Why this ride
280 km from Turnhout to Turnhout, about 3 h 54 of riding. On the way it passes Ancienne Halle avec Beffroi, Sint-Leonarduskerk and back through Ancienne Halle avec Beffroi. The line favours views over speed.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Béguinage de Turnhout and Sint-Leonarduskerk
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 280 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 3 h 54
- 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 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 Ancienne Halle avec Beffroi.
2. Ancienne Halle avec Beffroi
The Grote Markt of Mechelen is one of the grandest squares in Belgium, and on its eastern side stands the old cloth hall with its belfry, a building with a curious history. The hall was built in the fourteenth century, when Mechelen was a rich cloth-making town, and the belfry was planned to be a tall tower, but it was never finished. Its stump was eventually given a pointed roof, and later a sixteenth-century extension in the Renaissance style was begun to house the Great Council of the Netherlands, but that too remained unfinished. The belfry is part of the UNESCO listing of the belfries of Belgium and France.
Read the complete Ancienne Halle avec Beffroi write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Ancienne Halle avec Beffroi comes up about 67 km into the recorded legs. Next is Sint-Leonarduskerk.
3. 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
about 142 km into the recorded legs you reach Sint-Leonarduskerk. Next is back through Ancienne Halle avec Beffroi.
4. back through Ancienne Halle avec Beffroi
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Ancienne Halle avec Beffroi write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Ancienne Halle avec Beffroi, late in the day. Next is Béguinage de Turnhout.
5. 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
Back at Béguinage de Turnhout. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Béguinage de Turnhout to Ancienne Halle avec Beffroi
Béguinage de Turnhout → Ancienne Halle avec Beffroi is 67 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Ancienne Halle avec Beffroi to Sint-Leonarduskerk
Ancienne Halle avec Beffroi → Sint-Leonarduskerk is 75 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Sint-Leonarduskerk to back through Ancienne Halle avec Beffroi
Sint-Leonarduskerk → back through Ancienne Halle avec Beffroi is 72 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
back through Ancienne Halle avec Beffroi to Béguinage de Turnhout
back through Ancienne Halle avec Beffroi → Béguinage de Turnhout is 66 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.