Impressive forest areas in the Bruges countryside

Just south of Bruges, you'll find beautiful nature. Around Oostkamp, the starting point of your bike ride, for example, lies the Zuidleie Valley. As early as the 13th century, excavation began in this valley for the Ghent-Bruges canal, one of the oldest in the country. On both sides of the canal lie valuable nature reserves and ancient meanders of the historic Zuidleie. Suytleye, Leye, and Reie are medieval names for the small river that once formed the headwaters of the now world-famous Bruges canals. Further along the route, you'll pass through Lippensgoed-Bulskampveld, with its vast deciduous and coniferous forests and impressive avenues. This provincial domain, covering an impressive 232 hectares, is part of the largest public green space in West Flanders. Until the 18th century, this was a desolate heathland; after that, the rugged 'Bulnas Campas' was reclaimed. With its patches of heathland, fields, and meadows, it's a truly diverse park, with a 19th-century neo-Gothic castle as its radiant centerpiece. In 1904, the estate came into the possession of the noble Lippens family, who commissioned the creation of the surrounding castle park. Here you'll see impressive old trees and a walled vegetable garden, which has been transformed into a unique herb garden with some 400 varieties. Around the garden, you'll also find a carriage repair shop and its vehicles. Just past Loca Labora, a sheltered workshop with an educational vegetable garden and organic farm, you can take a detour to the castle, which now serves as a visitor center. So be sure to stop off; it's worth a look around! Various patches of nature here form a vast, fragmented map of nature. Just past Maria-Aalter, for example, you'll cycle through Blekkerbos, a deciduous forest with many oaks, beeches, and sweet chestnuts. Until the 17th century, it was an extension of the Bulskampveld, but today it's a beautiful, self-contained forest of some 350 hectares. If you happen to pass by here in the autumn, the fall colors are a magnificent sight! On the village square of Maria-Aalter, you'll find a giant lacemaker and a beet harvester with a machete – sculptures that evoke the harsh outdoor life and seasonal labor of the past. Blekkervijver Castle, now the Saint Stanislas Asylum of the Brothers of Charity, is also worth mentioning, if only for its location in a beautiful estate with avenues and a pond. On the way back, you'll pass through the magnificent Lippensgoed-Bulskampveld again, with its lovely woodland avenues. It's incredible that you find such beautifully preserved nature here, just a stone's throw from Bruges!