Hikes in Clairmarais

This route is based on the PR named "From Bocage to Marsh" marked in yellow and extended by a circuit in the Romelaëre pond nature reserve.

GR128-4- Watten ---> Buysscheure 4th stage of the Flanders path GR128 August 5, 2020 at 08:09 22km

The Great Route Path  GR 128 runs from Wissant to Aachen. The route in France is highly recommended due to the tranquility, natural beauty, and authentic villages that sometimes resemble old Flemish ones. I have adjusted the route in France slightly to keep the stages approximately between 12 and 15 kilometers and also to consider available parking spots. We stay for a midweek each time and look for accommodation somewhere in the middle of the stages we plan to undertake. We park the car at the end point of the walk. Then we bike to the starting point. We pick up the bikes by car and then drive back to our accommodation, or make a visit somewhere along the way by car. The route in French Flanders is approximately 150 kilometers. We completed it in 3 midweek stays. The stages are divided as follows:   STAGE 1:        WISSANT – PEUPLINGUES 1                          15 Km walking and 8 Kilometers cycling STAGE 2 :       PEUPLINGUES – HAMES BOUCRES                                       12 Km walking and 6 Km cycling STAGE 3 :       HAMES BOUCRES – BOUQUEHAULT                                    12 KM walking and 15 Km cycling STAGE 4:        LE VENTUS d’ ALEMBON – AUDENFORT                               10 Km walking and 11 Km cycling STAGE 5 :       AUDENFORT – TOURNEHEM SUR HEM                           13 Km walking and 9 Km cycling STAGE 6:        TOURNEHEM SUR HEM – FôRET d‘ EPERLECQUES                           12 Km walking and 8 Kilometers cycling STAGE 7:        Fôret d’ Eperlecques – WULVERDINGHE                           12 Km walking and 12 Km cycling STAGE 8:        WULVERDINGHE – NIEURLET                          10 Km walking and 8 Km cycling STAGE 9:        NIEURLET – BUYSSCHEURE                           12 Km walking and 5 Kilometers cycling STAGE 10:     NOORDPEENE – CASSEL                          12 Km walking and 10 Km cycling STAGE 11:     CASSEL – GODEWAERTSVELDE                           16 Km walking and 15 Km cycling STAGE 12:     GODEWAERSVELDE – BANENBERG (Belgium)                          12 Km walking and 11 Km cycling STAGE 13:     BANENBERG – KEMMEL Via walking junctions and GR 5A to the Kemmelberg where the GR 128 starts in Belgium. ALL STAGES CAN BE CONSULTED SEPARATELY ON THE MAP Recommended off path: The beaches on the Opal Coast Channel Tunnel Expo Visit to Saint Omer Visit to Cassel

The Sentier des Fontinettes invites you to discover the sometimes unsuspected natural riches of Arques: from the Étang de Beauséjour to that of Malhôve, passing through the Rihoult Forest, the canal towpath, not forgetting the nautical base and the boat lift.

Today we discover a part of the marshes around Claimarais. These marshes in the so-called “Basin of Audomarois” were created after the sea receded. A brief geological sketch: Between the 3rd and 8th century, the sea pushed inland between 2 plateaus: The Artois plateau (starting at Eperlecques) and The Flemish Hills plateau (starting at Watten). During that period, the coastal plain also flooded in our region of Flanders. Islands such as Dunkirk, Westende, Middelkerke, Ostend, ... emerged. In the 11th century, history repeated itself; the Zwin was also eroded here. The landscape we now see in the Basin d’Audomarois was shaped by intensive construction of canals to make the marshes fertile, the work of various abbeys: St Bertin in Saint Omer, and the abbey of Watten. Today we walk in the Rommelaerevijvers nature reserve. A nature area of 104 hectares excavated to extract peat as fuel. Via a wooden ferry and an iron (heavily rusted) bridge, we go from one canal to another. On the reclaimed farmland mainly cabbage varieties are grown. The landscape is characterized by long narrow plots bordered by hundreds of ditches. We organized the stages as follows: Park your car when entering Buysscheure in the Populieren Straete; there is a gravel strip on the left side of the road where you can easily park. To the starting point of the walk, cycle via: Westhouck Straete – Rue de Buysscheure – then turn left onto Route de Booneghem and continue downhill. At a small intersection, turn right still on Booneghem. After about 500 meters, take a narrow asphalt road LEFT between house numbers 54 and 58, then over a bridge and you arrive at the nature area (see the photo where you notice our bicycles). After our arrival in Buysscheure, we took some time to stop by the springs of the Yser River. Our Yser, here called Yser, springs north of Buysscheure. There is a small wooden building where some information boards give a nice overview of all waterways in French and West Flanders. A short break on the way back to pick up the bikes, we found this quite interesting.

Nature Walk

Een afwisselende wandeling dwars door landbouwvelde en de moerassen van Clairmarais.

départ église de Nieurletpasse par la grange nature, le romelaere,

Pays: FranceRégion: Nord-Pas-de-CalaisDépartement: Nord - 59Départ: 59285 - BuysscheureArrivée: 59285 - BuysscheureType: BoucleMassif: AucunBalisage: JauneCarte IGN : 2303 E - 2303 O

accolée au marais audomarois, la forêt de Rihoult-Clairmarais s’étend sur 1200 hectares. véritable domaine du chêne. L’étang d’Harchelles qui couvre 3 hectares est le dernier des 7 étangs creusés jadis par les moines.distance 16 kmsdepart rue du Romelaere parking de la grange nature