Leie/Lys River: Gent ring - Deinze - Kortrijk - Armentières (FR) (85 km)

The Leie (La Lys in France) is the major tributary of the Schelde in Flanders. It rises in France and runs NE to Gent, with an official length (per Verschueren) of 202 km, 109 of which are in Belgium. It forms the border between Belgium and France for 24 km. From St-Eloois-Vijve to Deinze junction (11 km) the original meandering river course has been entirely replaced by a straight new channel. The remains of the original river are a series of oxbow lakes on either side of the canal. North of Deinze an entirely new channel - the Leie bypass or Schipdonk canal - carries the bulk of the water and all the commercial barge traffic. The original channel meanders north into Gent, making a horseshoe curve at the Steen (fortress) and finally merging with the Schelde.

According to an article in Het Nieuwsblad on 25 Jul 98, the French government has given approval for canal improvements from Paris to the Leie at the border. Target date for completion is 2006, and much of the work has been completed. The route will have a capacity of 1,350 tons, or up to 4,000 for "convoys" of barges with a tug. On the Belgian side, the capacity is already 1,350 from Kortrijk north, including the Roeselare canal. When/if the widening is completed between Kortrijk and the French border, the ports of Gent and Antwerp will have excellent inland water connections with northern France. The project will also improve the waterway connection between the Seine and Dunkerque. There is already much traffic, about half to and from the Roeselare canal.

For the section inside the Gent ring, see the section on Gent.

Gent Ring - Deinze (22 km)

Leie Deinze to Gent ring, Schipdonk to Gent - Brugge (Durmen)

This portion of the river is basically wild, meandering through flat farmland with occasional picturesque villages. Passage on most of this section is limited to 300 tons - in effect only pleasure boats. It appears that there has been no attempt to maintain towpaths since the construction of the Leie bypass in the mid 19^th century, and in fact there is no accessible towpath along most of the 25-km (as the river wanders) route. Much of the riverside has been divided into large lots, which have the greatest collection of LARGE mansions I saw in Belgium.

You have three choices for this section. All begin at the Buchtenbrug (a rail and road bridge) over the Gent ring.

1. Follow the river as closely as you can (about 22 km).

You can ride the banks of the river for only a few km, but the ride is lovely. The route following the river is in part the Leiestreek bicycle route, which makes a loop from Deinze to Gent and back. The part that sort of follows the river is north of the N43, and signposted for the Deinze - Gent direction only. (And even in that direction the posting is incomplete.) To take the route in the other direction, you will need to follow your instincts. From the Buchtenbrug follow the road (bike lanes on both sides) for a little over a km to a pub at a crossroad. Turn right, and then follow the roads to Afsnee, Sint-Martens-Latem, Deurle, a river crossing via the N437, Sint-Martens-Leerne, and Kasteel Ooidonk. Along the way you pass through some of the poshest housing development in Belgium, particularly in the Latem area. The houses along the river tend to be mansions with very large grounds.

Ooidonk was founded in the 12th century. What you see today is mostly 16th. The chateau is approached from Bachte-Maria-Leerne, on a road running south from the church (12 - 16th centuries, rehabbed 17th century). (There are several pubs on the two main streets of the town.) Then you pass through a gateway dated 1595. At the entrance to the chateau park and grounds (open to the public much of the year), turn right. You ride along an old, straight road with a lovely arcade of trees for about 700 m to a side road on the left. Turn left and follow that road (again straight) to its end. There turn right onto a gravel path for 700 meters to a junction with a road. Continue straight and you quickly reach the Leie and then paved towpath. The towpath soon enters an industrial area, and then the town of Deinze. At the lift bridge, you can continue south for about a km to the junction with the Schipdonk canal, or if you plan to continue south turn right on the shopping street in front of the church. That street takes you to the Krommebrug.

