in the network of Brabantse Natuurpoorten as a starting point for many biking and hiking routes in the area around it. In the high season, you can travel by ferry to Ooltgensplaat, Dinteloord and Heijningen (Dintelmond). Here you can experience the Krammer and the Volkenrak in a whole other way.