Westhoekdunes
The 340-ha-large Westhoek reserve is the oldest Flemish nature reserve (established in 1957). Together with the French Dunes du Perroquet (225 ha), the water-collection area of Calmeynbos/Krakeelduinen (105 ha) and the municipal Oosthoekduinen (60 ha) it forms the largest closed dunes massif along our coast.
Foredunes, mobile and parabolic dunes, dune dips, grey and white dunes, dune grasslands and calcareaous swamps form the elements of a lively landscape. Yet, archaeologically speaking, too, the area is famous for its habitation remains dating back to past eras from the Iron Age to the Early Middle Ages. Nothwithstanding dehydration, fragmentation, too many visitors and the ever stronger colonization by shrubbery, the area still has highly valuable nature. Large parts of the reserve are actively managed in order to protect the most vulnerable biotopes, such as dune grasslands and grey dunes. To this end, large half-wild grazing cattle are deployed.
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Oosthoekdunes
This large domain of 60 ha is community property and, because of its rich variety of landscapes, a visit to this area is more than worth its while. The eastern part of the domain belongs to the Calmeynbos, which was wooded with a rich assortment of tree varieties for experimental as well as urban reasons. The actual Oosthoekduinen contain a dune dip richly grown with shrubbery (thickets) and surrounded by higher and less overgrown dune slopes. The distance to the sea and the closed character of the landscape have brought the sand-drifts to a standstill a long time ago. This has caused the mobile dunes to evolve into grey dunes. Because of the strong recreational pressure certain areas, however, have turned into mobile dunes again. The community domain is linked via the beautiful Artiestenpad (‘Artists’ path’) to a transitional zone to the polder. This area is currently rearranged and managed as a nature reserve (Duinzoom Oosthoek) by the Flemish authorities. At the edge of the Calmeynbos, the Visitors’ Centre De Nachtegaal (the Nightingale) opens its doors to everybody interested in nature and walking.
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Cabour
The Fossile Dunes of Adinkirk/Ghyvelde are like a small belt lying crosswise on the border of both countries. The Belgian part, called the ‘Cabour dunes’ or ‘Garzebekeveld’, takes up some 80 ha. It is a water-collection area and as such property of the intercommunal water management society of Veurne-Ambacht (Intercommunale Watermaatschappij IWVA). The area is not freely accessible but guided walks are organised on a regular basis.
These dunes are the oldest of the Belgian coast and the remains of a 5500-year-old sea wall. Because of the distance to the sea and the colonization of plants, dune formation no longer occurs here. The flora of these decalcified dunes, with mostly mosses and lichen, can be found nowhere else in the region. Also, very early traces of human presence can be found here : archaeological finds refer to a habitation going back as far as the Stone Age Era (4,500 B.P.). The name of the area and the footway refer to a former proprietor who, in 1906, had a castle built and a park laid out here.
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Houtsaegerdunes
The Flemish nature reserve ‘Houtsaegerduinen en Kerkepannebos’ (86 ha in all) lies closed in between the habitations of De Panne and St. Idesbald. The once largely open and humid dunes area is presently for the greater part dried up and thickly overgrown by natural dune thickets (shrubbery and young trees). Locally some remains of the former grasslands and grey dunes are still present. Most of the old dune fields have been planted with woods. The reserve management aims at protecting and stimulating natural developments within the dunes area. Its history and the limited space, however, necessitate specific measures with a view to the conservation of its biodiversity and the variety of its landscapes. A herd of donkeys, chosen because of their historic role as cattle at graze in the dunes and their ability to cope for themselves, have helped in this. Conservation of the old wood character is central to the approach of the Kerkepannebos. More information can be found in the freely obtainable folder about the reserve.
The Kerkepannebos and the corridor along the Kerkepannepad are open free of charge to nature-respecting visitors the whole year round. In the grazed part of the Houtsaegerduinen the walker is asked to keep to the marked paths (Houtsaegerpad and Ollevierpad; 3 km alltogether) and dogs (also when kept on a leash) are not admitted.
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