Why this ride
205 km from Oudenaarde to Oudenaarde, about 3 h 55 of riding. On the way it passes Béguinage de Kortrijk, Stadhuis, \Halletoren\ ou Belfort and Het Belfort of Halletoren.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Stadhuis met Belfort and Het Belfort of Halletoren
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 205 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 3 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: 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. Stadhuis met Belfort
Oudenaarde's town hall looks like something carved from lace. Built in the early sixteenth century in the late Gothic style, it has a facade covered with pointed arches, niches and statues, and a slender belfry topped with a gilded crown on which stands a small knight known locally as Hanske de Krijger, Little John the Warrior. The building is one of the finest of its kind in Flanders, and it is listed by UNESCO among the belfries of Belgium and France. Inside, there are displays of the tapestries for which Oudenaarde was famous across Europe in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, especially its verdures, woven scenes of forests and greenery.
Read the complete Stadhuis met Belfort write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Stadhuis met Belfort is where the day begins. Next is Béguinage de Kortrijk.
2. 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 comes up about 32 km into the recorded legs. Next is Stadhuis.
3. 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
about 54 km into the recorded legs you reach Stadhuis. Next is \Halletoren\ ou Belfort.
4. \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, about halfway. Next is Het Belfort of Halletoren.
5. Het Belfort of Halletoren
On the Grote Markt of Kortrijk a tower stands alone in the middle of the square, as if the building it belonged to had wandered off. In a sense it did. The Belfort, or Halletoren, was once part of the cloth hall, the trading heart of a medieval textile town, and when the hall disappeared the tower stayed. It is one of the belfries of Belgium and France on the UNESCO list, and it has a pair of local celebrities at the top: two gilded figures, Manten and Kalle, who strike the hours on the bell. Kortrijk people are fond of them, and you will see their likenesses on all sorts of souvenirs.
Read the complete Het Belfort of Halletoren write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Het Belfort of Halletoren sits at 102 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 129 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Stadhuis.
7. 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
about 150 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Stadhuis. Next is back through Béguinage de Kortrijk.
8. 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, late in the day. Next is Stadhuis met Belfort.
9. Stadhuis met Belfort
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Stadhuis met Belfort write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 205 km.
Leg by leg
Stadhuis met Belfort to Béguinage de Kortrijk
Stadhuis met Belfort → Béguinage de Kortrijk is 32 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
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 Het Belfort of Halletoren
\Halletoren\ ou Belfort → Het Belfort of Halletoren is 27 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Het Belfort of Halletoren to back through \Halletoren\ ou Belfort
Het Belfort of Halletoren → 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 back through Stadhuis
back through \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 back through Béguinage de Kortrijk
back through Stadhuis → back through Béguinage de Kortrijk is 22 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Béguinage de Kortrijk to Stadhuis met Belfort
back through Béguinage de Kortrijk → Stadhuis met Belfort is 32 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.