Langelede Cycle Street

Nice piece along the water, parts are also a bicycle street!

The Langelede is a man-made canal in the Belgian municipality of Wachtebeke, between the Dutch border and the Moervaart.

The canal is 5.5 km long and was dug in the 14th century for the transport of peat, sand and bear. During the excavations, they probably followed a natural river a few hundred meters in a westerly direction, which was a tributary of the Durme. Then the Langelede bends to the north, and this section had to be dug completely new, because it crosses the Maldegem-Stekene sand ridge near the Walderdonk. Later in 1774 the canal was widened and straightened. The Langelede was still used for a while to transport sugar beet to the sugar factory in Moerbeke, but like the Moervaart, it is now no longer used for economic purposes. The Langelede is drained to the Moervaart via a pumping station.

The Langelede ends on the Dutch border at the Oudenburgse Sluis. This name indicates that in earlier times this canal had a drainage function for Oudburg. From this lock, the water was drained through a channel into the Western Scheldt. Until the second half of the 20th century, water still flowed to the Netherlands, when this drain was completely closed at the request of the Netherlands.

The narrow width and shallowness of the canal has resulted in the growth of all kinds of aquatic plants, with varying vegetation on the banks. In contrast to some landowners who have integrated the bank in harmony with their garden, such as terraces and lawns up to the edge. The former towpaths along the canal now offer opportunities to cyclists and pedestrians.

Nice and quiet cycling along the Langelede