Why this ride
From Hoogstraten it runs 204 km to Hoogstraten; allow about 4 h 01 of riding. On the way it passes Voormalig Stadhuis / Lakenhal, Stadhuis en Belforttoren, Sint-Pieterskerk / Belfort and back through Stadhuis en Belforttoren.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Wortel and Sint-Pieterskerk / Belfort
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 204 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 4 h 01
- 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
Wortel → Voormalig Stadhuis / Lakenhal
This part of the ride is 34 km of Wortel → Voormalig Stadhuis / Lakenhal.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 34 km
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Wortel
Wortel is a village in the Belgian Kempen, near the Dutch border, and it is the Belgian member of a World Heritage group whose other two parts, Frederiksoord and Veenhuizen, lie in the Netherlands. The story begins in 1818, when a Dutch army officer, Johannes van den Bosch, founded the Society of Benevolence, an organisation with the grand idea of rescuing the urban poor by sending them to work on farms in the countryside. The first free colonies were founded in the Netherlands, at Frederiksoord, and in 1822 the society bought land at Wortel, then part of the same kingdom, and opened a colony there. When Belgium split away in 1830 the colony remained in Belgian territory.
Read the complete Wortel write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Wortel is where the day begins. Next is Voormalig Stadhuis / Lakenhal.
2. 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
Voormalig Stadhuis / Lakenhal comes up about 34 km into the recorded legs. Next is Stadhuis en Belforttoren.
3. 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
about 60 km into the recorded legs you reach Stadhuis en Belforttoren. Next is Sint-Pieterskerk / Belfort.
4. Sint-Pieterskerk / Belfort
Leuven is a university town through and through. Its university, founded in 1425, is the oldest in the Low Countries, and its students fill the streets, cafés and squares, giving the city a youthful energy. At its heart is the Grote Markt, dominated by two buildings: the Town Hall, a Gothic masterpiece covered in hundreds of statues, and opposite it, the Church of St Peter, a great Gothic church whose tower was never finished but which is part of the UNESCO-listed Belfries of Belgium and France.
Read the complete Sint-Pieterskerk / Belfort write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Sint-Pieterskerk / Belfort, about halfway. Next is back through Stadhuis en Belforttoren.
5. 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 sits at 133 km, about halfway. Next is back through Voormalig Stadhuis / Lakenhal.
6. 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 comes up about 166 km into the recorded legs. Next is Wortel.
7. Wortel
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Wortel write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Wortel closes the day.
Leg by leg
Wortel to Voormalig Stadhuis / Lakenhal
Wortel → Voormalig Stadhuis / Lakenhal is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Voormalig Stadhuis / Lakenhal to Stadhuis en Belforttoren
Voormalig Stadhuis / Lakenhal → Stadhuis en Belforttoren is 26 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Stadhuis en Belforttoren to Sint-Pieterskerk / Belfort
Stadhuis en Belforttoren → Sint-Pieterskerk / Belfort is 40 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Sint-Pieterskerk / Belfort to back through Stadhuis en Belforttoren
Sint-Pieterskerk / Belfort → back through Stadhuis en Belforttoren is 40 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Stadhuis en Belforttoren to back through Voormalig Stadhuis / Lakenhal
back through Stadhuis en Belforttoren → 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 Wortel
back through Voormalig Stadhuis / Lakenhal → Wortel is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.