Seagulls and chickens

Whenever we're staying at our little getaway cottage in Belgium's beautiful west country, a day trip to the seaside is on our menu. However, as the end of our week's holiday doomed on the horizon, we still hadn't made it to the seaside as the weather gods had been conspiring against us.

Friday arrived and as we were keen to avoid the inevitable weekend crowds, this was actually our last chance.

We were in luck, as there was no mention of rain, even if the weather forecast said it would be a bit windy. Perfect for blowing away the last of the cobwebs, we thought.

But first things first, as before we can start the day's journey, I have to show you what I was wearing.

This vintage polyester frock is another one that has been residing in my wardrobe for ages. When I posted it on Instagram, someone remarked that the print reminded them of balloons flying up into the evening sky, which I thought was rather lovely. Alas, they're not balloons but flowers. I've included a close-up, so that you can see that they have leaves sprouting from their stalks.

Once again, the dress came with its own belt, which I replaced with a recently charity shopped white woven leather one, which is a current favourite. I opted for a light blue beaded necklace and wore my King Louie cardi in the same colour on top. 

The destination we'd decided on was the coastal town of Nieuwpoort, but first we drove down to De Panne, which is the resort nearest to where we were staying. There is a free car park here, less than a hundred meters from the nearest tram stop, so it is actually a no-brainer, as you can catch the tram to anywhere along the Belgian coast from there.

There was a gale force wind blowing, so any remaining cobwebs were soon dealt with the minute we alighted at Nieuwpoort Bad, the seaside part of the town.

After a spot of lunch, we walked along the beach, or at least we tried to, as the wind was either propelling us along at full speed or doing its best to keep us rooted at the spot while overdoing its Mr. Sandman routine if we tried to walk against it.  

Looking back at the promenade, you can see the seemingly endless line of high rise apartment buildings which are an unfortunate feature of the Belgian coast. The hotel De Barkentijn, as seen on the top left in the second collage, is a a lone survivor from a bygone age, while the Art Deco style yellow-tiled building on the top right does its best to bring some cheerfulness to the overall drabness.

We walked into the direction of the jetty, which is actually one of a pair built in 1865. This is the western one, with a length of 490 meters. The miniature lighthouse at its head (and that of its twin) houses a signal lantern and foghorn.

Having climbed a slippery breakwater, we were suddenly faced with a thick carpet of razor shells at the other side.

Back on the wet sand, the footprints left by my pink floral sneakers were joining those of the omnipresent squawking and wailing gulls.

We walked briefly along the jetty, but strong gusts of wind were soon forcing us back inland.

On the rocks below, all manner of seabirds were feasting on the hapless mussels and other shellfish which were left stranded by the tide.

The eastern jetty is slightly longer, jutting 543 into the sea. The two mighty jetties are ceremoniously guiding the River IJzer into the North Sea.

The River IJzer is unique in that it is the only Belgian river flowing directly into the sea and, at the confluence of the salty seawater and the fresh water of the river, is a nature reserve which has its own very distinctive fauna and flora. 

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Due to the tidal movement a unique area of saltings and mud flats was created, an ideal breeding ground for a rich variety of worms, snails, algae, shells and crustaceans. The continuous interaction between the salt and fresh water in the IJzer estuary also created a special biotope characterized by various salt loving plants.

The nature reserve itself, which is on the right bank of the river, can only be visited with a guide, but you can walk alongside it on a path with several lookout points, a walk we did a couple of years ago.

Now, we limited ourselves by walking along the 2 kilometer boardwalk promenade which follows the river from the North Sea to the marina near the inland part of the town, Nieuwpoort Stad.

Several works of art could be admired along the route. The most striking was this one, called Plastic Fish (bottom right).

Exhausted and with eyes and ears stinging from the wind, we arrived at Nieuwpoort Stad, where we admired a mosaic bas-relief plaque on the façade of the fish mine, and then took the tram back to De Panne and our car.

Arriving back at our cottage in Poperinge, we were delighted to see that hop picking had finally started in the hop fields across the road and we watched the vertiginous proceedings from the perch of our first floor window.

Getting up on Saturday, we were greeted by sunshine and blue skies. The blasted weather forecast, however, said it would most definitely rain later that morning and again in the afternoon.

As we'd planned a walk in the area, we were none too pleased and dithered over what to do instead.

In the end, we decided to go ahead regardless, taking our raincoats and umbrellas and stopping at the local supermarket for sandwiches for our planned picnic. 

We also nipped into the town's small charity shop, where our efforts were rewarded by a funky glass dish, two Art Deco vases which were in a bargain bin and priced at € 1,50 for the pair, and some jewellery. I spotted the squirrel brooch as we were about to pay at the till.

