Lumaj wandelt

Intro:

Hiking the GR trails is our way to discover the most beautiful and most interesting places in Flanders. Sadly enough, as this hike on the GR 122 trail proves, that's not always easy. The first 7,5 km. to Doorslaar were quite acceptable, but during the remaining two thirds of the hike it became really difficult not to get depressed by the way uncontrolled urbanization, industrialized agriculture and road builders have turned this landscape into a something totally unattractive.
However, disappointing hikes also have a positive side: there's a good chance the next hike will be better.

Back and forth:

Last time we found out there's a fast bus connecting Antwerpen Linkeroever to Moerbeke (bus 41S). Very convenient because it would allow us to get to the start of this hike in a matter of no time. But bus 41S doesn't ride during the weekends ... So, we had to take a train to Sint-Niklaas, and there we had to wait for bus 41 to Moerbeke. We got off at the terminus Moerbeke - Terwest.

In Laarne at the church we took bus 34. Half an hour later we were at the train station of Gent Dampoort where regular trains go to Antwerpen.

The hike:

We started the hike in the hamlet Terwest where an old picturesque bridge spans the Moervaart canal.

(click the picture for more images on Picasa)

The hamlet Terwest is part of the village of Moerbeke. That name reminds us how fast our world is changing (or maybe not changing at all, it depends on how you look at it). Until a few years ago Moerbeke was automatically associated with sugar, the place was dominated by the sugar refinery ... but end 2007 the management suddenly decided to close down the operation. 95 people were losing their jobs. The announcement came totally unexpected because the year before the holding Iscal Sugar still had made a nice profit of 11,5 million Euros. However, the European Community policy to reduce the production of sugar meant that the company could cash in no less then 53 million Euros, just by closing down the whole operation. The stockholders (amongst them the well-known Lippens family) said 'Thank you, dear EC citizens!' and to show their appreciation they promptly invested the money in an Australian sugar group. By now the factory buildings have been almost completely dismantled and broken down. But those who thought that the Iscal Sugar group would now keep a low profile in this region, were wrong. Beginning 2011 they had plans to develop a huge solar panels field on the old factory premises. We're not sure if they managed to obtain the necessary construction permits, but it is common knowledge that there's a lot of money to be made by investing in solar energy. A noble goal, if it weren't that this money comes from energy certificates, paid by the taxpayer's money. It just goes to show that the transfer of public money to the private fortunes of the happy few just goes on ... there's even a name for that transfer mechanism: neoliberalism.

Enough about the Moerbeke tragedy. The first 7,5 kilometers of this piece of the GR 122 trail are quite nice. It is a very wet region consisting of lowlands where people used to gain peat. Some parts are now managed as nature reserves. We cross several brooks and small canals such as Zwartebeek, Zuidlede, Olentgracht, Westlede, Mariabeek, ... A nice area to walk.

We arrive at Doorslaar, a village that is part of the city of Lokeren. Between here up and the end of the hike we became really disappointed. The landscape is uninspiring and shows an utmost fragmented pattern of ownership with lots of ribbon building and housing everywhere. On top of that traffic roads such as the N70, the E17 highway and the railroad track Antwerpen - Gent force us into useless detours. Not really an attractive area for a hike ...
We leave the Waasland region and enter an area where floriculture prevails. We notice lots of greenhouses. Summertime when the flower fields colour the landscape is probably a much better time to come here. We also notice a few remains of the local folklore, like an old Reynaert bench and a Witches trail, but overall the rural character of the region seems to be under a lot of pressure. Some time ago someone stated that if all the people in Flanders want to live in the green countryside, very soon there won't be any green left to live in. This region is living proof of that statement.

But even disappointing hikes come to an end. We finally reached Laarne. One year and a half ago we were here too, following the GR 128 trail. We can even see the famous castle from the terrace where we're sit and wait for the bus.