Polder walking route in Wulpen

From the parking lot, we walk left towards the center of Oostduinkerke-Dorp. At bakery Kapelhof, we turn right towards NAVIGO National Fisheries Museum (1). The renewed museum is definitely worth a visit. Interesting in its diversity, with the North Sea as the central theme.

Fishermen's families

We turn left around the memorial monument for the Iceland voyagers. If you walk past the memorial stones, you often see the same family names recurring. In the streets of the center, we wander through a cacophony of architectural styles, from the 1970s to now, with a rare exception of a fisherman’s house from the late 19th century. Once across the Koksijdesteenweg, the wide polders open up.

The birds of prey that seem to fly low to the ground are actually three scarecrows on a flexible stick. A flock of carrion crows occupies the field next to it. On the Burgweg, we walk past the Koksijde Airbase. It was the Germans in World War II who seized the farmland to build an airport.

Beautiful resting place

The Nieuwpoort-Dunkirk Canal was dug in the 1630s by hundreds of workers at once. Every cyclist passing us on the Conterdijk smells like laundry detergent. We have walked 10,957 steps according to a sign at the Wulpen Bridge. Here we go left up the stairs, then descend the stairs on the other side.

We cross the Veurnekeiweg and continue straight ahead on a tiled path along a half-dried ditch full of reeds and songbirds. A little further on, we come across a beautiful resting place, featuring the Willibrordus Chapel and well (2) at its center. A bit unfortunate for Garembertus, a hermit from Wulpen who was initially venerated here. He founded the Abbey of Mont-Saint-Martin in northern France in 1134, near the source of the Scheldt. Willibrordus, on the other hand, is much older, from the 7th century, but better known as a saint. Behind the 'well' is a grassy area with benches. To reach the center of Wulpen, we follow the Willibrordus path between the fields.

Whale bones

In the triangular Village Square, it is eerily quiet. Wulpen has been a settlement since the early Middle Ages. Along the Kortestraat, we reach the Wulpendijk neighborhood, where we cross the canal via the Florizoone Bridge (3). The bridge is named after Alberic Florizoone, a honey lover and the founder of Melipretpark, now Plopsaland. His half-brother Albert founded Bellewaerde.

Various golfers are hitting balls at the Koksijde Golf ter Hille (4), which opened in 2014. Excavations here uncovered whale bones among the remains of 10th and 11th-century farms. This proves that farmers were already hunting whales in the northern waters at that time.

In the meadow next to the educational farm 'Het Trekpaard', several Brabantian draft horses graze, known from shrimp fishing on horseback. A few riding horses are also present. It is being investigated whether a cross between the two could yield a horse with better stamina.

Via the Golf Path, we return to parking Hazebeek. Those taking this walk with a dog will find an off-leash area diagonally opposite the skate park of the Hazebeek sports hall. (Marijn Follebout, 26-03-2025)