Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Bailleul and \Halletoren\ ou Belfort
Plan this ride
Recorded distance
158 km
Riding-time estimate
2 h 43
Journey
Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: planning record, not independently verified geometry.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distances and riding times are planning figures. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
158 km from Bailleul to Bailleul, about 2 h 43 of riding. On the way it passes Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Comines, Het Belfort of Halletoren, \Halletoren\ ou Belfort and back through Het Belfort of Halletoren. It crosses from France into Belgium - carry ID and check the toll rules.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Bailleul
Bailleul sits in French Flanders, so close to the Belgian border that you can hear Flemish place names on every signpost, and its town hall belfry, rising over the main square with a pointed spire and a carillon, looks every bit as Flemish as the towers of Ypres or Bruges. Like much of the town, it is a rebuilding: Bailleul was almost entirely destroyed in the spring of 1918, during the German offensive in Flanders, and was reconstructed in the 1920s in a neo-Flemish style of brick, stepped gables and decorative stonework. The belfry is one of the belfries of Belgium and France listed by UNESCO.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Bailleul is where the day begins. Next is Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Comines.
2. Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Comines
Comines is one of those towns the border runs straight through. The river Lys, the Leie to the Flemish, divides French Comines from Belgian Comines-Warneton, and you can cross from one country to the other on a bridge without noticing much more than a change in the shape of the street signs. On the French side the town hall and its belfry stand over the main square, a tall brick tower in the Flemish style with a pointed roof and a carillon, part of the group of belfries of Belgium and France listed by UNESCO.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Comines comes up about 26 km into the recorded legs. Next is Het Belfort of Halletoren.
3. Het Belfort of Halletoren
On the Grote Markt of Kortrijk a tower stands alone in the middle of the square, as if the building it belonged to had wandered off. In a sense it did. The Belfort, or Halletoren, was once part of the cloth hall, the trading heart of a medieval textile town, and when the hall disappeared the tower stayed. It is one of the belfries of Belgium and France on the UNESCO list, and it has a pair of local celebrities at the top: two gilded figures, Manten and Kalle, who strike the hours on the bell. Kortrijk people are fond of them, and you will see their likenesses on all sorts of souvenirs.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 52 km into the recorded legs you reach Het Belfort of Halletoren. Next is \Halletoren\ ou Belfort.
4. \Halletoren\ ou Belfort
Tielt is a working town in the heart of West Flanders, a place of farmers' markets, textile history and flat roads, and its belfry rises above the market square like a stubborn finger pointing at the clouds. The Halletoren, the hall tower, stands on top of the old cloth hall, the building where merchants once inspected and traded woollen cloth, the source of Flanders' wealth in the Middle Ages. The belfry is one of the group of Belgian and French belfries that UNESCO listed together, symbols of the civic freedom that the cities of Flanders won from their lords, where the town charters were kept and the bells rang to call citizens to arms or to work.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Bailleul closes the day.
Leg by leg
Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Bailleul to Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Comines
Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Bailleul → Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Comines is 26 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Comines to Het Belfort of Halletoren
Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Comines → Het Belfort of Halletoren is 26 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Het Belfort of Halletoren to \Halletoren\ ou Belfort
Het Belfort of Halletoren → \Halletoren\ ou Belfort is 27 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
\Halletoren\ ou Belfort to back through Het Belfort of Halletoren
\Halletoren\ ou Belfort → back through Het Belfort of Halletoren is 27 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Het Belfort of Halletoren to back through Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Comines
back through Het Belfort of Halletoren → back through Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Comines is 26 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Comines to Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Bailleul
back through Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Comines → Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Bailleul is 26 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.