De Westhoek Nature Reserve

De Westhoek covers about three hundred and forty hectares at the western end of the Belgian coast, the largest dune reserve in the country and one of the least altered, running from the beach inland through fixed dunes, dune grassland, scrub and pine to a large open sand plain known locally as the Sahara, where the sand still moves and vegetation has not taken hold. That mobile dune is unusual on a coast that is otherwise almost entirely built up and stabilised. It is important for orchids, for the natterjack toad and for migrating birds, and it is grazed by ponies and cattle to hold back scrub. Marked paths cross it from De Panne, and the reserve continues over the French border as the Dunes de Ghyvelde.

What you actually see

• The mobile sand plain - a bare dune area still moving.
• Fixed dunes and grassland - the vegetated dune systems behind the beach.
• Orchids and natterjack toads - the species the reserve is managed for.
• Grazing ponies and cattle - the stock holding back scrub.

When to go

April to October, with May and June for orchids. Half a day. Summer weekends bring beach crowds to the edges but the reserve itself stays quiet. Wind is constant on the coast.

Honest expectations

There is no shade and the sand is hard walking. Paths are marked but the open dune is disorienting in mist. Dogs must be on leads and stock grazing means gates. The surrounding coast is heavily built up, which makes the reserve feel enclosed.

Nearby

De Panne is at the eastern edge; the French border runs along the west.