bike tour Dunes of Flanders

Félix Coquelle, mayor of Rosendaël from 1904 to 1928, built his house of 25 pieces of Basco-Byzantine style in an English-style park. The construction of the building will be done between 1902 and 1907 on the plans of the architect Jean Morel, the sculptor Maurice Ringot having realized the interior decoration.

With its buildings hidden under the sand, the Fort des Dunes is a remarkable example of military architecture designed by General Séré de Rivières. It was built in 1878, at the same time as the so-called Zuydcoote battery, to protect Dunkirk and its port from any attack from the east. Following the invention of new explosives, he quickly lost any strategic role and was therefore used in barracks, which can accommodate 450 soldiers. During the Second World War, Fort des Dunes was at the heart of Operation Dynamo, which was the largest embarkation in history, allowing the evacuation of 338,000 Allied soldiers. A hundred soldiers perished there under intense German bombardment, including General Janssen, leader of the 12th Motorized Infantry Division. Other dramatic events took place during the war, including the execution of eight resistance fighters in 1944. After the war, the fort experienced various fortunes and long years of abandonment before being bought by the City of Leffrinckoucke in 1998. Superb witness to the military architecture of the nineteenth century, it is now intended to be a cultural and heritage site and a place of memory devoted to the Second World War

Built in 1910 for the exclusive needs of the Sanatorium, it includes a set of buildings distributed on the sides of a quadrilateral 100 m wide by 170 deep. It is a rather unique example of an industrial farm, both in size and in its mode of operation. Together with the two other traditional farms, it formed a group whose vocation was to meet all the Sanatorium's food needs. His specialty was the production of food of animal origin, as evidenced by the assignment of shared buildings between stables, barns, pigsty, henhouse, dairy and slaughterhouse. Housing had been planned to accommodate all staff. During the events of 1940 she was the main infirmary of the Navy following the evacuation of the clinic Villette of Dunkerque. The very damaged Farm after the war kept its use until 1971 when the North Farm was put at the disposal of the Urban Community of Dunkirk. From 1977 to 1985 it was the center of an animation center linked to the creation of the Leisure and Nature Base of the North Coast. Since then, the North Farm is disused, it is the departmental guards who occupy it

The Marchand dune is located on the North Sea coast east of Dunkerque. It is part of the Dunes of Flanders. It forms a natural and diversified environment in permanent evolution. The variety of environments present on the nature reserve attracts a very diversified fauna. In the pools, refuges, many amphibians enjoy the food present: we discover the toads calamitus, crested newts or red frogs accompanied by a few dragonflies (blood sympétrum, wild ballast ...). In spring, we can recognize the song of the nightingale philomèle hidden in thickets. With nearly 400 species, this site is home to a wide variety of flora. The oyat or the sea buckthorn are very present. For the curious, other botanical treasures characterize this exceptional space. Sandworm is one example: although rare on this site, it is well adapted to the salty land of the seaside. Its root system helps to preserve the dune from erosion. On the embryonic dune, we find some pioneer plants adapted to a high salinity such as quackgrass and sea cakilier. The gray dune owes its name to the predominant colors of mosses and lichens. This botanical procession colonizes soils left bare, very poor in food. Their installation avoids soil erosion and allows the attachment of sand. These environments are nevertheless very fragile: trampling too often repeated threatens the species present. Made up of clear lawns, the gray dune hosts plants adapted to the particularly dry conditions of the environment: this explains the small size of the plants present. Their leaves are often picked, hairy and fleshy like those of large plants. These adaptations allow them to withstand wind, drought and salt air. The Northern Wheatear is also a bird of the gray dune. It has a preference for open areas that represent an ideal place for catching insects such as butterflies or caterpillars ... In the dunes, we find wetlands called "failures", totally different from gray dunes. These environments are just as exceptional at the ecological level.

Located at the foot of the Dunes of Flanders more specifically in Bray-Dunes, the brewery welcomes you from Thursday to Saturday. All beers are brewed and packaged. They are not pasteurized thus allowing a conservation of all the flavors. Local products made with Diabinte beer (Potjevleesch, Carbonnade, Terrine, Dry Sausage, Pâté, Bread and Pasta) present in the showroom will allow you to accompany the beers. Brewing workshops and visit of the workshop by reservation.

It was in 1620 that Wenceslas COBERGHER succeeded in drying up a stretch of water of 3,000 hectares with 23 windmills built around the lake. It was on this date that Les Moëres was born. But since then, this village has experienced 4 other floods. In 1616, Archdukes Albert and Isabella ordered Baron Wenzel Cobergher to dry the Moeres, a vast expanse of water that was transformed in a short time into fertile lands. Located in the territory of Les Moeres the Museum of Pumps invites the visitor to discover three pumps used to dry the village. Old Moer dewatering pumps have been restored by the technical services of the Co

Have you ever seen a Watusi or a four-horned sheep fed an ostrich? There are more than a hundred animals in forty species waiting for you: wallaby, emus, buffalo ... but also, camel, rabbits, rheas, ... other species to protect, which cohabit among ostriches, yak donkeys Our educational farm is 13 minutes from Fort-Mardyck / Dunkerque Grand Littoral, and 5 minutes from Bray Dunes. In our farm labeled "farm discovery, welcome to the farm", and "follow the fairy", you can feed and pet!ar

Nestled in lush greenery close to the coast and Belgium, Hooghe Moote is set on a former medieval site. At the Hooghe Moote, you will find something to relax and spend pleasant moments with family or friends in one of two campsites four stars (link to camping). You can also eat and enjoy typical Flemish home-made dishes at the hostel (link to the hostel). And for fishing enthusiasts, beginner or experienced, you can enjoy a quiet, relaxing and green in one of our five ponds (link to ponds) to fish for small or big trout according to your wishes.