Béguinage de Diest and Onze-Lieve-Lievevrouwebasiliek met Stadsto

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Béguinage de Diest

   Diest has one of the largest béguinages in Flanders, a walled town within the town, with its own streets, gates, church and some ninety houses. The béguines were laywomen who lived a religious life without taking permanent vows, earning their own living and sharing a community, and their béguinages flourished in the Low Countries from the thirteenth century onward. The Flemish béguinages are listed together by UNESCO. In Diest, the béguinage has been restored with care, and its cobbled streets, whitewashed houses and quiet gardens feel worlds away from the traffic outside.

   Read the complete Béguinage de Diest write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Béguinage de Diest is where the day begins. Next is Sint-Leonarduskerk.

2. 2. Sint-Leonarduskerk

   The church of Saint Leonard rises over the little town of Zoutleeuw, in the fruit-growing country east of Leuven, and it is far grander than the size of the place suggests. In the Middle Ages the town, known in French as Léau, was a prosperous trading centre on a route between Brabant and Liège, and its burghers put their money into stone. Work on the church began in the thirteenth century and went on for generations, giving a late Gothic body with a tall tower, rich sculpture and a lofty, light interior with white walls and tall windows.

   Read the complete Sint-Leonarduskerk write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Sint-Leonarduskerk comes up about 23 km into the recorded legs. Next is Onze-Lieve-Lievevrouwebasiliek met Stadsto.

3. 3. Onze-Lieve-Lievevrouwebasiliek met Stadsto

   Tongeren likes to remind you that it is the oldest town in Belgium, and it has a strong claim. The Romans founded a settlement here, Atuatuca Tungrorum, on the road between Cologne and Bavay, and the remains of its walls can still be seen around the town. Before that, the area was home to the Eburones, a Celtic tribe whose chieftain Ambiorix famously ambushed and destroyed a Roman legion in 54 BC. His statue, a heroic nineteenth-century figure with a winged helmet and a magnificent moustache, stands in the main square, the Grote Markt.

   Read the complete Onze-Lieve-Lievevrouwebasiliek met Stadsto write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   about 51 km into the recorded legs you reach Onze-Lieve-Lievevrouwebasiliek met Stadsto. Next is back through Sint-Leonarduskerk.

4. 4. back through Sint-Leonarduskerk

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Sint-Leonarduskerk write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   back through Sint-Leonarduskerk, late in the day. Next is Béguinage de Diest.

5. 5. Béguinage de Diest

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Béguinage de Diest write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Back at Béguinage de Diest. That is the ride.