Our properties in Scheldeland

Scheldeland is all about cycling and walking beside the water. The Scheldt, the Dender and the Rupel each have their own dykes and towpaths, and the cycle node network links them with the villages and towns. You set off from your holiday home, ride along the dyke to a town and come back in the evening along the other bank.

For a day in town, Mechelen, Aalst and Dendermonde each have a different flavour. In Mechelen you climb St Rumbold's Tower, visit the Grote Markt and the quiet beguinages, and learn more about the Second World War at Kazerne Dossin. Aalst has its carnival and a lively centre around the Grote Markt. Dendermonde has a compact historic heart and the Ros Beiaard, the horse of the four Sons of Aymon, which parades through the town every ten years.

Nature lovers come for the floodplains along the Scheldt. The Kalkense Meersen lie near Kalken (Laarne), the Lippenbroek in Hamme. In both, the Sigma Plan gives water room and waterbirds benefit. The Donkmeer in Berlare is a popular recreation area for walking, cycling and picnics. In spring the flowering meadows are one more reason to put on your walking boots.

Autumn and winter are quiet, with misty dykes, migrating birds on the meadows and terraces at rest.

The Scheldt is the longest river in the region and one of the most important in the country. The tide reaches as far as Ghent: at high tide the water rises to the dyke, at low tide the mudflats and salt marshes are exposed. From the dyke at Sint-Amands you see ships, swans and meadow birds in one glance. The poet Emile Verhaeren is buried at Sint-Amands, close to the Scheldt.

The Dender winds through Ninove, Denderleeuw, Aalst and Dendermonde, where it flows into the Scheldt. The Dender valley has its own walking networks and is a calm counterpart to the busy towns. Anyone who prefers to be on the water can kayak or try SUP yoga on the Oude Dender.

The Rupel begins where the Nete and the Dyle meet, and flows past Rumst, Boom and Niel to the Scheldt. Its clay made the Rupel area a centre of the brick industry for centuries. Cycle routes through the history of the brickworks show you the clay pits and chimneys. At Willebroek the Brussels-Scheldt Maritime Canal flows into the Rupel.

The Durme runs through Hamme and Zele and joins the Scheldt at Hamme. Along its watery banks it is quiet, with paths and meadows where you rarely meet anyone.

In Bornem stands Bornem Castle, lived in for centuries by the Marnix de Sainte-Aldegonde family. Bornem Abbey is also in the village, a quiet abbey complex. The village is best explored on foot or by bike. Toerisme Scheldeland presents the castle on its heritage page.

Aalst and Dendermonde are on the Unesco World Heritage list with their belfries. In the Middle Ages a belfry symbolised a town's rights and freedoms. Both towns are compact enough to visit on foot, starting from the Grote Markt.

In Breendonk (Puurs-Sint-Amands), close to Willebroek, stands Fort Breendonk. In the Second World War it was a German transit camp; today it is a memorial with a museum. The visit is impressive, takes a little more time than a coffee stop, and is not well suited to young children. Check the opening hours on the fort's website beforehand.

In Mechelen, Kazerne Dossin was the assembly point between 1942 and 1944 from which Jews and Roma were deported. Today it is a museum and memorial about the Holocaust and human rights.

In Dendermonde, the provincial heritage site Scheepswerven Baasrode tells the story of shipbuilding on the Scheldt. You will find it on the heritage page of Toerisme Scheldeland.

Toerisme Scheldeland presents several cycling routes on scheldeland.be/fietsen, from short loops to multi-day tours. There are routes along the meandering Dender, through the history of the brickworks, in the footsteps of the towpath haulers and in the footsteps of the gardeners.

For walkers the site collects, among other things, routes in the Dender valley, walks from a railway station and walks through nature reserves. The Den Dotter nature area and green Lebbeke each have a walk of their own. The Dendervallei Noord and Scheldevallei Oost walking networks offer short and long walks.

Routes beside the water are mostly flat, so with children or electric bikes you are easily on the road for half a day. Before you set off, check that a dyke or path is not temporarily closed, since some stretches flood at high water.

The site also lists cycle-friendly B&Bs and points to routen.be for more routes. A next stop could be the Flemish Ardennes or the Campine.