Why this ride
From Kortrijk it runs 85 km to Kortrijk; allow about 1 h 39 of riding. The stops in between: Stadhuis, \Halletoren\ ou Belfort and back through Stadhuis.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Béguinage de Kortrijk and \Halletoren\ ou Belfort
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 85 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 1 h 39
- 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: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. 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
Béguinage de Kortrijk is where the day begins. Next is Stadhuis.
2. Stadhuis
Bruges is half an hour north, and the two make a good pairing, but Roeselare deserves to be taken on its own terms: a working town of some fifty-six thousand people, built on textiles, food processing and trade, with a town hall on its market square that anchors the centre. Like most Flemish towns, Roeselare grew around a market and a civic building that announced the burghers' independence from lords and bishops, and the tradition of the town hall as the symbol of local self-government is still very much alive here.
Read the complete Stadhuis write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Stadhuis comes up about 22 km into the recorded legs. Next is \Halletoren\ ou Belfort.
3. \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
about 43 km into the recorded legs you reach \Halletoren\ ou Belfort. Next is back through Stadhuis.
4. back through Stadhuis
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Stadhuis write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Stadhuis, late in the day. Next is Béguinage de Kortrijk.
5. 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 at Béguinage de Kortrijk. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Béguinage de Kortrijk to Stadhuis
Béguinage de Kortrijk → Stadhuis is 22 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Stadhuis to \Halletoren\ ou Belfort
Stadhuis → \Halletoren\ ou Belfort is 21 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
\Halletoren\ ou Belfort to back through Stadhuis
\Halletoren\ ou Belfort → back through Stadhuis is 21 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Stadhuis to Béguinage de Kortrijk
back through Stadhuis → Béguinage de Kortrijk is 22 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.