WALKING POINT Westhoek De Panne

The nature reserve

The nature reserve De Westhoek is located on the border with France, in the far west of West Flanders.

The Westhoek has been a nature reserve since 1935, one of the oldest in Belgium. Together with the Calmeynbos, the Dune du Perroquet, the Dune Marchant and the North Sea beach, the Westhoek forms one large walking area.

This dune landscape is very varied. It consists of several belts that follow each other when you go inland from the sea:

- First there is the wet beach, which is subject to ebb and flow. This is followed by the dry beach, which is flooded by the sea only at spring tide. The beach here can be up to 450 meters wide at low tide.

- The dune belt forms a hill that is maintained by marram grass.

- Behind these dunes, the terrain descends to the pan belt: a low area overgrown with grass, sea buckthorn and creeping willows. The lowest areas can be flooded by rainwater in winter.

- Surprising is the soft sand of the next belt: the 'Roman plain' or the 'Sahara'. These are drifting dunes that the wind blows 5 to 10 meters inland every year. Until about ten years ago, these dunes were ungrown, now they move more slowly because vegetation keeps them on site.

- Then there is another dune span and a dune belt that are much older. This old area has long been cultivated with fields and small pieces of forest.

- Finally, the coastal landscape merges steeply into the flat arable lands of the polders.

The walk

The walk shows all the belts of this very varied coastal landscape.

You start with a visit to the Duinpanne reception centre. Then you walk through the wide lanes of the Calmeynbos.

The walk soon leaves the forest and then crisscrosses up and down dunes, between bushes and through dune pans with sea buckthorn. You climb various viewpoints on the dunes.

Along the way, take a look at the many bunkers from the Second World War.

The dune areas are connected by the flat beach. Look for the hard sand at low tide so that you can continue walking. Walk along the high tide line to 'beachcomb'. You can identify your finds with maps that you can buy in the visitor center.

At low tide you can visit three shipwrecks at the furthest point of the walk.

Make a pit stop at a French tavern in Bray-Dunes. There you can warm up in cold weather with a traditional Northern French 'Picon Vin Blanc'. And maybe all of a sudden you'll stay for lunch.

On the way back you plod through the sand of the 'Sahara', a vast belt of drifting dunes with lots of loose sand. Then the route runs quietly through older dunes, small fields and bushes.

In the end, the character of the walk changes again when you have reached the Calmeyn forest again. You now walk on an easy path through the forest back to the starting point.

This walk consists of more than 95% unpaved roads.

When

You can make this walk at any time of the year.

In winter you often walk here unprotected against the natural elements, but by the sea that certainly has its charms. If it gets too cold, you can warm up in a tavern in Bray-Dunes.

Summer is busier due to coastal tourism. The Sahara can be very hot, especially when you step through the soft sand. But you can wade barefoot through the sea.

What you should definitely do is check the tide tables on the internet so that you reach the furthest point of the walk at low tide. It is only at low tide that the shipwrecks are exposed so that you can visit them.

The hiking trails in the reserve De Westhoek are freely accessible between sunrise and sunset.

Start & end point

Visitor centre Duinpanne.

Address: Olmendreef 2, 8660 De Panne

Website: www.west-vlaanderen.be/domeinen/duinpanne

Phone: 058/42 21 51

By car: there is ample parking.

By public transport: there are easy train connections to De Panne, the westernmost station in Belgium. A coastal tram departs from the station every fifteen minutes and stops at the Duinpanne visitor centre.

Practical info

This walk starts at the visitor center Duinpanne. There is a permanent exhibition about the coast with a small aquarium where you can also 'browse' under the sea. You can buy various hiking maps and information sheets about what you can find on the beach. There is sanitary facilities and a cafeteria with terrace.

Halfway the walk takes you to Bray-Dunes. There are several French taverns here where you can eat well.

For those who find De Panne too far for a day trip: there is a good and affordable range of hotels, holiday homes, bed & breakfasts and campsites in De Panne.

You can find all the information on the website of the tourist office:

Http://toerisme.depanne.be

 

This walk is part of a series of top hikes in Flanders.

There is always a variant of +/-12 km and one of +/- 20 km.

https://www.wandelpunt.be