Heath forest

Walk along junctions in and around the Heidebos in Wachtebeke.

Junctions: 54-51-3-4-5-7-8-6-52-53

Endlessly enjoying the landscape, spotting rare plants, or studying colorful butterflies: it can all be done in the Heidebos. Polders and creeks dominate the northern part of East Flanders. South of that, from Maldegem to Stekene, lies a broad sandy ridge where you can find plants and animals that you would expect to see in the Kempen, such as heather, nightjar, and tree pipit. Majestic avenues and remnants of an old fort: the Heidebos has everything to please its visitors.

Description of the area

In the Heidebos, you will find a unique mix of coniferous forest, abandoned fields, heath, poor grasslands, and avenues. Due to the varied mosaic landscape, the nature reserve provides a home for numerous animals and plants that enjoy both the forest and the more open heath.

Right from the parking lot, you get an impression of the Heidebos: you stand with your hiking boots in the bare sand. Barbed wire runs endlessly along the area. The access boards make it clear why: when you enter the gate, there is a good chance you will encounter Galloway cattle. About fifteen animals roam from one spot to another throughout the year, helping with the management.

The walking path winds through the forest and there are many open spots. The beginning of the walk showcases the great assets of this landscape: variation and surprises. After every turn, you experience something new: avenues with old beeches, open areas with heather, or plots planted with pines. The route through the forest is also extensive and designed in such a way that despite sometimes encountering dozens of walkers, you still feel alone.

Animals and plants

The Heidebos is known for its special plants and mushrooms. The small knob fungus, the oak-leaved fringe cap, and the eagle fern cap are a few fungi that catch the eye. Among true heath plants, the dog violet, bird's foot, and small lion's claw stand out the most.

The emperor of the Heidebos is the wasp buzzard. This bird of prey, which looks very much like a buzzard, excels at locating and digging out wasp nests. The tree pipit stands out with its typical parachute flight when it delivers its song. While singing, it flies from the top of a tree, makes an arching flight, and then falls back into a tree top like a parachute.

History of the area

Between 1568 and 1648, the Eighty Years' War raged in this region. In this conflict, the Northern (States) and Southern (Spanish) Netherlands faced each other. This war was also a religious war between Protestants and Catholics. The Waasland was a front area. The Spaniards established a defensive line here against the more northern forts of Prince Maurice. These Spanish forts often bore the name of a saint. They were primarily earthen walls surrounded by a moat. Within the walls was a primitive camp for the soldiers. At the former fort Francipany, the old walls and moats are still clearly recognizable. The slope of the terrain indicates where the former defensive moat lay. Besides fort Francipany, there were other forts. In 1645, the Spaniards built the fort Ter West along the Parmavaart. This 'vaart' was dug by the Spaniards in the sixteenth century to supply troops during the siege of Antwerp. The forts Francipany, Papemutsen, and Ter West were almost in a line. The latter fort was located where the connecting road between Wachtebeke and Moerbeke now runs, approximately at the height of the entrance to the Heidebos. This street is therefore also called Fortstraat.

In the early Middle Ages, this area was called 'Affelgem'. Affelgem was then a height with five windmills. One mill was located on the Knokkestraat. You can still partially observe the hill of this mill. The other four disappeared during the construction of the airport. Another mill was located at the intersection of Molenstraat and a church path, which then connected the churches of Moerbeke and Overslag. This mill was called 'Theymeuleken’. It still stood here in 1670. The other mills had already disappeared before 1600. Three more mills stood further north (Hoogstraat) from 'Theymeuleken'. These post mills were primarily used for the production of linseed oil. Linseed oil was extracted from flaxseed, the seed of the flax plant.