Do you want to know a secret? A Zeecret?
Between the shores of the Oosterschelde to the north and the southern Westerschelde there awaits unexpected adventure. Truly, a delightful palette of beauty, wonders and exquisite, well, affairs.
This may be your first encounter with the Bevelanden (pronounced Bay-Ve-Land-en), but surely not your last. We’re already looking forward to your next visit! Oh, for the linguist in you, there are two parts, Noord- and Zuid-Beveland, both singular, and once separate islands, but they form one region, where we use the plural.
It’s elementary, biking in Bevelanden
Wemeldinge is one such place, with a range of surprising bike ride options. It has a route along the impressive Kanaal door Zuid-Beveland, with its panoply of views, ships and water fowl. On the way back to base, you can drift away into the picturesque polderscape of Kapelse Moer.
Equally pleasant: the nearby Kattendijke and the uniquely vast vistas over the Oosterschelde. Do take the time to stop and take it all in.
The pedestrian fisherperson
The two estuaries are canny places to go welly whelking, their beaches and saltings abundant beds of fertility. Cockles and razor clams are ever so easy to pick. A word of caution: cockles you can eat raw on the spot, but you do need to rinse and boil/steam the clams.
Seaweed is in, so go get some! Virtually all varieties are edible, as long as it’s freshly picked. The firmer, the better.
Flowery dikes
May we welcome you with a fine bunch of flowers? End-April is the best time to come, but you can imagine what it looks like any time of year. The dikes in the country park Landschapspark Borsele wend their way through the splendid spread of small fields and meadows. It’s known – and rightly so – as one of Zeeland’s loveliest spots, especially in springtime when the fruit trees are blossoming. Need persuading? Take a walk, or pedal around, the area near Nisse. It could almost be pronounced ‘nice’.
You’ll see just how small-scale everything is in the park. Not to make it pretty-pretty, but Mother Nature commanded it be so: the centuries-long struggle with water was waged one polder at a time. Every dike, every field, stands in memory of the days when dikes were breached by storms, polders flooded, fields pumped dry. What were once troubled lakes are now peaceful pastures, adding even more variety to an amazing landscape.
Goes: monumentally magnificent
Always been a regional hub for trade and allied activities, Goes has. Its current iteration as a shopping hub was preceded by waves of wholesale and retail: corn merchants, fruit processors, millers, textiles, you name it. You can see this in the splendid rows of listed buildings as warehouses and town houses on the Grote Markt and along the Stadshaven (town harbour). Part of that prosperity laid the foundations for the oh-so-imposing church of the Grote, or Maria Magdalenakerk. Another monument not to be missed is the old town hall on the Grote Markt, the site of many a – legal or commercial – deal in years gone by.
That entrepreneurial bustle of centuries ago is now served up in Goes the Living Mall. A shopper’s paradise, with its wealth of local boutiques housed in the monuments of yesteryear. You could call it ‘monumental shopping’.
Eating at the source
The best way to eat, we know, is with plenty of source! Now, this is a Bevelanden specialty – we have loads of fantastic restaurants where you can feast your eyes on harbour views or mussel ponds, while savouring the best briny delicacies. Some establishments have been awarded a Michelin star, others are headed that way for sure, while yet others are, as yet, undiscovered pearls in our culinary crown.
One such property is De Katse Kaai where your table feels part of the harbour. At the Katse Veer (ferry house), you’re atop the dike, overlooking the water and the saltings. In the quayside De Viskêête, you’re among the mussel cutters of Yerseke. Funny thing, but the mussels taste even better. And then – le moment suprême est arrivé – Inter Scaldes. On a sliver of land between the Ooster- and the Westerschelde, it has long amazed guests’ pampered palates. After its first two Michelin stars (1978, 1984) the 2018 Guide bestowed the third, warbling “exquisite”. Set on being star-struck? This is where you wanna be, ton appétit.
A taste of Zeeland in Yerseke
There are two ways to pronounce Yerseke: Yeah-se-kuh, or Yummy!! The village is the briny host of the Zeeuwse shellfish sector. Cockles, and mussels, and oysters, alive-alive-o. Fresher than fresh, this is as close to the source as you’ll get. Unless you’re a mermaid. Yeah.
To Yerseke, shellfish is the apple of its eye, and it spares no effort in inveigling you on this culinary delight. Its pride peaks every third Saturday of August, the Day of the Mussel, when it turns itself upside down and inside out with village-style fun, Can’t save the date? No matter, there are regular boat trips out on the Oosterschelde, past some breath-taking views, to see the mussel plots. A mussel-lover’s must. You can visit the old mussel ponds on your own steam (on foot). Or take a guided tour on cultivating mussels and oysters. While you’re ambling around, spare some pixels for all those cutters lined up in the harbour.
Fort Ellewoutsdijk
In the fort, you can roam around its underground spaces. Hark! Did you hear the echoes of drums and marching boots? Sure? Outside under the turrets where cannons once stood alert, a panoramic viewer lets you admire birds and boats of all sizes.
Small is beachyful
If it’s wide-open expanses of sea-licked beach you want, go West, westward-ho!. They’re great, too, down where the Walcheren end of the peninsula head butts the passion of the North Sea (hey, Respect, Sea). But, you know, the Bevelanden beaches are cuter, quieter and cuddlier. Size matters, sure, and you’ll just love the numerous small-scale coves and bays: one day, you’ll have your own private beach all to yourselves, other times, you’ll have a smattering of company from other sun-lovers. All around the Veerse Meer lake, or on its many islands, the kids can splash around all day, while you lay back and watch the surfers, sloops and sailboats. Laid back indeed, relaxed XL. Three such lake-side spots are at the Vluchthaven at Geersdijk, nestled in the trees on the Willem Adriaanweg at Kortgene, and with a bit more oomph, at Wolphaartsdijk.
Or pop down to the Westerschelde coast: at Baarland there’s even a beach with a pavilion Up on the Oosterschelde check one out just past the marina at Colijnsplaat, and further to the West there’s a brace of bijou beaches. Sometimes not much bigger than your towel, but the shells you can collect will distract you soon enough.