Armed with sandwiches and drinks, we made our way to a nearby nature reserve called the Galgebossen, which translates as Gallows woods. Apparently gallows stood at the edge of them until the early 18th century.

Upon arrival, we were happy to see a picnic table in a small enclosure next to the car park, so that we could comfortably eat outside instead of having a car picnic. Not quite that comfortable, it turned out, as we were immediately accosted by a gang of chickens. Not only did we have to clean their mess off the table and benches, we had to share our sandwiches with them. Believe me, there was no saying no to this formidable chap (bottom right) which seemed to be the leader of the gang.

With all out dithering, we'd forgotten to take outfit photos, so we took them during our walk instead.

My second pair of trousers came out of my suitcase. This floral delight was a sales bargain from New Look last Winter, while both the sailor style short-sleeved jumper and the shirt (to which I'd pinned my new squirrel brooch) were charity shopped. Both are from the now defunct Belgian label Wow To Go. 

As I was about to retrieve my raincoat from the boot of the car, I was surprised to find it missing. It turned out I'd left it behind at the cottage, another victim of that morning's dithering.

Our walk took us through a mixture of woodland and fields, at one point crossing a road where a lonely house stood complete with a tiny chapel fixed to its façade.

It might have been only the first week of September, but it definitely felt like Autumn, especially when we were walking along that leaf-strewn woodland path. 

Patches of cloud and sunny spells alternated throughout our walk, but much to our relief we made it back to our car without facing even one drop of rain.

On our way back to the cottage, we stopped in Poperinge for an afternoon treat of cappuccinos and waffles. At that point, the sun was out in full force.

The forecasted rain finally came when we were back at the cottage, which seemed like a fitting end to our week's holiday.

Under a stormy sky

In my previous travel post, I left you while sitting on the balcony of our cottage with my poppy umbrella, wondering if I wasn't tempting fate.

Sure enough, when we woke up on Tuesday morning, the sky was a solid grey.

We'd only made vague plans for our holiday, taking every day as it came, except for a visit to the seaside to do a particular walk.

With the forecast for the rest of the week being even vaguer than our plans, we decided to take the plunge and go ahead regardless of the weather.

With that in mind, I wore my red trousers again. Sick and tired of my dark denim ones, I'd bought two pairs of trousers, in red and green, at the outlet shop of Belgian brand Who's That Girl in Antwerp.

This time I paired the red trousers with a long-sleeved shirt, originally from the high street (from a label called Zoë Loveborn), but found at a flea market. On top, a charity shopped cardigan, in orange red with white dots. So, nothing vintage, apart from the brooch and necklace. As a nod to our seaside visit, I chose a blue sailing boat brooch!

Right, I'm dressed, let's go!

On the long straight road leading up to De Panne, the nearest seaside town where we wanted to make use of the free car park, the sky was getting darker and darker, and by the time we arrived it had started to rain quite heavily.

So, out came the boring Goretex, which I'd hoped I wouldn't need, and waited for the tram to take us to Nieuwpoort.

The tram along Belgium's coastline is the easiest way to get around and a bonus is that I can use my regular public transport pass.

By the time we hopped off at the quayside in Nieuwpoort-Stad (town), it was dry, so we walked to the town's main square, being treated to a brief shower along the way. Yes, it was going to be one of those days!

We's visited the town a couple of years ago but the many ongoing restoration works rather spoiled that visit. Now, we could admire the buildings surrounding the market place in their newly revealed glory.

Like Ypres, most of the historic town was in rubble by the end of the war, but here too a great job was done in painstakingly reconstructing the town's heritage.

There was a temporary art trail throughout the town, and works of art were dotted in every available space.

Nieuwpoort is located on the estuary of the River IJzer, and it actually has two centres, the old medieval centre, Nieuwpoort-Stad, which we'd just visited, and the coastal resort of Nieuwpoort-Bad.

They are connected by a delightful 2 kilometers long traffic free promenade along the harbour channel, which we'd walked on a sunny day back in 2015.

After lunch, a short tram ride took us to Nieuwpoort-Bad, where we made our way to the end of the promenade and the free ferry service which shuttles you to the east bank of the harbour channel.

There is a nature reserve, De IJzermonding, along the estuary of the River IJzer, which is the only river in Belgium flowing directly into the North Sea.

We first walked down to the deserted sandy beach, which is part of the nature reserve, and which looked particularly striking against the brooding sky.

The white railings of the eastern jetty, a 500 m long boardwalk into the North Sea, added to the eeriness of the seascape, the almost black sky contrasting starkly against the transluscent colour of the sea.

White sails seemed to be gliding like swans through the harbour entrance between the eastern and western jetties towards the wide expanse of the sea.

The crashing of the waves was competing with the strangely echoing sound of the amplified announcements coming over from the western side, where a cycling race was about to take place.

