Lissewege

Lissewege is a polder village of white-washed brick houses along a canal, and the thing that makes it strange is scale: the church of Our Lady, built in the thirteenth century when a local shrine drew pilgrims, has a brick tower some fifty metres high and a nave to match, standing over a village of a few hundred people in flat open country where it is visible for kilometres. The interior has a Gothic rood loft and baroque fittings. A kilometre away stands the tithe barn of Ter Doest, all that survives of a large Cistercian abbey, a thirteenth-century brick building with an oak roof structure of great span, generally reckoned among the finest medieval barns in Europe and now used for events.

What you actually see

• A fifty-metre brick tower - out of all proportion to the village.
• White-washed houses - the polder village along its canal.
• The Ter Doest tithe barn - a thirteenth-century Cistercian barn with an oak roof.
• Flat polder country - the tower visible for kilometres across it.

When to go

April to October for the cycle ride from Bruges. Two hours. The church is open daily; the barn is used for events and access varies. Weekdays are quiet.

Honest expectations

It is a village and two hours covers it. The barn is a private events venue and access is not guaranteed. There is little in the way of facilities. The cycle route from Bruges runs past industrial areas near Zeebrugge.

Nearby

Bruges is south; the Zwin and the coast lie north.