Why this ride
A 169 km round trip from Brugge - roughly 2 h 55 in the saddle. The stops in between: \Halletoren\ ou Belfort, Béguinage de Kortrijk, Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Comines and back through Béguinage de Kortrijk.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Béguinage de Bruges and Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Comines starting at Brugge
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 169 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 2 h 55
- 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.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Béguinage de Bruges
The Princely Beguinage of Bruges, Ten Wijngaerde, is the sort of place that makes people lower their voices without being asked. White-washed houses surround a grassy courtyard planted with old trees, and in spring thousands of daffodils bloom under them. A beguinage was a community where lay women lived a religious life without taking full vows, and Flanders had many of them from the thirteenth century. This one was founded around 1245 under Margaret of Constantinople, Countess of Flanders, and the UNESCO listing of Flemish Beguinages covers it, along with Diest and others.
Read the complete Béguinage de Bruges write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Béguinage de Bruges is where the day begins. Next is \Halletoren\ ou Belfort.
2. \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.
Read the complete \Halletoren\ ou Belfort write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
\Halletoren\ ou Belfort comes up about 32 km into the recorded legs. Next is Béguinage de Kortrijk.
3. Béguinage de Kortrijk
Step through a gate off a busy street in the centre of Kortrijk and the noise falls away. The béguinage is a tiny enclosed village of whitewashed houses, cobbled lanes and a small church, founded in the thirteenth century by Countess Joan of Constantinople for the beguines, lay women who lived a religious life without taking full vows. It is one of the Flemish béguinages that UNESCO listed together in 1998, and although it is small, it has a rare atmosphere of calm. A statue of the countess stands at the entrance.
Read the complete Béguinage de Kortrijk write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 59 km into the recorded legs you reach Béguinage de Kortrijk. Next is Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Comines.
4. 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.
Read the complete Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Comines write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Comines, about halfway. Next is back through Béguinage de Kortrijk.
5. back through Béguinage de Kortrijk
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Béguinage de Kortrijk write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Béguinage de Kortrijk sits at 113 km, about halfway. Next is back through \Halletoren\ ou Belfort.
6. back through \Halletoren\ ou Belfort
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete \Halletoren\ ou Belfort write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through \Halletoren\ ou Belfort comes up about 138 km into the recorded legs. Next is Béguinage de Bruges.
7. Béguinage de Bruges
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Béguinage de Bruges write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Béguinage de Bruges closes the day.
Leg by leg
Béguinage de Bruges to \Halletoren\ ou Belfort
Béguinage de Bruges → \Halletoren\ ou Belfort is 32 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
\Halletoren\ ou Belfort to Béguinage de Kortrijk
\Halletoren\ ou Belfort → Béguinage de Kortrijk is 27 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Béguinage de Kortrijk to Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Comines
Béguinage de Kortrijk → 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 back through Béguinage de Kortrijk
Beffroi de l’Hôtel de Ville de Comines → back through Béguinage de Kortrijk is 26 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Béguinage de Kortrijk to back through \Halletoren\ ou Belfort
back through Béguinage de Kortrijk → back through \Halletoren\ ou Belfort is 27 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through \Halletoren\ ou Belfort to Béguinage de Bruges
back through \Halletoren\ ou Belfort → Béguinage de Bruges is 32 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.