Standing on the wide arch of sand at low tide, looking across the marshland behind sand dunes, it’s impossible to imagine the Zwin inlet was once one of the busiest waterways in medieval Europe. It is even harder to imagine the freakish act of nature that led to the inlet’s creation, or that it gave birth to one of Europe’s wealthiest medieval cities, or that when it silted up in the 15th and 16th centuries it devastated the local economy.
The Zwin inlet was created by a fierce storm that smashed through the Flemish coast in 1134. The strength of the storm created a tidal inlet that suddenly and unexpectedly gave Brugge access to the sea. It was the nudge Brugge needed to become one of the greatest and wealthiest cities in medieval Europe. There is irony in the fact that the Zwin was created overnight, while its demise and that of Brugge took a couple of centuries.
By the 16th century, the inlet had silted up and was no longer navigable. Its fate and that of Brugge went hand in hand. Brugge, battered by wars of religion and economically outcompeted by the Port of Antwerp sank into virtual obscurity. The Zwin went back to being a marshland inhabited only by sheep farmers and fishermen. Once known as the Golden Inlet, the Zwin became a backwater.
Today, it is a peaceful nature reserve a short distance from Belgium’s most upmarket seaside resort, Knokke. The contrast between the two couldn’t be more different, but in summer both can be crowded with visitors. I arrived early on a sunny but bitingly cold February morning. The ground was still frozen as I set off on the 5km walk from Knokke to where Belgium ends and The Netherlands begins. At low tide, you can cross the border on foot.
Much of the Zwin region is fenced off to form a nature reserve that charges €14 entry. I understand, it’s a small area and needs people management. But to a British person used to accessing swathes of national parks and other protected landscapes for free, that seemed like a rip off. Luckily, as well as the coastal walk, there are routes that go inland and skirt the nature reserve that make for rewarding hikes.
The nature reserve though does more than land management. It is a globally renowned centre for birdlife, and for bird watchers. Some of its most important inhabitants are species that have been brought back from the brink of extinction in Europe: barnacle geese, crested lapwings, white storks, and kestrels. It is a true haven for all manner of birds, and gets its fair share of rare and exotic visitors.
As I walked further away from Knokke the coast became wilder and more natural, a series of sand dunes rising up behind the beach. Arriving close to the Zwin inlet the beach expands to create a vast flat sandscape crisscrossed by riverlets. Out at sea, there are ocean going ships heading along the coast to the Scheldt estuary, the entry point to reach Brugge’s nemesis, the Port of Antwerp.
After crossing by foot into The Netherlands, I returned through the dunes before heading inland on tracks that took me through woods and pasture land. I passed the nature reserve entrance with its museum to the region, and along a large dyke that gave fabulous views over the wetlands back to the sea. Further on were what looked like World War Two bunkers, probably part of the German defences against Allied landings.
Cutting through a landscape of polders that are now home to Highland cattle and Polish Konik horses, I was soon back in the suburbs of Knokke. It had been a day of revelations, and proved conclusively that there are some beautiful and largely unspoiled areas of the Belgian coast. I arrived in Knokke just in time to grab a beer in the sun before getting the train back to Brussels.
Truly the “Plat Pays.”
Wonderful tour.
It is a lovely stretch of coast