Bike tour along hops and the border

A beautiful and challenging bike tour around Poperinge, where we explore the border region, visit some war memorials, cross the IJzer, and cycle through the forests. In the first and last part, we follow the Hoppeland cycling route.

We start at the Grote Markt of the hop town Poperinge. The town hall with its slender turrets immediately catches the eye. In an adjacent building, there is the tourist information center. Opposite stands the Sint-Bertinus Church, the main church of the town.
We cycle along the Vleterbeek out of the city towards the Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery. With 10,700 fallen soldiers from various countries, this is one of the most impressive cemeteries of the First World War. Then we cycle towards France to the border village of Abele. The French-Belgian border literally divides the village into two halves. After a small ascent, we reach the Helleketel forest. Here you might discover (in complete silence) a squirrel or a deer. We set course for Watou, a lively border village during the art festival in the summer months. Next, we head to the border in the picturesque Haringe and the neighboring village of Roesbrugge. Here, we cross the IJzer Bridge to Beveren-aan-de-IJzer, the furthest point of our tour. We return on rural roads, crossing the pedestrian bridge over the IJzer towards Stavele. Through the Eversambos, we cycle to Oostvleteren. Now we follow various forest areas: Sint-Sixtus Forest (with the abbey of the same name and the beer), Dozinghembos (with a moving British military cemetery), Canada Wood, and the beautiful landscape park and castle De Lovie, a large facility for people with intellectual disabilities. Along hop fields, we cycle back to Poperinge.

Route planning bike - Nodes