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Poppies Along the Antitank Canal

Poppies Along the Antitank Canal

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Poppies Along the Antitank Canal

Recommended by 165 mountain bikers out of 173

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Location: Schilde, Antwerp, Antwerp, Flanders, Belgium

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Best Mountain Biking Routes to Poppies Along the Antitank Canal

4.3

(16)

297

riders

1. Path Along the Woods – World War II Bunker loop from Maria-ter-Heide

47.3km

03:04

70m

Moderate mountain bike ride. Good fitness required. Advanced riding skills necessary.

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Moderate

5.0

(4)

riders

2. The Little Forest House Zoersel – Gravel Track Near the Airport loop from Elisabeth

72.5km

04:16

110m

Moderate mountain bike ride. Good fitness required. Advanced riding skills necessary.

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Moderate

5.0

(1)

157

riders

3. Brasschaat Airfield – Forest Path Near the Brewery loop from Heide

80.3km

05:03

130m

Hard mountain bike ride. Very good fitness required. Advanced riding skills necessary.

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Hard

Tips

🇧🇪 Herwig Aertbeliën

May 18, 2022

Here you are at a historic location that was part of Defense Line Antwerp WW2.
Historical interpretation: The anti-tank ditch is a 33 km long defensive ditch northeast of Antwerp, between the Scheldt and the Albert Canal. The canal was constructed between 1938-1940 as part of the Antwerp fortress.

In the 1930s the Belgian army reoriented the fortress to a defense for infantry (supports) and machine gun companies. The military added the anti-tank ditch and bunker lines (KW-line) to the existing defenses by forts and redoubts. The aim was to stop tanks. Therefore, the anti-tank ditch had to have a slope, depth and width that a tank of that time could not exceed:

a bottom of at least six meters wide
a width of 18m at the water surface
a depth of at least three meters
a minimum water level of two meters
slopes of 45°

Originally, the Antitankgracht was to become a dry canal, but because it was full of water, it was forced to be converted into a wet canal. The route had to bridge a difference in height of roughly 3 to 18.5m (DTM). That is why it was divided into about 45 compartments with locks. A slide in the sluice regulated the water flow and thus maintained the level. The water came partly from seepage water or local streams and partly from the Meuse, supplied via the Dessel-Schoten canal. Because control over the water levels was so important, each lock was defended by a bunker.

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Rolf Boeykens

May 14, 2021

Best "bike path" in the province.

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Pim van de Swaluw

June 15, 2023

nice bike path for the gravel bike, a bit busy with walkers on the weekend

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Details

Informations

Elevation 10 m

Weather

Tuesday 16 December

11°C

7°C

12 %

If you start your activity now...

Max wind speed: 13.0 km/h

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See rides here

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Location: Schilde, Antwerp, Antwerp, Flanders, Belgium

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Gravel Path Along the Antitankgracht

World War II Bunker

Poppies Along the Antitank Canal

1. Path Along the Woods – World War II Bunker loop from Maria-ter-Heide

2. The Little Forest House Zoersel – Gravel Track Near the Airport loop from Elisabeth

3. Brasschaat Airfield – Forest Path Near the Brewery loop from Heide

Other Popular Places to Check Out

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