Discover Nieuwkerke: Nature, Walking Trails and History

If you’re looking for a hotel for a stay in Nieuwkerke, your choice of destination may also depend on how you’d like to spend your days. Local themes range from nature and walking to cultural and memorial sites. Nieuwkerke combines a nature area, a viewpoint and themed experiences with stories from different centuries. This lets you decide in advance whether landscapes, history or a visit with a set time slot should shape your stay.

Nature area and viewpoint

De Breemeersen is a nature area of around 26 hectares in Nieuwkerke. It consists of a mosaic of pastures, meadows and hay meadows, along with numerous valuable ponds, ditches and wooded strips. If you’d like to make natural areas a focus of your stay, this area offers a different emphasis from a viewpoint.

The De Walletjes viewpoint offers views towards southern France, including Lille and the slag heaps of Lens and Béthune. You can also see the surrounding hills of Heuvelland. If you prefer a wide panorama to the individual landscape features of a nature area, this offers a different nature experience from De Breemeersen.

Walking trails and their highlights

The Geuzen walking trail explores the hilly countryside west of Nieuwkerke. Audio recordings tell the story of the religious unrest of the 16th century, when the Geuzen broke away from the Catholic Church. For travellers who’d like to take in a historical theme while walking, this trail combines landscapes with audio history.

The Breemeersen walking trail starts at the village information point on the market square in Nieuwkerke. These are different points to consider when choosing a route: the Breemeersen walking trail’s specific starting point on the market square, and the combination of hilly countryside and audio recordings on the Geuzen walking trail.

Local history and memorial sites

In the Middle Ages, Nieuwkerke had a thriving textile industry and textile trade. The Kapel Onze-Lieve-Vrouw is a 19th-century chapel dedicated to Our Lady. The Warandemolen was first mentioned in 1586. These places and dates highlight different aspects: textile history, religious dedication and the mill’s early mention.

Maple Leaf Cemetery is a British First World War military cemetery. It is located in the hamlet of Le Romarin, three kilometres south of Nieuwkerke and right on the French border. The First World War memorial adds another chapter to the area’s historical themes.

At Atelier Raymond, visitors can watch typesetting demonstrations and printing on antique 19th-century printing presses. Here, typesetting and the craft of printing take centre stage, distinguishing the experience from the historical points of interest at the chapel and the Warandemolen.

Wine and planning your visit

Wijndomein Cense de l'Alouette is open to visitors free of charge on Sundays from 2 to 6 pm. You can sample wine there and enjoy the panoramic view. Before you travel, check whether these visiting hours suit your stay.

Discover more destinations: Loker, Dranouter, Wijtschate, Kemmel, Westouter.

For the broader travel overview: Heuvelland.