With a view of Zwin

Just across the border with Knokke is located in the extreme southwest of the province of Zeeland and on the foothills of Het Zwin Nature Park, the pleasant seaside resort of Cadzand.

Text and photo Guido Elias

This walk starts on the dike at luxury hotel De Blanke Top and near beach pavilion Caricole at the wooden pole with a small green sign 'junction 81', of the Zwin junction network. A tour with a lot of variety beckons that takes you from Cadzand-Bad to the sleepy but very cozy Cadzand-Dorp. Then it goes past a beautiful mill and through the vast polders with wide views. Quiet, traffic-calmed roads take you to the dikes on the Zwin and the Kievittepolder. Enjoy the beautiful view of Zwin and the North Sea. And then continue through the dunes to the starting point. Please note: this is not a real junction tour, too many signs that were once there and pointed to the direction are missing for that.

The route

Leave the dike with hotel De Blanke Top (V) on your left and follow the road down. Cross the road there, turn RA and follow the path 'Noorddijk'. At the bottom left you will see a large (paid) parking lot (you can park well here!). Past this you leave LA this dike, down a short RD and then RA past the modern white church. After about 250 meters RA and then LA follow the Badhuisweg, which turns into the Prinsestraat, for 1 km until you reach Cadzand village. Here LA (Erasmusweg) and immediately RA (Mariastraat), past the Reformed Church and RA along the path (Dorpspomp), cross the Prinsestraat and follow RD the Red Path, RD for a while, then LA. You are in the Vijverstraat, turn along LA and follow LA Retranchementseweg at T-junction; at the T-junction take RA Prinsestraat and at the next junction RA (Mariastraat). Walk to the windmill 'Nooit Gedacht' (1) and just before the RA café, follow the Ringdijk Zuid for 700 m.

At the sign 'end' Cadzand-Dorp, follow the Herenweg RA until past the Fuchsia Garden and Mini Camping (right, approx. 550 m). Just past this, take the gravel road Groeneweg 2. At the junction you will see a green sign with a yellow arrow towards junction 13. Follow this path and after 850 m you will reach the Retranchementseweg again. Here LA and after approx. 150 m follow RA Groeneweg for more than 1 km (ignore the exit to the right after 600 m!). You arrive at Minicamping De Couter (left) and at the T-junction (Cadzandseweg and junction 13) the RA goes towards junction 12. Attention: it is often busy here! After 500 m it enters LA, a quiet road called Wachtsluis. Past Camping Wachtsluis (2) after 100 m LA path down and cross the bridge over the water. The wooden stairs will take you to the Kanaalweg, cross it and take the Duinweg to the dike via the concrete stairs. Here is junction 12. Now always follow the dike and Duinweg to junction 15. Enjoy the view of the North Sea. Always follow the Duinweg which bends RA after 800 m (just past the Zwin village, holiday homes). You come to a T-junction, here is sign junction 15 and turn at right angles LA towards 81 (starting point). Through a dune forest you arrive at the dike, via a bridge you cross the water and now it goes through the dunes until you reach Hotel De Blanke Top back on the dike.