The ponds near Ypres

Departure - Dikkebus: a few parking spaces around the Sint-Jan-Baptistkerk (Neerplaats).

(S/E) With your back to the rear of the church, head north-east. You will immediately reach a crossroads where you turn right (Vijverstraat). A few metres after a 90° right-hand bend, turn left onto a narrow path that leads to the Dikkebus Pond (pole 55).

(1) Head slightly to the right towards marker 54, which you will reach very quickly. Continue along the pond towards 57.

(2) Leave the pond and turn right to reach 58. Take the small road on the left (not very busy, but be careful nonetheless). Cross another road and reach marker 59. Stay on the road (towards 60), pass under a power line and reach a wooded area. Leave the road and enter the woods. Follow the poles towards 60 and you will arrive at the edge of a housing estate. Turn right (Ter Olmen) and, at the end, turn left onto a pretty path to 60, where you will reach the old Ypres-Comines canal.

(3) Turn right along the canal (there is little water in August) and reach 47. Stay on the edge of the canal towards 20. After a left-hand bend, you will reach the N365. Cross it (with great caution!) and follow it a few metres to the left to cross the canal. Turn into the first path on the right and at the end you will reach pole 20 (benches, military cemetery on the left). You are now at the entrance to the Palinbeek Estate.

(4) Go straight ahead (do not cross the canal) and enter the woods. Immediately afterwards, turn left towards 19. Beautiful passage through the undergrowth on a good path. Stayon this path (do not be tempted by the paths leading off to the right or left) to reach posts 19, then 18 and 17.

(5) At 17, continue towards 16, then reach 52.

(6) Turn left and after a hundred metres, you will find a gate on the right (access to a viewpoint on the left). Go through the gate to find a wooden walkway (be careful, there are steps down after a few metres) which goes around "The Bluff" crater, created by a mine explosion during the Great War. You will find another gate at the exit (you are asked to close them properly, but they are so heavy that the hardest part is not getting stuck! Exit and you will find yourself in front of a shelter (pole 16).

(7) Pass under the shelter and take the path opposite (monument on the right). After 150 metres, you will come to a gate on the left (under repair in mid-April 2025).

(8) Go through it and cross the pasture. Exit (gate) and take the path opposite. 500 metres further on, find a path on the right (mountain bike signposting).

(9) Take this path and you will reach a crossroads opposite the military cemetery. Turn right.
Pass marker 39, then a crossroads, and, after walking alongside a pond (on the right), you will reach a T-junction. Turn left and, a little further on, turn right onto a grassy path. This turns left and joins a small road (Verbrandenmolenstraat).

(10) Follow it to the right to reach a larger road. Take the cycle path on the left (be careful, there are many cyclists, especially on Sundays). After the left-hand bend, cross (marked crossing) to take a small road towards the railway line and the military cemetery (Larch Wood), still heading towards 69. After the railway line, turn left and you will arrive at the edge of a housing estate. The path turns right and enters the estate (Persevelde) to reach a T-junction.

(11) Turn right and at the end of the street, continue along the path opposite. At the T-junction, turn left, pass the children's playground and continue straight ahead until you reach a road. Cross it and take the path opposite.

(12) At the end of this path, turn right onto the wooden walkway to reach a wide path (pole 69), which you follow to the left towards 33. Pass two large poles (adult games: archery) and you will arrive at the Zillebeke Pond. Go around it on the left (more pleasant than on the right). Reach a small road and follow it on the right towards the brewery. Join pole 33, on the left, slightly hidden near the brewery.

(13) Turn left towards a curious building with a "keep" in the direction of 68. The path turns left and reaches mast 68 opposite the pond (Spaarbekken). Go around it on the left towards 67 (you can also go around it on the right). This path eventually turns sharply north and, following the road, arrives near a roundabout at the entrance to Ypres (67).

(14) Join the road (towards 66), head towards the roundabout and cross with caution (protected crossing). Head towards 65 and the beautiful Lille Gate. Pass under it and, immediately afterwards, turn left to reach pole 64.
From there, walk along the water on the ramparts (two beautiful postern gates) towards 62. Reach a street to follow on the left (Eiland). At the T-junction, turn left to cross the water and reach pole 62.

(15) Join the N37b at the traffic lights. Cross and take the Dikkebusseweg opposite towards 61. Cross the railway line and join the old canal (pole 61).

(16) Turn right before the canal (Noyellepad towards 56) and follow it until you reach a small stream (Kasteelbeek). Cross it and turn left along the stream, which will take you back to the Dikkebus Pond. At the road, a small left-right turn takes you back to the edge of the stream. You will arrive opposite a green space.

(17) Go around it on the left. At the crossroads, turn right and take the lane on the left, just after the canal. Continue along the stream through an area of garages. At the end of the street, take the small road on the right. You will reach Rue des Orchidées (Orchideënlaan).

(18) Follow it on the left and after a few metres, turn left to rejoin the stream, which you will follow again (and which you will not leave until you reach the pond). You will reach a small road; follow it to the left for about a hundred metres.

(19) Leave the road and take the flower-lined, tree-lined path opposite (slightly to the right) that leads to a farm. After the farm, the tarmac disappears and you continue along a beautiful path (beware of bicycles), still heading towards 56. After crossing two roads, you reach 56 near the pond (very ugly and paid parking!).

(20) Turn right and walk along the pond to reach pole 55.

(1) Turn right and return to Sint-Jan-Baptitkerk via the same route you took on the way there (S/E).

The difficulty lies in the length of the route, otherwise the paths are easy.

Of course, it is best to wear good footwear.

Be careful, for once the danger comes more from cyclists, especially on narrow paths.

There are benches and tables all along the route (this is Belgium, after all).

In the Palingbeek Estate, it is easy to change the route (the Openstreet map is very reliable). You can find the location of all the directional poles on the website https://www.wandelknooppunt.be/ by clicking on 24 (Ieperboog).

The exit from Ypres after signpost 61 is the most difficult. I hope my explanations are clear enough. In any case, you have to follow the river, so you have to return to it every time you stray from it.

Comments
This long route can easily be broken up into sections.

If, at Waypoint 3, you turn left towards Waypoint 14, you will have to walk about 14 km (12 km from Ypres on the Dikkebusseweg. According to the map, there is even a car park near the canal, shortly after mast 61). And it is possible with a pushchair!

You may meet Belgian hikers who are so confident in the signposting that they only take a small piece of paper with them on which they note down the mast numbers!

The ponds and the many birds that frequent them (a heron took flight majestically this morning at dawn).

The Lille Gate and the ramparts of Ypres.