Hamme : Nature reserve de Schelde/Durmevallei 17 km or 2 x 8,5 km

10/10/2019

Parking and departures from on Driegoten, Hamme also the berth of the ferry. A walk through the Scheldt and Durme valley nature reserve first a loop towards the Bunt, a nature reserve where the Durme flows into the Scheldt, created by excavating peat and the banks of the Durme with its river-fed willow bushes, salt marshes and mudflats that give everything a natural character. The second loop via the Lippenbroek, a polder from the Scheldt estuary (where fresh river water and salty seawater flow together, also called brackish) and now used as a controlled flood area, to Akkershoofd and Grootbroek, Vrouwenbroek and the Flushed Well. Due to the Sigma plan, a new ring dike was built in 2018 to create a flood zone, unfortunately two hiking trails have disappeared as a result. With this, the first loop runs a little more on the paved towpath but with a nice view of the Scheldt and Durme. The second loop runs on many unpaved roads, a part below the dike of the towpath and a second part unpaved on the Koning Albertdijk. For those who are 17 km too much, the loops can be walked separately.