Staple: Saint-Omer Church and the Flemish Countryside

Staple brings together two distinct themes: the Saint-Omer Church, with its Flemish architecture, and routes through the Flemish countryside. Cultural and historical details sit alongside practical route information. When planning your trip, you can first decide whether you are mainly interested in the church, a walking tour, or exploring by bike. The walking and cycling routes differ both in their format and in their course.

Saint-Omer Church: architecture and organ

The Saint-Omer Church in Staple was fully listed as a monument historique in 2022. It is a Flemish hall church, also known as a hallekerke, in the Westhoek. In the Westhoek, the Flemish hall-church style is associated with the rebuilding of buildings that were devastated during the Geuzen uprising of 1566 to 1568.

The organ also offers specific architectural details: its case consists of a large body with three turrets. The gallery has three openwork rectangular panels decorated with volutes. The instrument was made by the Neuville brothers and installed between 1873 and 1876.

Walking through the Flemish countryside

The Circuit du Vert Bocage starts at the car park behind the church in Staple. The 13-kilometre circular route has a stated duration of 4 hours and 20 minutes; check local conditions before setting out. At the first bend in the route, there is a view of Mont Cassel. The route passes through the plains of Flanders, from farm to farm and through a very sparsely populated landscape. Hop poles and hills are also part of the route’s typical Flemish scenery.

A cycling route between three places

The 19-kilometre cycling route offers a different perspective. It connects Staple, Terdeghem, and Sainte-Marie-Cappel and passes through the villages southeast of Cassel. The difference from the Circuit du Vert Bocage also lies in the route: the circular route starts at the car park behind the church, while the cycling route connects three places. This lets you choose between a tour that starts by the church and a ride through several villages.

Hops, farming, and places to eat

Hops feature both in the landscape and in local farming: hop poles are part of the scenery along the Circuit du Vert Bocage, and hop growing at Houblonnière Degryck in Staple has been a family tradition since 1948. This links a feature of the landscape with the long history of cultivation in Staple. Le chemin de la ferme mainly raises pigs and prepares most of its processed products in-house.

Café de la Couronne « à la forge » is designated a Café-Rando and welcomes guests in a warm, inviting setting. Barbecue evenings are part of its offering. If you are planning a barbecue evening, check the current dates.

Trip planning and finding hotels

If you are planning one of the routes, you can take its format and course into account in your day’s schedule; for the Circuit du Vert Bocage, it is also advisable to check local conditions before setting out.

Discover more destinations: Douai, Halluin, Lambersart, Pont-Sur-Sambre, Saint-Pierre-Brouck, Ferrière-La-Petite, West-Cappel, Crespin.

For the broader travel overview: Nord.