Marc Ryckaert · CC BY 3.0
What to do · Damme
The Damse Vaart walk, from Damme to Oostkerke across the polders
Information
- Price
- Free
- Duration
- 3 h 30
- Distance
- 12 km
- Season
- All year; best from April to October
- Who it's for
- Walkers; flat but long
- With a dog
- On a lead, on public paths
The Damse Vaart is the straight canal that comes from Bruges, and beyond Damme it continues north-east between rows of trees. This twelve-kilometre circular route uses it as its axis to cross the polder between Damme and Oostkerke: old dykes, rows of poplars, the siphon where one canal passes under another, the castle and windmill of the village of Oostkerke, Fort Verbrand, the Romboutswerve nature reserve and, on the way back, the ramparts of Damme.
How to do it
It starts at the tourist office, next to the Markt, or at the Damme Oost car park, on the Oude Sluissedijk, which is the option if you come by car. It is waymarked with hexagonal plaques and is walked in one direction only. It is flat from start to finish, but long: allow three and a half hours at an easy pace, plus stops.
Tips
- Bring water It is twelve kilometres across open country.
- Set out in the morning That way you are back in Damme in time for lunch on the Kerkstraat.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Damse Vaart route waymarked?
Yes, with hexagonal plaques, in one direction only.
Where do you park to do it?
At the Damme Oost car park, on the Oude Sluissedijk, where it also starts.
With teenagersWith a dog
