The dunes and polders between Ostend and Uitkerke

This route takes you through the dunes and through the beautiful natural landscape of the Uitkerkse Polder. You cycle from De Haan to Bredene-aan-Zee. Bredene has no sea wall, but an uninterrupted row of dunes. It is a popular place among campers: in the beautiful dune area of the municipality of Bredene you will find no fewer than 30 campsites. In Bredene you can visit the Heemkundig Museum Turkeyenhof, dedicated to the history of Bredene and the surrounding area. The museum farm consists of a house, bakehouse, barn, wagon shed and doghouse. You can admire Gallo-Roman finds, old utensils, shells and fossils, fished up along the Flemish coast. Lighthouse Lange Nelle is the lighthouse of Ostend, one of the four still working lighthouses on the Belgian coast. The slender lighthouse with its striking blue-white colors rises 65 meters above the sea and has 324 steps. You cycle through the port area of Ostend and then exchange buildings for a beautiful natural landscape in the Uitkerkse Polders nature reserve. This largest nature reserve in West Flanders consists of meadows with drinking pools, many canals and beautiful reed beds. It is an important meadow bird area. In the spring you will find hundreds of courting meadow birds such as the godwit, lapwing, avocet, redshank and oystercatcher. In winter, the gray goose, pink-footed goose and white-fronted goose find their permanent home there. It is a landscape with low-lying saline grasslands - where brackish water bubbles up to the surface - and higher-lying fatty grasslands: the ingredients for a unique ecosystem with special plants and animals.