2. Follow the N43 (about 14 km).

From the Buchtenbrug follow the road (bike lanes on both sides) straight. In 1.5 km you pass under the E40, and then reach a square at Kleine Gent. Take the second exit from the square and follow the road several hundred meters to a junction (traffic circle) with the N43. There are separate bicycle paths on both sides of the N43. Turn right on the N43.

This is an interesting road, an odd mixture. It is mostly strip development, with large commercial establishments such as car dealers. Occasionally you see the entrance to a large estate. And now and then there is a small establishment, advertising rooms for rent, or private club, or with display windows with ultraviolet lights. As the sun sets more and more of the windows are occupied by women wearing a little white.

It is 11 km to the heart of Deinze, where at a traffic light you turn right towards centrum and the lift bridge over the Leie. If you plan to continue south on the Leie, cross the bridge and continue straight on the shopping street that passes in front of the church. That street takes you to the Krommebrug.

Along the N43 you will occasionally see the Leie to the north, and there are occasional side roads that you can take to get closer to the river - or perhaps combine this route with the previous by following the signs for Sint-Martens-Latem or Deurle (N437).

3. Do as the barges do: the Gent ring to the Gent - Brugge canal to the Schipdonk to Deinze. 27 km.

Deinze - Kortrijk (26 km)

Leie Deinze to Kortrijk

From Deinze south, the right (east) bank has lengthy nice sections but also some serious interruptions. In the southern section some industries use the service road. Stay on the west (left) bank. If you are in Deinze, cross to the left bank of the Leie bypass on the Krommebrug and head south. After 500 m of riding along a road and under the next bridge (Vaartbrug), you start a long section of service road along the canal. 800 m later is the end of the Leie bypass - the junction with the Leie. This is KM 14.2, counting down the bypass. The counting continues south along the river.

For the first 10 km the countryside is totally flat, and highly developed for agriculture. Occasional cars using the service road as a short cut usually ignore the 40 kph speed limit, but they are careful about bicycles. Note the frequent cuts in the dikes on both sides, caused by flood waters. The defenses, such as cement slabs along the dikes, are not enough to protect the dikes during floods such as that in August 1998. The river may have been turned into a canal, but it is obviously not under human control.

Periodically you pass oxbow lakes, the original course of the river. Some of these are protected as nature preserves. Many are popular with fishermen, who like the waterfowl avoid the main channel.

11.5 km south of Krommebrug is the only lock on this stretch, with a rise of 2.4 m. There is no (official) bridge. About 1 km later you reach the St-Eloois-Vijve bridge. The service road then becomes a paved towpath. You start seeing occasional heavy commercial and clean industrial establishments, most fairly new and few taking advantage of the canal for transportation.

About 3 km after St-Eloois-Vijve bridge there is a nature reserve with mounds of dirt. Note the ruts from off-road motorcycles. The area is now fenced with signs threatening punishment if a motorized vehicle is taken inside. To the east you can see, if you look closely, slight rises in the land. You are on the edge of the Flemish Ardennes.

A little over a km later you reach the junction with the Roeselare canal. You have to detour a short distance up that canal to the first bridge. To the north and south of the Roeselare canal there is an old channel, now a nature preserve. This may be the original channel of the river. At the bridge, note the old stairway of three locks, now replaced by a single larger lock with a lift of 7.45 m.

Harelbeke Sint-Salvator

From Hogebrug south you need to use the left (north) bank. The right (east bank) is blocked about 3 km south of Harelbeke.

Heading south you pass an unusual lock - one end with swing gates and the other end with a lift gate. Then there is a short port area and then countryside starting just before KM 36. 500 m later is a monument to the Belgian troops in the Battle of the Leie in May 1940. Along this section are some lovely houses that really take advantage of their location.

