Western Scheldt, Braakman and Asseneedse Kreken

The Landscape

The region of Zeelandic Flanders is separated from the rest of the Netherlands by the Western Scheldt. It is a tranquil landscape dominated by meadows, polders, dikes lined with tall poplars, pollard willows, and ancient watercourses. However, this wasn't always the case. The same Western Scheldt is significantly responsible for the formation of this whimsical landscape. De Braakman, a bay near Terneuzen, once served as a natural barrier between the eastern and western parts of Zeelandic Flanders. Multiple floods turned the landscape here wet and marshy, with small watercourses cutting through the land. The region still bears many traces of the struggle against the water and past occupants. Along the sea dike, there are deep and shallow waters with sandbanks, mudflats, and salt marshes, serving as popular feeding and resting areas for various bird species. Inland, locks, watercourses, lines, fortifications, and ramparts tell the poignant story of a brutal past marked by battles and floods.

Bike with us

Route map

You will bike in the vicinity of the towns of Biervliet, Terneuzen, Philippine, Assenede, and Boekhoute.

Start and finish at bike node 28 on the Inlaag in Hoofdplaat. However, this bike route is a circular tour, so it offers the possibility to start from any of the following bike nodes.

28 - 37 - 14 - 11 - 3 - 21 - 10 - 4 - 12 - 88 - 86 - 91 - 51 - 52 - 55 - 54 - 53 - 49 - 48 - 36 - 19 - 18 - 35 - 34 - 37 - 28