Why this ride
From Turnhout it runs 183 km to Turnhout; allow about 3 h 37 of riding. On the way it passes Stadhuis en Belforttoren, Voormalig Stadhuis / Lakenhal, Béguinage de Lier and back through Voormalig Stadhuis / Lakenhal.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Béguinage de Turnhout and Béguinage de Lier
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 183 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 3 h 37
- 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.
Scenic road chapters
Stadhuis en Belforttoren → Voormalig Stadhuis / Lakenhal
The ride follows Stadhuis en Belforttoren → Voormalig Stadhuis / Lakenhal for 26 km.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 26 km
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Béguinage de Turnhout
Turnhout lies in the Kempen, the sandy, wooded heath of northern Belgium, only a few kilometres from the Dutch border, and the beguinage here is a small village within the town, with brick houses, a church and quiet courtyards behind a wall. The city has nearly forty thousand people, and the beguinage is about half a kilometre from the centre. It is one of thirteen Flemish beguinages inscribed by UNESCO in 1998.
Read the complete Béguinage de Turnhout write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Béguinage de Turnhout is where the day begins. Next is Stadhuis en Belforttoren.
2. Stadhuis en Belforttoren
Lier's Grote Markt is one of those squares that makes you slow down without being asked. In the middle stands an elegant eighteenth-century town hall in pale stone, and grafted onto its side is something much older: a slim Gothic belfry from the fourteenth century, its four corner turrets giving it the look of a castle chess piece. Together they belong to the group of Belgian and French belfries listed by UNESCO, symbols of the moment when medieval towns won their freedoms and built towers to prove it.
Read the complete Stadhuis en Belforttoren write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Stadhuis en Belforttoren comes up about 41 km into the recorded legs. Next is Voormalig Stadhuis / Lakenhal.
3. Voormalig Stadhuis / Lakenhal
Rik Van Looy, one of the great Belgian cyclists of the 1950s and 1960s, was known as the Emperor of Herentals, which tells you something about the priorities of this town in the Kempen. Herentals lies on the flat heathland of the province of Antwerp, and in the middle of its market square stands the old town hall, built in the fourteenth century as a cloth hall, a lakenhal, when the town grew rich on wool and weaving. Its belfry is part of the UNESCO listing of belfries of Belgium and France, a symbol of civic pride and of the freedoms that merchants bought from their lords.
Read the complete Voormalig Stadhuis / Lakenhal write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 67 km into the recorded legs you reach Voormalig Stadhuis / Lakenhal. Next is Béguinage de Lier.
4. Béguinage de Lier
Through a gateway off a busy street in Lier, you step into another world. The béguinage is a small walled neighbourhood of narrow cobbled lanes, whitewashed brick houses and a baroque church, where for centuries communities of beguines lived. These were religious women who chose a life of prayer, work and service without taking the permanent vows of nuns, living independently in their own houses but sharing a communal life. The béguinages of Flanders, about a dozen of them, were listed by UNESCO in 1998, and the one in Lier, with its quiet lanes and doorways topped with statues of saints, is one of the most charming.
Read the complete Béguinage de Lier write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Béguinage de Lier, about halfway. Next is back through Voormalig Stadhuis / Lakenhal.
5. back through Voormalig Stadhuis / Lakenhal
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Voormalig Stadhuis / Lakenhal write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Voormalig Stadhuis / Lakenhal sits at 131 km, about halfway. Next is back through Stadhuis en Belforttoren.
6. back through Stadhuis en Belforttoren
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Stadhuis en Belforttoren write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Stadhuis en Belforttoren comes up about 144 km into the recorded legs. Next is Béguinage de Turnhout.
7. Béguinage de Turnhout
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Béguinage de Turnhout write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Béguinage de Turnhout closes the day.
Leg by leg
Béguinage de Turnhout to Stadhuis en Belforttoren
Béguinage de Turnhout → Stadhuis en Belforttoren is 41 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Stadhuis en Belforttoren to Voormalig Stadhuis / Lakenhal
Stadhuis en Belforttoren → Voormalig Stadhuis / Lakenhal is 26 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Voormalig Stadhuis / Lakenhal to Béguinage de Lier
Voormalig Stadhuis / Lakenhal → Béguinage de Lier is 25 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Béguinage de Lier to back through Voormalig Stadhuis / Lakenhal
Béguinage de Lier → back through Voormalig Stadhuis / Lakenhal is 26 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Voormalig Stadhuis / Lakenhal to back through Stadhuis en Belforttoren
back through Voormalig Stadhuis / Lakenhal → back through Stadhuis en Belforttoren is 26 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Stadhuis en Belforttoren to Béguinage de Turnhout
back through Stadhuis en Belforttoren → Béguinage de Turnhout is 40 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.