The best walks and hikes in Moervaartdepressie

This modern, 15-meter-high observation tower offers a spectacular panoramic view over the surrounding nature and the meadows with rare, historical regional breeds. The unique construction with vertical slats guarantees a photogenic stopover. Why you should definitely visit this tower? Unique 360° panorama: From the highest platform, you can look far over the forests, the winding bodies of water, and the extensive Living Heritage Park. Spot historical breeds: the tower is located right next to the meadows of the heritage park. From above, you can perfectly observe the grazing, rare Flemish domestic breeds (such as historical cattle, sheep, and goats). Special play of light and shadow: The architecture with thousands of metal bars filters the sunlight. This creates a beautiful, dynamic interplay of lines on the concrete structure during the climb via the open stairs.

This stately 19th-century castle is hidden in a beautiful park forest on the edge of the Puyenbroeck domain. Until recently, it housed the MOLA (Molenmuseum - Mill Museum). The monumental millstones and gears on the lawn are a reminder of the site's industrial history. The current castle was built around 1890 on behalf of the noble de Kerchove de Denterghem family and replaced a much older, moated settlement. The eclectic facade combines red brick, sandstone details, and playful stepped gables, giving the building its characteristic castle appearance. Today, it is mainly a wonderful resting place for hikers and cyclists. Take a seat on a bench under the ancient trees and enjoy the peace and greenery.

The small bridge crosses the Hasselgracht, a watercourse that, with all its branches, plays an important role in draining water from Zaffelare to Zuidlede. That canal (or rather: canal network) is sometimes not sufficient; Zaffelare sometimes has to deal with waterlogging.

From the realization that breeds come and go in agriculture, the living heritage park wants to preserve the 'old' species. They possess genetic characteristics that have disappeared in their industrial counterparts, such as self-sufficiency and disease resistance. Moreover, these breeds are part of our cultural-historical heritage, just like historical buildings and works of art. They are intertwined with the region and its surroundings and are the result of years of breeding knowledge from our ancestors, which also deserves our appreciation... thus outlines an information board on site what the Living Heritage Park stands for. Several information boards provide some explanation of the different animal species and breeds.

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"

The lookout tower in the Fondatie van Boudelo nature reserve is a design by the young architectural firm Baeten Hylebos Architecten. The tower stands diagonally relative to the avenue amidst the undergrowth, a few meters from the path. In the Architecture Book Flanders N°14 (2021), it is poetically described as follows: In the doorway "light seeps in through the cracks of the planked walls and falls onto a staircase that winds invitingly around the central column. The walk upwards already offers, here and there, some perspectives on the surrounding natural beauty. For this purpose, the planks of the wall conveniently lie in a horizontal articulation. At the top of the stairs, the true reward awaits: an impressive tableau of fields, ponds, forests, birds, and if you're lucky, a leap of deer."

The pumping station at the Frans Coppens Bridge serves to pump excess water from the lower surrounding area into the canal.

It is well worth stopping on top of the bridge. The view from the Stekense Vaart looks like a landscape painting. The bridge is named after honorary citizen Frans Coppens from Klein-Sinaai. As receiver-clerk he made a great contribution in his career. The canal used to be an important connection between the Dutch Hulst and Ghent.