Three km of mostly country riding on fine towpath brings you to Kortrijk. In quick succession you have the junction with the Bossuit - Kortrijk Canal (across the river), the Groeninge bridge, the split between the old and new channels of the Leie, and the Dam bridge (or currently two bridges). The towpath ahead is blocked by a construction site - the improvement of the new channel for 1,350 tons. (May 2006 from Karel Roose: a recent newspaper article said that the improvement project will continue until 2010.) But that is just as well - it is more pleasant to cross the bridge and then follow the eastern (old) channel of the Leie. Cross the Dambrug and continue straight with the old channel on your left. This road is one way north (or east) for cars, but there is a cycle lane marked for both directions. (May 1999, checked by Joe Rine September 2000)

Kortrijk Broel Towers

The road curves to the right and suddenly you have two Broel towers in sight, with an ancient bridge. These were part of the city fortifications, the south tower built in the 12th century and the north in the 13th. (Most of the city fortifications were destroyed by order of Louis XIV in 1694.) To detour into the city center, take this old bridge. Otherwise continue straight for 500 m and the point where the two channels again join. You have to cross the bridge (Reepbrug) across the new channel to the left (north) bank. (May 1999)

Kortrijk - Menen - Wervik/Wervicq (19 km)

West of Kortrijk the right (south) bank generally has no towpath. Use the left (north) bank. It is marked for the LF 6b bikeway.

From the Reepbrug, turn west along the towpath on the left (north) bank. Just across the street in the yellow temporary structure there is an exhibition on the Leiewerken (Leie improvement project) in Kortrijk. Unfortunately opening hours are very limited: each Friday from 14:00 till 17:00. Until 2007 (so it is claimed), the new channel will be a major construction area, as it is being enlarged up to 1350 tons. Five bridges will be replaced with eight. Two of the new bridges (Dambrug and Groeningebrug) were finished by summer 2002. The old Damburg was still in place at that time.

Leie widening plans in Kortrijk

Follow the towpath under the Gerechtshofbrug. You pass under a railroad bridge and the Brug van Bissegem-Marke. Passing under a new bridge (R8) you again have fine riding through fields.

A little less than one km brings you to the Bijenhof - bee place. They produce honey, and Barbar honey beer. (No, it is not sweet. Give it a try!)

Just about 3 km later you reach the Wevelgem - Lauwe bridge. GeoCart shows the paved towpath continuing, but in fact you see nothing but loose dirt. (That may change - there are two rows of trees that should outline a service road.) In any case, cross the bridge to continue west on the right (south) bank for the next 5 km to Menen. The ride is on fine paved towpath through farmland.

From just west of Menen, the Leie forms the border between France and Belgium for 24 km. The side you ride determines the country you are in. And from Menen to Wervik (just about 7 km) you can ride either side. The left (north, Belgian) side offers fine towpath for most of the way, but requires a detour of 1 km around an industrial zone. The right (south, French) side is a bit better. There are markings for the De Kommiezenroute bike route.

Just west of Menen bridge you cross into France, but the border is completely unmarked. Even the occasional KM (on the north bank) continue the Belgian count. There is a substantial program of planting the embankments on both sides of the river, for which the French authorities take credit. (Small scale maps indicate that the border is the middle of the original river channel.) Just west of Menen there is an old channel on the north side. The peninsula between the old and new channels is being developed as a park by the French. At the old locks there is now a display with tourist information explaining the history of the city. Menen was one of the many cities fortified by Vauban.

That split between the channels is only 200 m west of the Menen bridge. Then there is the Menen ring bridge, and on the north bank an old port and industrial zone - mostly scrap metal and cement.

Leie Kortrijk - Comines

About this time your nose may begin to detect a remarkable stench. This is a reminder that much of the sewage in Belgium and northern France receives no treatment except for aeration at weirs. (You are in fact approaching a weir, but the stench may be more from nearby sludge holding ponds for pig farms.) (Or it may be from the dump "Laag Vlaanderen" that is used for waste dredged from the river. This is about 1.5 km after the Menen lock one on the south bank between the old and new channels.) And there are few waterfowl except swans, and absolutely no fishermen.

