Intro:
A beautiful, yet also a long hike. Changes to the trail made this a hike of 30 km, compared to the 25 km we had planned to walk.
But the additional effort is generously compensated by the diversity offered by the landscapes.
The Clairmarais area is a unique stretch of waterland, simply a must. Another trail change takes you there over wonderful rural paths.
Back and forth:
We stayed somewhere near St-Omer and so it wasn't too much of an effort to reach Zermezeele early in the morning to park the car near the church. No need to worry about finding a parking spot here, there's hardly a living soul passing by this place.
Then we drove to Wulverdinghe by bike. We fastened it to the information pole in front of the townhall (Mairie). No problem there either. Wulverdinghe and Zermezeele both are small and quiet places.
Upon arrival in Zermezeele we only had to pick up the bike and drove back to St-Omer.
The hike:
In the morning we had planned to hike more or less 25 km. that day. Probably a few kilometers more would be added to this distance because the topoguide mentioned a variant leading through the Clairmarais area.
But during the day we were confronted with a few changes in the trail. The first one we didn't follow, the second one we decided to follow. Based on the hiking track we finally walked over 30 km. on Friday, April 4th. No complaining though, we had ample time and we weren't depending upon the hours of the public transportation networks.
(Click the picture for more images on Picasa)
The GR signs Wulverdinghe pointed towards St-Momelin, the next reference point mentioned in our topoguide. Quiet paths, nice views, fields and forests (Bois du Ham, Bois des Ombres) ... a gentle and interesting trail. After 3 km. we arrived at a crossing where the GR signs contradicted the information in the topoguide. At first we intended to follow the local signs, because that's how it works: the local signs have priority over the topoguide. But then came the doubts. Will the new trail still guide us to the 'Marais'? We absolutely wanted to go there. Without knowing where the signs would lead us, we dedided to follow the original trail. The signs had been whiped out, but using the topoguide we didn't experience any problem to find the old itinerary. There were no paths closed off, nor had they dissapeared.
We indicated the change on the map. The original trail is marked red, the new trail is pink.
That way we arrived in St-Momelin where we got to see the first waterways of the 'Marais'. From St-Momelin the original trail follows a traffic road along the Marais. Unfortunately there's houses all along this road, so most of the time the Marais isn't visible. That's probably one of the reasons why the trail has been revised. We had no choice, we could only go on until we reached Nieurlet, the next reference point in the topoguide. At the church there's a little café and a shop. Time for a break.
The owner was well aware that the GR 128 trail didn't pass by his place anymore. Not good for the business. Why? He lifted his shoulders, didn't know. He had to admit it cost him some business. But on the other hand, there were enough local hikes and he also rented out boats (with or without a guide), so he managed to get along. Nothing to worry about ... the french way.
Finally we arrived at the place where the original trail indicated a variant leading through the 'Marais'. At the same time we noticed a GR sign. Clearly, the new trail still leads to this point. A variant is indicated by a normal GR sign, but it is blotted out. We didn't find these variant signs, but instead we noticed that the normal signs simply led into the Marais. The variant has become part of the main trail. A good thing ... and nothing to worry about anymore: the new trail still leads to the Marais and even guides you through it.
As we indicated in our previous hiking report, the Clairmarais consists of a maze of canals, brooks and ponds, created as a result of draining the vast swamps around the river Aa. In between the waterways little parcels of land were cultivated. The inhabitants used boats to as their means of transport. The ponds are the result of peat exploitations. In fact it's more or less the same process that created the area near Berlare-Donk and the Schelde river in Belgium (much further up along the same GR 128 trail). The difference however is that the Clairmarais area is so much bigger and intense. It's really a special and unique piece of 'waterworld'. Don't miss the opportunity to visit it.
That's what we did when we followed the GR signs into the Marais. The trail is only a few kilometers long, but it gives a good idea of what it is all about. You're walking along old peat ponds, you follow canals, you drag yourself to the other side using a chain vessel, you step over ramshackle bridges and you notice all kinds of little boats moored at the houses. It's a different world.
Upon leaving the 'Marais' area, the GR signs continue to show the way. But once again, it's a different trail compared to what is described in the topoguide. We had a hard time orientating ourselves with the help of the maps in the topoguide. In the end, the new trail will lead us to the village of Buysscheure.
This time we decided to walk along the new trail, even if it meant not knowing where it would lead us. We only knew for certain that somehow we had to end up in Zermezeele, and the map told us that was still a long way to go .... But a little bit of stress doesn't necessarily make it a bad hike.
We indicated the new trail (and the old one that it replaces) on GoogleMaps. No need to study it in detail, the local signs are perfect, you won't get lost by following them. Just keep in mind that the changes make the trail considerably longer, but it's worthwhile. The paths that are followed are beautiful and Buysscheure as a village is an interesting place. There's even a café.
During this part of the hike we notice several signs of the GR IJzer. This river has its source near Buysscheure. GR IJzer follows the river all the way to Nieuwpoort in Belgium where it flows into the sea.
In Buysscheure you should have a look at the church. There's a memorial stone in the wall for Tisje-Tasje.
Tisje-Tasje (real name Jan Baptist van Grevelynghe) was born here in 1767 and died at Noordpeene in 1842. He was a street-hawker and all year round he traveled the entire region, going from farm to farm, from village to village, to sell his goods, especially pipes and bags. The strange name comes from his christian name Baptist - Tisje -, the man selling "tassen" (bags), hence Tasje. Tisje-Tasje was known all over the place. He knew everything and long before newspapers became a source of information to the locals, he took up that role. He told stories, had sayings, and sang songs which he composed himself, always using the typical local flemish dialect. By the time he died he had become a living legend, an example of popular wisdom and loyalty to his region and his people.
Also during this last part of the hike the trail stays primarily on country roads, always slightly going up and down and always offering nice wide open views. At a given moment we start seeing the Mount Cassel, and we can even distinguish the more distant Mount Cats (easily recognisable by the huge antenna pole). That means that Belgium is coming closer.
The only village we're still passing through before reaching Zermezeele is Ochtezeele. There's no shops nor cafés here, so if you needed anything your last chance to find it would be in Buysscheure.
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