Surrounded by nature

The “Petrus Wittebrood Hoeve” is located on a 7 hectare estate in the Flemish Ardennes.
You can make a walk of 1 km following the red arrows, without leaving the domain of the Petrus Wittebrood farm.

The historic farm with beautiful courtyard is at the street side.
On the East side of the farm is the (private) cottage garden from the owners.
The holiday homes were built In the south barn and these have their own large, south facing garden.

The terrain is sloping down, where the ‘ Munkbos ‘ brook is located.
In the Munkbosbeekvalley you see our donkeys, sheep and pony grazing.
On another part of the meadows graze dozens of cows of a farmer.

You walk along the old garden wall to the small forest.
Some of this forest was built over the past 20 years, another part is a 17th century forest where the farmers once came to seek their firewood.
In the forest, not far from the ‘ Munkbos ‘ brook, is a pond with a small waterfall.

When you cross the bridge, you pass the territory of Dikkelvenne (Gavere) to that of Dikkele (Zwalm).
Arrived at the edge of the wood, you have a splendid view of the Church, the Priory and the old convent of Dikkele.

On the country roads near the farm you can take endless walks and cycle tours, depending on your condition and on how much time you have.

You can walk to the water mills near the Zwalm river, to the beautiful Schelde valley, to idyllic villages such as Dikkele, Paulatem, Munte, Velzeke, Roborst…

Go ahead… There are plenty of places to eat, to have a drink and to take a rest in between.

Cycling is an infinite pleasure in the Flemish Ardennes. The terrain is gently sloping, but not too heavy… This is a very nice region for a family bicycle outing!

A shorter walk near the farm is equally attractive: the walk by the donkeys’ corner (3.5 km) and the walk by the old brickworks (3 km) offer a nice view of the immediate surroundings. And… if you look around carefully, you can see the Petrus Wittebrood farm between the trees and against the hill from many unexpected spots.

And for the true cyclists, the famous ‘mountains’ of the Tour of Flanders (‘Ronde van Vlaanderen’) are not far away. At a distance of 10 to 15 km lie the Molenberg, Eikenberg, Varent, Kapellenberg, Steenberg, Wolvenberg…

The following signposted bicycle routes pass in the immediate surroundings of the farm:

• Watermolenroute (40 km) to the water mills and villages of the Zwalm region
• Rodelandroute (48 km) the area around Oosterzele and Sint-Lievens-Houtem
• Egmontroute (44 km) the beautiful villages around Zottegem
• Hoeveroute Zwalm (40 km) lots of ‘square farms’ and ‘langgevel’ farms (with a long façade)
• Valeirroute (42 km) the area around Gavere and Dikkelvenne

For the mountain bikers there are signposted routes starting in Oudenaarde (37 km), Brakel (22 km), Zottegem (49 km), Kluisbergen (29 km), Geraardsbergen (44 km), Ronse (23 km), Sint-Lievens-Houtem (35 km) and Oosterzele (39 km).

The Petrus Wittebrood Hoeve is located 20 km from the historic and trendy Ghent. A beautiful city with a bustling atmosphere, plenty of restaurants and museums. Ghent is a cosmopolitan city on a human scale. In many tourist guides Ghent is listed as one of the great discoveries for international travelers. You are less than an hour away from beautiful Bruges, our capital Brussels, Lille or the fascinating fashion city of Antwerp. The Belgian coast with interesting places like Knokke, Ostend and Den Haan is easy to reach. Within a radius of 100 km you will also find many animal and amusement parks which the kids will never forget: Para Daiza, Planckendael, Bellewaerde, Plopsaland, Walibi … too many to mention.

The Petrus Wittebrood farm is an old, closed Flemish ‘square farm’. Upon entering the large entrance gate you see the main house on the east side, the other 3 sides are made up by barns. The farm dates from around 1670, so it is approx. 350 years old. The barns have preserved their 17th-century character. The stable is fully intact, with blue stone cribs and a several metres long rack where hay for the horses was put. Even more remarkable is the half-open space in the stables where the stableman once slept.

Also well preserved is the bailiff’s room. This is the nice room where the bailiff came to collect the rent. It is the only room where the old oak beams were plastered over. Oak was a very common material in those days, nothing to boast about. The farm was built on a spring which may be visited in the cellars.

Of course the farm has seen a lot of living and working within its walls and has in the course of time been adapted to varying needs and requirements. And though the bottles of wine have not been lying here that long, they’ve certainly got class.

The Petrus Wittebrood farm has been put on the preliminary list of monuments to be preserved.