Exhilarated by the salty North Sea air, and accompanied by yet another shower, we retraced our steps and walked along the designated paths through the reserve, back towards Nieuwpoort-Stad, a menacingly barbed wired military domain on our left.

Every so often there was a gap with a tantalizing view of the red and white striped lighthouse to our left, while on the right, sandy paths led to viewpoints offering panoramas over the nature reserve, beyond which Nieuwpoort's ugly modern apartment buildings were cluttering up the skyline on the western bank.

A bird hide invites you to do a spot of bird spotting. It was populated by enthusiasts wielding heavy binoculars and glaring at us when we dared to make a quiet entrance.

The walk led us around one of Belgium's largest marinas, where all manner of pleasure crafts were anchored, jostling for space, the riot of masts producing a clanging soundtrack conducted by the wind.

In the midst of it all, a lonely fisherman provided a focal point for my photograph.

Nearing Nieuwpoort-Stad, we spotted the Albert I Memorial, commemorating the heroic acts of the city during the First World War. It was in fact here at Nieuwpoort that the German advance was halted in October 1914, when a sharp-thinking lock-master opened the sluice gates on the river, flooding the area up-river from the estuary, and so preventing the Germans from pushing on to the Channel ports.

Inside the monument is a museum telling the story of the flooding, and the rampart on top can be visited for a panoramic view over the landscape.

The monument is fittingly placed on the edge of the complex of locks, called the "Ganzepoot" (goose leg), which is regulating the water level of five different rivers and canals.

It is also the haunt of a flight of cormorants, drying their wings and realigning their feathers after a spot of fishing.

By then, we'd arrived back at Nieuwpoort-Stad where we waited for the tram to take us back to De Panne.

Linking up to Tina's Pink Friday!

Also linking to Patti's Visible Monday at Not Dead Yet Style!

Out of the city and down to the seaside

No trip to the Westhoek would be complete without a visit to the seaside.

From Poperinge, it isn't too far to De Panne, at the western end of Belgium's straight coastline, which is about 67 kilometers long.

I am not a great fan of the Belgian coast, generally finding it too built up with ugly apartment buildings catering for the many tourists who flock to the coast in the summer months.

De Panne's promenade, in fact, has a backdrop of nondescript high rise buildings casting a permanent shade. Pranged between these monstrosities are some relics from a gentler age, typical seaside villas dating from around 1900, some of them in disrepair, as if they have given up competing with the modern age. Quite sad, really.

I am not a great fan of crowded beaches either, and I shudder at the thought of spending time there on a fine summer's day in high season.
It isn't too bad though on a bright September day, after school has started and the majority of the tourists have gone.

September 2014

The town does have its finer qualities. At the far west, extending into France, is the Westhoek nature reserve, which is the oldest in Flanders, founded in 1957, consisting of a large expanse of sand and dunes, where you can walk for hours. Trudging through the fine sand is quite a slog, and at times it feels like you are surrounded by nothing but sand. One of the sand plains seems so endless that you might think you were in the Sahara, which is its nickname!

September 2014

In the town itself, away from the sea, is the Dumont quarter, which has been protected since 1995. This quarter is a gem of architectural heritage created in the late 19th and early 20th century under the direction of architect Albert Dumont and his son Alexis, who designed the unique construction plan with rural cottages, built with respect for its existing surroundings. The villas were originally built in a cottage style, with more modern villas added later on.

As we'd done both the nature reserve and the Dumont Quarter in previous years, we just walked along the beach, savouring the sea air, shells crushing under our feet.

We admired the colourful beach huts De Panne is famous for and, although my camera must get tired of snapping these things, I snapped away, as I never tire of the cheery sight of them.

After lunch at the Kursaal, on the Promenade, we decided on a tram ride.
There's a tramline covering the whole stretch of coast from De Panne all the way to the chic resort of Knokke at the eastern end, so we hopped on and after about 30 minutes hopped off again in the town of Nieuwpoort.

Nieuwpoort is where the River IJzer meets the sea, and the very place where the controlled flooding of the IJzer plain, which changed the course of the First World War, was put into motion.

Along the western side of the estuary, a promenade of 2 kilometers leads from the town (Nieuwpoort Stad) to the sea (Nieuwpoort Bad), passing the marina, while on the eastern side there is a nature reserve. The two sides are connected by a ferry, which sadly only runs in high summer and during weekends.

The beach was strewn with razor shells, while small mussels clung to the western breakwater, being picked over by gulls and sandpipers in search of an easy meal.

After a bracing walk, our shoes full of sand, we took the tram back to the Panne, where our car was waiting to take us back to Poperinge.

Oh, and here's a proper look at the dress which was admired by some of you in one of my previous posts.

It seems like our little break whizzed by in a nano-second, and all too soon it was time to go home, just taking our memories and photographs with us.