Juneathon Day 4: Panbos
Around 7 pm the rain finally moved inland and as I was thinking about how much concrete/paved road my knees can have tonight, I suddenly remembered how I used to enjoy the long walks with April. Back when she could walk and run well we used to go geocaching a lot. So there came an idea: why not to return to some of the splendid wild sand dunes areas but a bit faster this time? In a few minutes I was ready to go. Since V is out there with her tennis club tonight, nobody did the shopping. They only edible items I could find were 4 hard old gummi bear. I grabbed them and left the house.
The entrance to the Pan van Persijn area is about 15 minutes driving from our house and the landscape is everything but flat and boring. This is where the trail starts:
About 2 km further it passes a rather impressive wall of concrete which is the remaining bit of the WWII Transatlantic Wall, the former 2600 km long defence wall that Germans built between 1942-44 to protect ‘their’ new territory against the anticipated Allied invasion:
After a piece of history, a bit further I bumped into tiny houses of the local inhabitants (unfortunately nobody was at home):
Then suddenly the path took me out of the forest and I continued running through the sand dunes. No music in my ears, just me and the path – there was so much to look at all the time:
My feet were enjoying the soft surface, no knee pain at all. I guess for the first time in weeks I will finally suffer from good old muscle ache – no sore joints for a change. At the end of the trail I returned to the forest again. I wanted to run further but something was telling it is better to stop when it feels the best – I can always return to Panbos for further exploration.
April Runs 
Beautiful
It surely was worth a short drive. I was just too stupid not to think about that place earlier as I never ran there.
what a gorgeous place!
It is indeed – and it is pretty close to you as well.
I put it on my list and found the walking trails. it’s okay to run there? I don’t want to end up in “violation”.
I haven’t come across any sign forbidding it. And at the parking lot, I saw another person in running gear, getting ready to take the trail. At the entrance, there is an entrance fee machine though.