Windmills in North Brabant

The Netherlands has over 1200 windmills and many of these are working windmills. You don’t have to travel far to see one!  We are often asked if there are any windmills close to our featured parks and in particular in the North Brabant province where lots of our featured places to stay are (for example Beekse Bergen, Efteling, the Kaatsheuvel parks, TerSpegelt, Landal Het Vennenbos, FarmCamps Breehees and FarmCamps Smulhoeve).

With the help of our friends at VisitBrabant we have put together a list of 20 windmills you can visit in this region, together with a map below. These are all between a 5 and 30 minute drive from our featured places to stay and most are a cyclable distance from them too. These windmills tend to be open to the public on Saturdays or when a blue flag is flying. If you’re staying at EuroParcs Kaatsheuvel there’s even a restaurant inside a windmill, just a 10 minute walk away!

De Doornboom – Hilvarenbeek (dates from 1856) If you’re staying at Beekse Bergen there is a windmill in Hilvarenbeek town, just a 10 minute drive from Beekse Bergen. The windmill is just under a 10 minute walk from the “Vrijthof” area where you can find several restaurants and terraces overlooking the open green and the old church. Open Saturdays 10h00-17h00 by appointment.

“Naamloze” Molen van Moergestel – Moergestel: (dates from 1852). This is 15 mins from Beekse Bergen and we feature a villa with a pool there too. Open Saturdays by appointment.

De Visscher – Goirle: (dates from 1875). This is 15 mins from Beekse Bergen and under 10 mins from FarmCamps Breehees. Open Saturday mornings from 10h00.

De Wilde – Goirle: (dates from 1898). 10-15 mins from Beekse Bergen and under 10 mins from FarmCamps Breehees. Open Saturday mornings from 10h00. This is in the middle of the Mill park where you can enjoy a nice walk or visit the animal meadow.

Zandeind – Riel: (dates from 1837). 10 mins from Beekse Bergen.  This is no longer a working mill.

Just 30 mins drive from Beekse Bergen or 15 mins from Kaatsheuvel is the star-shaped fortified town of Heusden. Here you can find 3 windmills as well as a boating marina, old cobbled streets and a fab pancake house in the Vismarkt called “de Pannekoekenbakker”.

I – Heusden: (dates from 1971). Open most weekends, by appointment.

II – Heusden: (dates from 1973). Also called Standaardmolen Heusden. Open most Saturdays, by appointment.

III – Heusden: (dates from 1975). Open when the mill is running and by appointment.

De Twee Gebroeders – Wijk en Aalburg: (dates from 1872). 20 mins from Efteling, 35 mins from Beekse Bergen). Open most days apart from Sundays.

Molen te Hapert (dates from 1898) is just a 5 minute drive from Landal Het Vennenbos or 10 mins from TerSpegelt and is a working corn mill dating from around 1898. Open 1st and 3rd Saturday of the month, by appointment (10h00-16h00).

“Naamloze“ Molen van Bergeijk – Bergeijk: (dates from 1758), 20 mins from Landal Het Vennenbos, and 15 mins from TerSpegelt. Open Saturdays 10h00-16h00.

De Deen – Luyksgestel: (dates from 1839),  20 mins from Landal Het Vennenbos, and 15 mins from TerSpegelt. Open when the blue flag is flying!

De Grenswachter – Luyksgestel: (dates from 1891), 20 mins from Landal Het Vennenbos, and 15 mins from TerSpegelt. Open Wednesdays and Saturdays (10h00-16h00). You can learn how to bake the local delicacies at the bakery museum next door.

Sint Antonius Abt – Valkenswaard: (dates from 1865), 25 mins from Landal Het Vennenbos and TerSpegelt. Open Wednesday and Saturday 11h00-16h00. This is 1 of 3 mills in Valkenswaard and home to the mill markets which take place in the summer months.

De Heimolen – Leende: (dates from the early 2000s), 30 mins from Landal Het Vennenbos and TerSpegelt. Open to the public by appointment.

Emma Molen (dates from 1886) is a lovely windmill in a beautiful location by a nature reserve, 15 mins from Heusden and 15 mins from Efteling. It has a restaurant and bakery as well as activities such a baking your own ‘worstenbroodje’  or a guided visit to the windmill and bakery.

Kildonkse Molen (dates from the middle ages but has been restored in the early 2000s). A unique mill as it is both a water mill and windmill. Here you can also find a restaurant, guided tours and other activities such as like boat trips, canoe-trips. Kildonkse Molen is just 10 mins from Heeswijk Castle (35 mins from Beekse Bergen and Efteling and 40 mins from Landal Het Vennenbos and TerSpegelt).

Roosdonck Windmill (dates from 1884) (40 mins from Landal Het Vennenbos, TerSpegelt and Beekse Bergen). Open by appointment.

The last 2 are watermills rather than a windmills but are special because they are also a ‘Van Gogh monument’ (Van Gogh has painted it).

– Opwettense Watermolen. (dates from 1765) It has a great restaurant and terrace and is just 10 mins from central Eindhoven! (30 mins from Landal Het Vennenbos and TerSpegelt).

–The Watermill at Kollen.(35 mins from Landal Het Vennenbos and TerSpegelt)

A bit further afield you can visit the World Heritage Kinderdijk windmills near Dordrecht and Rotterdam, just under an hour from the Beekse Bergen/Efteling area. These were built in the 18th century as a flood management system to pump water and keep the land dry, but have since become an iconic symbol of the Netherlands.

We’d love to see your windmill photos if you take any on your travels!