Continued Report
Because of its length, this travel report has been split into three separate parts. This is part three.
Part one covers general information.
Part two, covers the hotel (Velotel) and days one, two and three.
Part three, this part, covers days four, five and six.

Day 4 (Monday) Velotel’s Forest Castles
In the VOS Travel ride booklet, this day’s ride would have been to the Belgian coast, to Lissewege, Blankenberge and De Haan, but the identical ride is included in the Flanders Bike Trail tour (Rad & Reisen travelcode 050), which I’d done immediately prior to starting this tour, so I didn’t want to repeat it so soon. As an alternative, I decided to choose one of the Velotel Hotel’s bike routes. I like a good castle, so route number 20, which claimed to be “the official Forest Castle route”, with a picnic loop thrown in, stood out. I used the fietsroute cycle node planner to convert the knooppunts into a gpx track, and additionally wrote down the knooppunt numbers on a post-it note which I put into the map holder on my handlebar bag. I used these to navigate the route, holding the gpx track in reserve should I lose my way.

The route starts off taking the cycle path adjacent to the Gent-Brugge(-Oostende) canal round the eastern perimeter of the city, the same route as used, in the opposite direction, for the return on the Bulskampveld ride the previous day (so, past the windmills and the city gates Kruispoort and Gentpoort). A little way south of the city it turns off from the canal, moving west and then south, flanking the village of Oostkamp. Here, I saw an imposing building, which I took to be a private dwelling. Despite the rain (again!), I decided I’d stop and try to snatch a photograph without getting my camera too wet. Pulling away again afterwards, I saw there was a car park, so thought it must, after all, be a public building and decided to explore further. Someone came out, obviously concerned at my presence. It turned out it was a primary school.

After rather more cycling, I arrived at the first castle, Kasteel van Loppem. The castle is open to the public: details on its web site (the public toilets do not require admission). Theoretically, I was there before its opening hours, but I was still able to get a good view outside the castle.

After another chunk of cycling, I passed the heathland and the memorial to the two motorcycling youngsters I’d seen on the Castles of Torhout ride (Day 2), albeit riding in the opposite direction this time. Not long after this, I arrived at the entrance to Kasteel Tillegem. I thought I remembered the approach route to it from some previous ride, but I haven’t been able to confirm that. The castle is moated, but you can cycle all the way round it.

Continuing the ride, I came across a small botanical garden, Kruidentuin Tudor (Herb Garden Tudor) and then came across a café called Mary Tudor. I think between these two points, just off the trail, is another castle, Kasteel Tudor, now a restaurant, but I passed by without seeing it.

After passing the memorial and heathland again, a side turning round the heath, appropriately named Planetenpad, is lined with statues representing astronomical bodies, the planets of the solar system and others, leading to a building which houses a planetarium. Next door to it is a café, which was doing very good trade.

The route is now making the return to Brugge, passing along the “castle of Bloemendale” road as on the Castles of Torhout ride, then along the (Gent-)Brugge-Oostende canal and the non-canal route back to the hotel.

Day 5 (Tuesday) Damme, Sluis, The Zwin and Knokke
After several days marred by poor weather, I was hoping this would be more promising weatherwise, for, when I last did this tour, I had been unable to visit the Zwin because earth works had blocked off the path. I didn’t want to miss it a second time.

I had considered doing this ride the previous day, but had been advised to put it off because the weather was forecast to be better. I had, however, looked online at purchasing tickets (referenced in the route instructions) and was disappointed that, for the Monday, the admission fee was EUR 10.00, but, on Tuesday, it was showing as EUR 12.00. You have to select an estimated arrival time, within a half-hour slot (I chose 14:00 – 14:30, and achieved that very comfortably by leaving Sluis just before 13:00). It turns out you don’t need a ticket to cycle on the Zwin reserve, just for a particular compound within the reserve, and, as is the case with birds, they don’t wait for you to arrive, you have to wait for them, so you may have to spend some time before you see anything.

The first part of the route is the same as for the Bulskampveld ride, along a small canal, but shortly takes a different course, and I arrived in Damme around half an hour later. The church there is a dominant feature of the town, as is the stadhuis further along the road in the market square. Leaving the town, you cross a canal and will almost certainly see the paddle steamer, itself named Damme, and, to the left on the opposite canal bank, a windmill.

The route goes to the right along the canal, however, but soon turns off, passing the Verbrand Fort, which has its origins in the War of Spanish Succession. Were it not for the signs erected here, including EU ones, you would pass by, completely unaware of its presence, thinking it just pastureland, for all that is visible is the rectangular mound, covered in grass, with a ditch around it.

After crossing several canals and following another, the Dutch village of Sluis comes into view. Thee’s no sign of the border between Belgium and the Netherlands and I think even if you were looking out for it, you’d find it difficult to say where it is. What does change, though, is the Coronavirus regulations, for in the Netherlands, it is legal to walk in the streets without a face covering. The town is also a hive of activity — a lot busier than Damme.

The ride continues in the Netherlands, passing the village of Retranchement, where cafés in the centre were doing good trade. Near here, too, there’s a windmill (probably only 100 metres off the track). Continuing, you cycle alongside a canal; across the other side, you may see a number of cyclists up at a higher level: they are on the edge of the Zwin nature reserve. You’ll also see the café “Zilt & Zout” (it’s no longer called “De Witte Koksmuts”’, the name given in the route instructions): you continue along your side of the canal a little further and then cross at a small bridge, doubling back to the café, where the cycle path climbs up to join the one above and the stark vista of the Zwin landscape opens out before you.

The planned route takes you for a good stretch through the reserve (crossing the border into Belgium) and, at knooppunt 86, takes you very close to the “compound” (between knooppunts 86 and 18) for which an entry fee is required. Realistically, you’re not likely to make good use of your admission fee unless you spend several hours here, which, unless you are a keen bird-watcher, I think most people will not do.

Leaving the reserve, the route leads to the seaside resort town of Knokke. Just before cycling along the promenade, you pass through a large square, Canada Square, another tribute to Canadian forces who liberated the region in WW2. The seafront itself is well-developed, with lines of beach huts on one side and modern buildings the other. Further on is the Royal Belgian Sailing Club and then, shortly before reaching the port of Zeebrugge the route turns inland, passing Koolkerke before reaching Brugge once more.

Day 6 (Wednesday): “Departure”
This day marks the end of the tour, so it was a case of checking out and saying goodbye to hotel staff. Coronavirus had resulted in several changes to my travel plans, owing to cancellation of Eurostar trains, including one notified during my time away, resulting in having to reschedule to a different train; a little disconcerting, but travel on the day itself was as advertised with no further disruption.

Photographs
Because I’m allowed two photographs and this section of my report covers two cycling days (Days 4 and 5), my first thought was to include one photograph from each day. Then I remembered I had not done the standard ride on Day 4, so I thought I should stick to photographs of places everyone might see on the “vanilla” tour. Day 5, then, gets both photographs.

My first photograph was taken on the approach to the Dutch town of Sluis.

After leaving Sluis, the ride continues to the Zwin nature reserve, where my second photograph was taken: a flock of Spoonbills wading in the shallow water a few hundred metres away.