The best gravel rides around Beveren

Nice gravel section to speed through.

The Roomanmolen is a stone tower mill on the corner of Pastorijwegel and Beekstraat. This mill was built in 1847 with bricks fired on site. It is the tallest stone windmill in Flanders and the only remaining one of the five windmills that Sint-Pauwels used to have. The mill is named after the miller family who became the owner of this mill in 1895. The former name Gelaagmolen has fallen into disuse. The Roomanmolen was initially an oil and grain windmill. This explains the high ceiling on the ground floor. A steam engine was used, but now only the building and the chimney remain. In 1963, a restoration took place based on a design by architect Fernand Weyers from Sint-Niklaas, but this was not with the intention of grinding again. In 1997, the mill was restored to working order by mill maker Roland Wieme from Deinze. The outbuilding and the chimney of the former steam engine were also restored. The Van Dorpe family sold the working mill in 2003 to the provincial government of East Flanders. It is managed by the Mola mill center, among other mills. The Roomanmolen is freely accessible. In addition to guided tours, grinding demonstrations are also given if possible. The official opening hours are: From April to October, every first and last Sunday of the month from 1 PM to 5 PM. Special days including Open Monumentendag and Oost-Vlaamse Molendag from 10 AM to 5 PM. In the winter period (November-March), the mill is occasionally open. Apparently, the mill is also sometimes used as a party venue. For example, there was a wedding reception going on during my visit. sources: molenechos.org & roomanmolen.be

The creek area of Saleghem is more than the sum of its parts. The nature reserve consists of the Grote Saleghemgeul on one side, and the Sint-Jakobsgat and the Kieldrechtse Watergang on the other. This triumvirate of water creeks then flows into the Grote Geule in Kieldrecht. Each separately is beautiful, yes. But together they are magical. The succession of gently sloping banks, grassland and hay, rare birds and colourful flowers, rustling reeds and melancholic willows: it silences a person. It inspires awe for the magic of nature. And everyone can enjoy it – even wheelchair users, because there is a special wheelchair walk around the creek lakes. This is what waasland.be writes... and there is nothing to contradict it.

The Molenbeek forms part of the northern border of the municipality of Sint-Niklaas with the municipalities of Sint-Gillis-Waas and Stekene. Hydrographically, the Molenbeek belongs to the basin of the Gentse Kanalen. Previously, the Molenbeek originated in the center of Sint-Niklaas, at the site where the Romain De Vidtspark is now located. Nowadays, the stream flows through the entire Sint-Niklaas center from south to north in culverts, to re-emerge on the surface at the edge of Belsele and then flow through Sinaai until it flows into the Stekense Vaart. From that confluence, a path follows the banks of the stream for a considerable distance.

The wooden arch bridge over the Stekense Vaart, named after Frans Coppens, was receiver-clerk in the municipality of Sinaai for almost a quarter of a century. He played an important role in "de Groote Watering van Sinay", the name given to the project launched by the Boerenbond in 1926. This project was initiated after repeated floods and aimed to make the polders 'dry'. The construction of the pumping station near Hondsnest was one of the first achievements within this project. During the Second World War, the unemployed were employed to clean or widen ditches. Under the impetus of dike reeve Jozef "meester" Maes and... receiver-clerk Frans Coppens (!), major reclamation works were carried out in the 60s, continuing into the following decades. Thus, Hondsnest got a new pumping station in 1975. In the meantime, the watering area had been converted into a polder, pursuant to the polder law of June 3, 1957. source: info file "Polder Daknam-Sinaai"

On this segment, you will get to know the Stropersbos. A bench awaits you at the heathland restoration area. About the Stropersbos: the Stropersbos is a must-see natural gem with its stately avenues, valuable alder swamp forests, open spaces with heathland, and its large grazers! Together with the adjacent green areas, the Stropersbos forms one of the largest forest and nature complexes in East Flanders. Numerous walking and cycling opportunities allow visitors to discover the Stropersbos.

On Friday, April 5, 1867, the Spletterenbrug was officially opened. Between Moerbeke and Lokeren, trains stopped in Daknam and Eksaarde. In Moerbeke, travelers could transfer to railway line 77 towards Zelzate or towards Sint-Gillis-Waas. That the intention was to one day double the 9-kilometer railway line to two tracks is still visible on the Spletterenbrug. Both bridge abutments are indeed twice as wide as the bridge deck itself. It never came to that. On the contrary. The railway line suffered during both world wars, causing traffic to be suspended for months. For example, retreating German soldiers blew up the bridge at the end of World War I. Less than a year after the armistice, in September 1919, the line was already restored and trains could run on the route again. In 1940, the Belgian army, in turn, tried to slow down the German advance by destroying the bridge. The bridge was repaired again. In 1971, the last train chugged along the route. After more than a century of train traffic, the tracks were dismantled and the route was redeveloped as a cycling and walking path from Lokeren to Moerbeke. The Spletterenbrug itself was preserved and restored in 2017. The seven layers of paint were removed, and the bridge regained its original, dark gray color. Source: industriecultuur.be

nice avenue between the trees