In any case, the countryside is pleasant and the riding fine until the last few meters before the Wervik (or Wervicq) bridge. There you have a short gravel stretch, and then cobblestones getting to the bridge. And to the bridge you must go, as the towpath on the right bank comes to an end.

Wervik (the Flemish name for the town on the north bank) is worth a detour for the Sint Medardus church. It was heavily damaged in WW1 but then restored. And it is now 20 years into another restoration. Much of what you see is 14th and 15th century, the crypt 13th. The pub across the street from the side door of the church has a large aerial photograph of the town, probably from the 1960's. At the time of the photo there was some heavy industry that has now closed and in some cases disappeared entirely.

On the north side of the town is a windmill (built 1783) in excellent condition. There is also a Tobacco Museum. (May 1999, update by Karel Roose Sep 2002)

Wervik/Wervicq - Comines - Deulemont - Armentières (FR) (18 km)

A very pleasant ride, practically all on fine towpath. Much of the route includes new channels that have created islands with the old river. Those islands are all being developed as parks or nature preserves.

GeoCart makes as many mistakes as possible on this section. Most of the new channels are not shown on the map. And from Comines - Warneton west and south there is fine bike path on the right (south, French) bank.

Warneton church
photo by Karel Roose

From Wervik/Wervicq bridge to Comines bridge (3 km) the right (south) bank is a major industrial area, without towpath and with an old river channel that forms a peninsula. The left (north) bank has a fine wide paved towpath starting about 200 m west of the Wervik bridge. About 500 m past the beginning of the good path is a windmill. 1.2 km later the new path ends. (Note that this is where you cross the language border into an enclave of the French-language province of Hainaut. The enclave is bordered by France and West Flanders.) A sewage treatment plant was recently constructed here. You can continue for 1.2 km on old path and/or packed dirt of variable quality (fair to good) to Comines - Warneton bridge. In this section you pass the remains of a rail bridge.

About 500 m after the Comines bridge is the junction with the never completed Comines-Ieper canal. Turn on to that canal (marked RaVEL 1 - Ypres/Ieper) if you want to go north to Ieper.

Closed Bailey Bridge
photo by Karel Roose

Continuing along the river from Comines on the left/north bank, there is good riding for 8 km to a Bailey Bridge across the river. The intent is obviously that people cross the bridge and continue on the south bank. However, the bridge is firmly closed, and without it you are forced off onto country lanes. (And any cars trying to cross the bridge face a major detour.)

Better to cross the Comines - Warneton bridge and continue on the south (French) side. This is a fine path of fairly recent construction, the surface changing from commune to commune - but all very good to excellent except for about 150 m at Deulemont. As you approach that town there is a barge "parked" on the land side of the path - perhaps a community center.

Just past Deulemont is the confluence of the Deule river with the Leie. From this point there are paved towpaths on both sides of the Deule - towards Lille. (There is also paved towpath by the Deule in Lille, but I did not explore the intervening section.) To continue on the Leie, make a U-turn up to the bridge across the mouth of the Deule, cross the bridge, and turn right at the first road. Following that 300 m (mostly cobblestones but not too bad) brings you to the closed Bailey bridge. (The high quality fences may have cost more than fixing the bridge would have.) Turn left at the bridge and you are again on fine towpath on the right bank of the river.

To Armentières is 6 km of fine riding, part farmland and part old industrial sites. Many of the latter (on the French side) have been turned into parks. Particularly striking is the entry to Armentières itself - a major park featuring the old channel and port areas to the south of the new channel.

I stopped at the second Armentières road bridge. The fine towpath continues to the west on the south bank. (August 1999, reviewed and corrected by Karel Roose Nov 2002) (Section to Bailey bridge reviewed by Karel Roose 6 November 2004

In February 2005, Mark Swain arrived by ferry at Calais and then attempted to connect to the Lyes at Armentières. He found that required mostly road riding.

Last updated 17 May 2005

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