Westkapelle

Westkapelle sits at the exposed western corner of Walcheren, where the dunes give out and the sea comes at the land directly, and the answer has been the Westkappelse Zeedijk - a dyke rebuilt repeatedly since the Middle Ages and now a massive stone and asphalt structure several kilometres long, one of the heaviest sea defences in the country, walked and cycled along the crest. The village behind it has two lighthouses: the Hoge Licht, a converted church tower of the fifteenth century whose nave was demolished, painted white with a light in the top, and the Lage Licht, a cast-iron tower on the dyke. In October 1944 the dyke was bombed deliberately by the Allies to flood Walcheren and force out the German garrison controlling the Scheldt approach to Antwerp; the village was destroyed and the breach took a year to close. That history is documented locally.

Highlights

• A massive sea dyke - stone and asphalt, walked along the crest for kilometres.
• A church tower as a lighthouse - the fifteenth-century Hoge Licht with its nave removed.
• A cast-iron lower light - the Lage Licht standing on the dyke itself.
• The 1944 breach - the dyke bombed to flood the island, documented in the village.

When to go

April to October. Half a day.

Good to know

The dyke crest is fully exposed to wind and there is no shelter. The lighthouse opens seasonally on limited hours. The village is small. The 1944 history involves the deliberate destruction of the place.

Nearby

Domburg is north along the coast; Middelburg is inland.