Bazel-Beverpad-Fassaat-Blue Lime-Arcade- 8.23 km

Basel- Beverpad-Fassaat-Blue Lime-Arcade-8.23 km

Departure: Lange Gaanweg 1 Basel. GPS Google: 51°8'47.663'' 4°18'16.289'' Circular walk in a counterclockwise direction. We follow De Vaart (Schlossweiher) along the Verkortingsdijk, straight ahead 'Achter den Berg' and continue straight until we reach the Blauwe Gaanweg. We follow the Blauwe Gaanweg to the left until we reach the Lime, passing the last house on the right. We take the Kleine Gaanweg to the right, which we leave at the first bend to the left. We cross the Ringdijk and follow the Beverpad straight through the gate. This area of alder swamp forests is exceptionally valuable and rare in Western Europe and is therefore protected. Beavers, otters, and deer find a safe refuge here, as well as their food. At the edge of the Rupelmondse Kreek, we find an observation platform in the Coninckxhofke with a view of the Kreek. There, we may spot, with a bit of luck, among other things, the kingfisher while fishing or a swimming beaver, perhaps even an osprey. The carp house, a little further along the Kreek, is also a renovated weekend house that has been set up as a summer residence for bats. These, together with the fox, otter, beaver, and deer, are five exceptional species of mammals that thrive well in this special nature, whose biodiversity is steadily increasing. Maintaining an appropriate water level in the alder swamp forests and the Kreeken is important thanks to a sophisticated sluice system. We leave the alder swamp forest and climb onto the Scheldedijk. We come left to the discharge sluice of the Rupelmondse Kreek. This was created in 1715 during a very severe northwest storm on the North Sea. The breach made was so large that, after several attempts to repair it, it was repeatedly washed away by new floods. It was only three years later that the breach could be closed. We follow the towing path toward Kallebeek and reach the Fassaat. An old moor that eventually became an elevated schorre. Now the Fassaat has been depoldered, as a permanent opening has been dug into the Scheldedijk. Thus, 10 hectares are returned to the Schelde. The breach in the Scheldedijk ensures that the Schelde water flows in and out of this polder twice a day. Why? The influx of thousands of cubic meters of water reduces the pressure of the Schelde water. The stronger the pressure of the rising tides, the more the mudflats and schorren along the Scheldedijken erode. Where the Schelde is wide enough, the mudflats and schorren serve as a good buffer zone to protect the dikes (35% less maintenance) and also promote the self-cleaning power of the tidal flow. The 10 hectares of the Fassaatpolder will result in 10 hectares of additional mudflats and schorren. They function as cleansing lungs and intestines for the Schelde just like the 300 hectares of mudflats and schorren that are being developed in the Controlled Reduced Tidal Area in Kruibeke Polder. This water cleansing 24 hours a day is made possible by the large inlet sluice at the waterfalls. The smaller inlet and outlet sluices between the Barbierbeek and Kallebeek provide moist open meadows along the overflow dikes through an increased water threshold. They are a safe and nutrient-rich area for meadow and waterbirds and a retreat for many migratory birds on their journey south. At the Fassaat Lime (also known as Liefkes Lime), we turn left into the Blauwe Gaanweg. To the left is the Dijkgraben with the fish-friendly sluice that facilitates the exchange of fish between the Schelde and polder. At the Blauwe Linde at the intersection with the Zandgaanweg, we turn right. We reach the Ringdijk (8.35 m high) and follow it to the right until we reach the Arcade, where we take the Verkortingsdijk to the left. At the Vaart (Schlossweiher), we go straight over both bridges. If we are thirsty, this is the shortest way to the dove tower. During the renovation of the cows' bridge over the Ringvaart in the castle park, the passage is interrupted. The end of the work is scheduled for spring 2023.