Old Zealand's Secret Beaches

Ok they aren’t really secret, but if you drive on the roads near the Zeeland coast you’d never know they were there. When I came to live in Belgium we often went to the seaside. The entire length of the Belgian coast and the adjacent Zeeland coast of Holland is protected by high natural dunes and dykes structured from dunes, but there the similarity ends.

Through the last 150 years the Belgians invested in building up the towns and ports along its relatively short coast both to attract tourism and to stabilise it. As a result the resort towns are heavily developed. Pretty much every town from De Panne next to France to Knokke-Heist next to Holland follows a similar pattern of a wide promenade next to wide sandy beaches on one side and high-rise holiday apartment blocks on the other. The ground floor of said blocks are filled with restaurants, cafe-bar terraces and shops selling anything from candies to fashion clothes. Behind the promenades the towns have grown, some into small cities with large stores and hotels of every star level, others tasteful art-deco suburbs. Wherever you go is there's plenty to do and of course buy. All the towns are connected by a coast road and the famous “Kusttram” line which links all the resorts with fast modern trams.

Mostly we went to Blankenberge, Oostende or Knokke. These places were an eye opener. Being able to walk without bumping into people on the wide promenades, rent a bike to tour them, drop in for a beer here and there and get a top class meal to eat on the terrace at one of many restaurants without having to fly half way across Europe was great. Being able to go any day in the week (work allowing) was like a cherry on top.

I have to confess I’ve never really liked big commercial sea resorts. Although Belgium’s were very different from Margate, Ramsgate where my family used to favour, mainly due the Dad’s old Ford not being able to cope with the long journeys to the sea due to the lack of motorways at that time. Even when they could afford a car good enough to venture further we usually ended up in places that had knickerbocker glory ice cream parlours and penny arcades and beaches full of deck chairs almost arm in arm with strangers. 

I guess that’s why after a few years we got a little fed up with searching for car park spaces in Blankenberge or Knokke — yes Belgium has this problem too — we started looking for something different. A neighbour told us about a place called Cadzand in the Zeeland region of Holland, in fact a few kilometres up the coast from Knokke we gave it a try. 

Cadzand turned out to be a small typically Dutch town sitting beneath the dyke that protects the country from the sea. Apart from a few low structures built on the land side of the dyke (recently they’ve added a small elegant hotel) the seaside shops selling kites and stuff line a small car park and of course a frituur. Parking isn’t a problem though because to the right of the little arcade there’s a field for cars, free in the winter and a couple of euros a day in the summer. To get to the beach you have to ascend the dyke using a path between a restaurant and another small guest house. As you reach the top you are greeted by a view of wide sandy beach which spreads for kilometres on both directions. Also the tide goes out a looong way so it can be a kilometre walk to the sea. The beach always seems speckled with family groups spaced well apart even when it’s busy. 

When we first visited we were surprised to find a cosy bar/restaurant/frituur tucked under the dunes. Once you find your place on the sand you can visit the bar whenever you please and sip your drink of eat you food on the terrace. Dogs welcome of course as long as they mind their P&Qs. Dogs are allowed to roam free on the beach between October and April in the summer months they have to be on a lead or can only run free early or late in the day. Rules vary on different beaches. Providing you bring your own gear — seats, tents wind-breaks you never need to leave the beach until you go home. We loved it.

The thing is Cadzand is relatively built up. Further along the coast are many small places where you can pull off the coast road (parking often provided) climb over the dyke/dunes and spend a day on as almost empty beach which invariably has a beach cafe/bar. There are specialist beaches for wind surfing and kite surfing (my son’s favourites) and others for sports or camping or just enjoying nature (seal reserves). 

I get the feeling the difference between the Belgian and Dutch seaside reflects the difference in culture and life choices. Belgians love fine food and eating out. Nederlanders are more into self catering. They love camping, this is evident by the number of Dutch registered RVs on the roads of Europe in summer and the popularity of Benidorm with Belgian tourists. 

Pic by me: my boy and his mate on Cadzand beach circa 2009/10