Gnome Trail Almbos

Unfortunately, this walking route is currently incomplete because the wooden clogs are being refurbished. The Almbos is, of course, still accessible as usual. As soon as the route is restored to its former condition, we’ll let you know here.

Investigate and find the gnome children's nuggets

One day, Gnome Clogmaker was hard at work with a large order of gnome clogs in all kinds of cheerful colors. It was gnome school vacation and his children were bored. He made some extra nuggets and decided to set out a fun route in the forest for his children and their friends so they would have something fun to do. He marked the route with the brightly colored nuggets and at each stop he made up an assignment. The assignments were fun and educational for the gnome children; after all, they must be very good at running, recognizing trees and knowing a lot about the environment. The children spent the entire vacation playing in nature, and Gnome Clogmaker was finally able to finish his work.

The gnome vacation is over, but the route is still there, for another vacation. And good news, the kids in Altena get to use the trail all year, too. Will you join us?

In cooperation with Brabants Landschap.

Starting point: Parking lot intersection Wilgenhof/Parallelweg Giessen

Find the nugget with the correct number and perform the tasks below there:

1. Who is the fastest, left or right?
Will it be left or will it be right? Pick a side and find out which of you is fastest. 3, 2, 1... GO!

2. Over the hills
How adventurous are you? Find the path through the hills and go over them. Listen carefully! Can you hear the leaves in the wind?

3. Find the trees in love
Trees, too, sometimes fall in love! Some trees hold each other's roots under the ground, and others give each other a hug above the ground. Can you find the trees in love in the Almbos ? It's an alder and an elm.

4. Time for a game
Guess the tree - Close your eyes, and let yourself be taken to a tree. Feel, smell: is the tree thick, thin, does moss grow on it, is it wet, what kind of smell does it have? Ready? Let yourself be taken back to the path. Open your eyes again - can you now discover which tree it was?

Are you with 3 or more people? Then you can play tree swapping. Everyone stands by a tree, except the ticker. He stands in the middle. Then you switch trees: you make eye contact with someone at another tree, and then run fast to each other's tree. But be careful! If you're not near a tree, the ticker may tap you. If you succeed, you become the ticker. Play until you are tired.

5. Tracking
Gnomes are great trackers. How about you? Do you see tracks in the forest? Footprints, scratch and gnaw marks, half-eaten plants, nuts or pine cones, or maybe a tuft of fur? Which animal do you think the track belongs to? And while you're tracking, where would you hide if you were a gnome?

6. Pause and look for leaves
Look for leaves on the ground and put them on the table from small to big. Do you know which tree or bush they belong to? See how big the trees are here? That's a great place to play hide and seek.

7. At the circus
You can learn to balance! Walk across this tube.

8. Listen carefully
Gnomes are not only good at tracking, they also have very good ears. Can you be very quiet? Can you hear which animals live here? With your eyes closed you can listen even better.

9. Aged tree
This thick tree is a hornbeam. The wood of hornbeams is very hard. So hard that they used to make wheels, which is why they are called wheel trees. Because this tree is so thick, we think it is very old, but we don't know exactly how old. How old do you think the tree is? What would this tree have been through?

10. Spot the kingfisher
The kingfisher is a striking bird because of its blue and orange appearance. Can you find one? When they fly by you only see a 'blue stripe'. Many birds make their nest from branches and fluff, but did you know that the kingfisher digs tunnels at least half a meter deep? This is where the female lays her eggs. Sit on the bench and peer at the water, maybe you'll get lucky and a kingfisher will pass by. Not seen one? Then be sure to come back again!

Walk this gnome trail at your own risk.