Attracting Marke

Attracting Marke
We are exploring a green part of Marke that is still in development. We walk through the Preshoek forest, let the visual panoramas appeal to the imagination, relax along the borders of the Leie and enjoy the pieces of nature in the Oude Leiearm 't Schrijverke. Our walk winds up, down through the Leie Valley. On the Keizerberg we rise up to 50 meters above sea level, after which we slowly descend to the borders of the Leie (15 meters above sea level). We walk on large areas of unpaved land. Good walking shoes are recommended. The promenade is about 10 km long. There are many benches along the way. We are stimulated for 2 hours – not counting the residence time in one of the occasions in the village square.

1. We start our walk in the village square of Marke. We take the street, which is to the right of the Sint-Jan café, the Van Belleghemdreef. After about 100 meters we pass the park of the neo-Gothic castle Blommeghem (the park is freely accessible). We leave the park on the right and exit the driveway.

2. We find ourselves at a five-lane intersection, a concrete desert. With the necessary caution (Marke is also not free of speed demons), we continue walking about straight into the Poorterstraat. After about twenty meters, we turn into the quiet A. Vesaliusstraat. We leave K. Plantijnstraat on the right and then reach Preshoekstraat.

3. To our right are the stables of the Saeftinghe equestrian club. We turn right into the Preshoekstraat and cross the zebra passage to the equestrian club. Almost immediately after the equestrian club, we turn left into the Markebekepad.

4. At the pond we keep to the right. We follow the path that runs along the backyards of the houses of the Preshoekstraat. We leave the path the moment it tilts 90 degrees to the right. We swung 90 degrees to the left. We walk to a newly built bridge over the Markebeek. We cross the bridge. In the distance we notice the Keizerberg with a 19th century farmhouse with white facades. This farm is known as "poor leuth" because it once housed an inn with that name. We also have a view on the development of the nascent Preshoek forest.

5. We follow the path until we reach a wide dirt road, which leads to a farm (Pieter Casierstraat). We turn right towards the farm and then take a wide strip of grass to the left at the height of a wooden barrel. After about fifty meters we return to a wooden barracks. We turn a country road to the right.

6. The country road turns into a narrow, paved strip. On a bench, we stay on the left and continue towards the house with the white façade (the poor lute). We meet in the Watervalstraat. We stay on the left and keep going up.

7. At the "Watervalstraat" road sign, we turn right into the Beginnestraat, a cobbled street. The Beginnestraat rises higher and finally flows into the Keizerstraat. We enter the Keizerstraat on the right until we come across an information panel (on the right) of the Preshoekbos (just after a white villa).

8. A narrow path leads us directly into the Preshoek forest. We pass a metal entrance hatch. The path winds through the forest to finally end up at the top of a meadow. Here we have a grandiose view of the Leie Valley and a labyrinth of highways that limit the Preshoek Forest. The path runs along a bench and leaves shelter for livestock. Be careful when approaching animals (ponies). In the lower we see a narrow concrete road on the left. We lean left, cross the grille and follow the narrow concrete road that will take us along the A17.

9. We immediately notice the noise from the highway. Noise pollution is a common complaint among Mark's residents. Politics often turns a deaf ear to such noise problems. As soon as the path clears the forest plantations, we get a beautiful panorama of the Keizerberg and its surroundings on the right. The straight strip of water, which slowly cuts into the ground, is the Markebeek. We continue to follow the concrete road and leave a path along a young forest planted on the right. When the concrete road oscillates almost 90 degrees to the right, we continue walking straight on a road until we arrive just after a nut near a tunnel in the Preshoekstraat. There is even green artificial grass on a bridge over a drainage. Those who missed this exit following the concrete road will find the Preshoekbos information panel on the left. Either you come back or you enter the Preshoekstraat on the left. We then quickly see the tunnel.

10. We ignore the tunnel and cross the Preshoekstraat. The path takes us through a field and a layer of shrubs that hides the berm of the A17. Through a wooden bridge, we cross a drainage and see in front of us a young plantation of pedunculate oak. The wide strip of grass takes us right in front of a residential area. Over time, plantings begin to vary more and more. We leave a pool on the right and continue to follow the wide strip of grass. Finally, we arrive at a bareel, the Rekkemsestraat.

11. We follow the bike path to the right. We ignore Gladiator Street. Just after the Leonidas sign, we cross the Rekkemsestraat on the left and finish in the Pontestraat.

12. The Pontestraat runs along a clay excavation. At the level crossing we have a beautiful view of the Leie valley and the archaic industrial area of Wevelgem. Just above the level crossing, we leave the Pontestraat and turn left onto a road with pebbles.

13. The road runs parallel to the railway line. After a few meters, we have grass under our feet. We pass in front of a wooden barracks. The road takes us back to the A17. The road turns right, towards the Lys. We continue to follow the road and thus get the Alpro tower on the other side of the Leie in sight. On the right, we pass a garden with a bunch of exotic animals (kangaroos, alpacas, ...). We find ourselves under the bridge of the A17 and cross a pile of scrap metal. We turn right and have a view of a road along the banks of the Leie. On the left, on the other side of the Leie, is the Wevelgem Industrial Park.

14. We continue walking along the Leie for some time until we notice two signs on the right: Prikkelpad and "Twee beken wandelroute". At the top is a railway line with the buildings of NV Vandewiele behind it. We take the Prikkelpad and enter a piece of wet nature.

15. A few steps between the bush layer guide us to a higher and drier part. The giant horsetail grows here with exuberance. Slowly, we rise through a motley collection of shrubs and shrubs. Once at the top, along the railway line, the bush is dominated by the black thorn.

16. At the height of a swimming pool, we keep left (follow the Prikkelpad sign) and go down until we meet a paved road. We turn left into the street, ignore the Leieweg on the right and come to a designer sofa near the nature reserve 't Schrijvertje.

17. However, we continue walking towards the Leie and take the path to the right on the banks of the Leie. We follow the banks of the Leie until we notice a Prikkelpad sign on the right.

18. We turn right into the forest and pass a large pond (note the cattail, reeds, yellow lily and water play). The path leads us to the Way of the Earth.

19. We follow the Aardweg, ignore all the side streets and end up returning to the Rekkemsestraat through a railway tunnel. We take a step a few meters to the right and then cross the street near the MeGusta store. We meet in the Markekerkstraat. We continue to follow this street until we finally arrive at the village square.

This promenade was designed by Bernard Decock. Photos Bernard Decock.

This walk originally appeared in Ivy, Volume 25 Number 4.
Ivy is the magazine member of Natuur.koepel asbl. More info: http://www.natuurkoepel.be