Magic of the Savelsbos Forest
Impressive limestone formations, created by millions of years of accumulation of calcareous remains of marine animals, give the forest a mysterious character with their weathered shapes and richly vegetated surfaces and invite visitors to imagine a world full of myths and legends.
The changing of the seasons adds a poetic dimension to the area, which enhances the magical feeling.
Especially when sunlight falls through the leaves or shreds of mist hang between the trees, the Savelsbos forest takes on something elusive, as if the landscape is constantly transforming and is never completely of this world.
What makes the Savelsbos even more mystical are not only the rugged rock walls and caves, but also the traces of ancient habitation and civilization. People have lived here since prehistoric times. The flint mines and archaeological artefacts they left behind are still visible.
This historic presence, combined with the impressive limestone quarry landscape and unique flora and fauna, gives the forest area a timeless feel, as if the stones hold secrets formed over the centuries and never quite forgotten.
Forest dwellers
Where the forest slopes whisper into shadow and moss, the badgers live. Invisible to those who pass by, but those who look patiently discover the silent tracks: narrow paths, worn trails that for generations have connected the secrets of their burrows with the places where food awaits. Sometimes, right next to the path, small holes in the earth mark their presence – the so-called latrines, as if the badger has left its mark on the forest.
But the badgers aren't the only ones who have made this forest their domain.
Deer glide like shadows through the twilight, martens prowl like shadows along the trunks, and wild boars stir in the darkness. Rare insects and amphibians live among the leaves and puddles, each with its own hidden world.
And then, like a shimmering secret of wood and night: the stag beetle. This giant among beetles, rare and protected, regularly shows itself here, in that mysterious part of the Savelsbos where this story unfolds.
