The Leie

As usual the “havenmeester” (harbourmaster) opened the bridge at 9am sharp, and we flocked back onto the Ostend Canal together with 10 other boats, causing a real traffic jam at the next lift bridge. 


We cruised the 3 hours back to Ghent and then turned off into the river Leie.

From there our boat should have gone on autopilot around the bendy river Leie, because here used to be the home harbour of the previous owners of our boat which was then called “Leieland”.


Now, don’t get confused looking at the next pictures! You are still on our “Travelling the canals…” website, and not on a real estate page!

As a matter of fact, we only saw 1 of the houses being for sale along this beautiful stretch of the river.











































Here’s a little film clip of the Leie as we approach a manual ferry

As it was a warm, sunny summers day the locals didn’t have anything better to do than boat up and down the river and turn into the riverside restaurants for a relaxed lunch.

We tied up at a small yacht harbour at Sint-Martens-Leerne and discovered by accident a wonderful restaurant, unassuming from the front, but with a hedged “Alice in Wonderland” feel terrace and great food.


© Austin Robinson 2019