Art and comics in Westende

Appointment at the Arthur Meynneplein (V) in Westende. Cross the intersection and cycle with the Sint-Laurentiuskerk on your left and restaurant De Lanteirne on your right towards junction 81. After hotel Westendia, turn left into the Doornstraat. At the first intersection you are at junction 81. Turn right, direction 80. Cross the Coastal Road and continue cycling to the sea. • Now you start on a strip of more than 8 km along the coast. You love it or you hate it, but this is typically Belgian. First you cycle past a parking lot, then along Westende-Bad. With the beach and the North Sea on your left and an impressive row of high-rise buildings on the right. At Grand Hotel Belle Vue, the artwork Windkracht 04 – I can hear it 1 attracts attention and a little further on you can see the Caterpillar #5bis 2. Continue cycling along the Warandeduinen to Middelkerke-Bad, with opop2 new impressive high-rise buildings, now with many shops and restaurants. Images of well-known Belgian cartoon characters brighten up the whole. At the statue of Suske and Wiske you are at junction 80. Continue cycling straight ahead, towards 52. • Past the Casino of Middelkerke you still have to brave a strip of high-rise buildings, but once past the statue of Urbanus you cycle parallel to the coastal tram. Domain Raversijde comes as a breath of fresh air. Just for a moment, because just past the agglomeration sign of Ostend, the high-rise starts again. Just past the tram stop of Raversijde you come to junction 52. Away from the coastline Straight ahead it goes to Ostend, but enough high-rise buildings for today. Cross the tram tracks via the sasje for cyclists and pedestrians and cycle into the Middenlaan, direction 16, away from the coast. At the first intersection, take the Duinenweg on the right and cycle back towards Middelkerke, along the other side of domain Raversijde and some bungalow parks. At Park Pollentier 1, turn left into Kalkaartweg and continue cycling until the roundabout on the N318. • On the other side, continue towards Leffinge. On the left in the fields is the farm Klein Kalkaertsleen. A little further you cycle past the walled farm Groot Kalkaertsleen 3 to junction 16 at the Flerikskothoeve. Turn right, direction 15. Past the nameplate of Wilskerke you come to junction 15. Turn left, direction 19. Via the winding Wilskerkestraat you drive through the flat polder landscape and past the Caiphashoeve to junction 19, on the Plassendale-Nieuwpoort canal. Turn left, past the Leffinge agglomeration sign until junction 18 on the Leffinge bridge. • Cross the canal and continue cycling towards 50 and Slijpe. When you cycle out of Leffinge, take the road to Zevekote on the left and then the first road on the right, the Cuyleweg. You will pass the Cuylhoeve, 't Donkermaneschijnhof from 1779 and the somewhat back farm Ter Weiden. Past the picturesque white Vinkennest you approach the center of Slijpe. Via the Gistelstraat and the Monnikenstraat you cycle to the Diksmuidestraat. Holiday farms Cross this busy road via a sas for cyclists and still follow the Monnikenstraat on the other side to junction 50. Turn left, direction 21. You cycle through the Tempelhofstraat, past holiday farm Nieuw Tempelhof and just before you cross the E40 past the Groot Tempelhof. On the other side, the road narrows and you continue cycling to junction 21. Follow the Zwarteweg to the left, direction 22. You cycle past holiday farm Het Zwaluwnest and arrive at the Diksmuide-Ostend road. • Cross it and continue winding along a narrow asphalt road, nicely flanked by a row of trees, until you reach junction 22. Turn left to junction 23. You now cycle over Bazelaar between the meadows and the pollard willows until, past a large barn and with a view of a busier road, you can turn left into a dead end road. Cross the Klein Bazelaargeleed over wheels2 and continue cycling on a narrow path between the fields. • At the end you end up in the bend of an asphalt road. Straight ahead, past 't Hooghof with a beautiful white chapel to the church of Zevekote. Cycle past the church, direction Gistel. Just past the cemetery next door, turn right at junction 23, direction 24. At the end of the street turn left and then right into the Pastoriestraat. At the T-junction with the mirrors turn left. At the end of the Schoolstraat follow the Sperestraat to the right, winding out of the village. • At junction 24, ignore the path through the fields on the left and continue cycling straight ahead, towards 52. Where it goes straight on unpaved, turn right into Pereboomstraat. Past the Speershof and a beautiful chapel you come to a T-junction. Turn right and keep left at the road junction immediately afterwards. You meander around the church of Zande and go back into the polders. Ignore all side roads and follow the Dweersstraat to the end, with junction 52. Follow Kapellestraat to the left, direction 53. • At the first intersection turn right into Korkentapstraat. It turns into the Moerstraat and at junction 53 you cycle straight ahead, towards 25. A little further on the right into the Dwarsstraat. Past the Mote and a bunker and just past the Blauwe Steenputhoeve turn left into the Laagvlaktestraat. It runs through the Laagvlakte, a low-lying polder, drained by the Lekedijkgeleed. Along the Vladslovaart Continue to the crossroads at the inn Kruiskalsyde with junction 25. Turn right, direction 54. On the T you see the church of Leke on the right. Turn left, direction Schore. Just before the Vijvermolenbeek turn right into the dead-end Speyestraat, no problem for cyclists. Follow the stream to Oostendestraat. Cross and follow the Kaaidijkstraat, still along the Vijvermolenbeek. • At the entrance of a farm, follow the Kaaidijkstraat to the right, away from the stream. Cross the Lekevaart and follow it to the left through the Hunckevlietstraat. You cycle past the pumping station De Zilveren Speye 4, founded in 1980 as part of the spermalie land consolidation and continue to follow the canal until the N367. On the right is the historic Spermaliehoeve 5. Cross the road and continue cycling to junction 54. Always straight ahead, direction 1. Past a picnic area and 't Hoefijzerhof and via the Bus bridge over the Vladslovaart. Continue along the Busbrughof, a modern farm and the charming white house Ter Vere. Continue following the Zwarteweg until junction 1. Turn right, direction 11. • Cross the highway further on and keep following the Vladslovaart, past a picnic area and past the bridge to pig farm Congohof. A little further on, a second bridge leads to farm De Koude Schuur. The canal turns away from the road and a little further you come to junction 11. On the corner is the Reigersvliethof, where iron statues are for sale. • Turn left, direction 13 until the Plassendale-Nieuwpoort canal. Cross via the Rattevalle bridge and cycle past grill-tearoom Rattevalle (with ten beers from the barrel), into the Loviestraat until junction 13. Turn left, direction 12, into the Ooststraat and left again into the Schuddebeurzeweg. Beyond 't Reigersoord, where you can go to Betty for fresh farm products. On the right you can see the skyline of the Belgian coast. Just past the agglomeration sign of Westende you reach junction 12. Turn right, direction 81. The Hofstraat takes you back to the starting point.