The best road cycling routes around Lys-Lez-Lannoy

Nice cyclepath. Not super smooth but interesting

Super nice when there are no others to be seen. And doubly pleasant when you have the wind at your back.

The old tram line in Rollegem was redeveloped into a slow road. It took some time to complete the final section, at the former tram station on Tombroekstraat (Beekweg). From the 18th century until May 25, 1963, the tram station served as a stop on the Kortrijk-Mouscron line. This line not only transported passengers, but often also a wagon loaded with goods or coal. The stop and loading yard were located on Tombroekstraat. From 1902 to 1938, the line was electrified. In 1963, a bus line replaced the tram. In 1990, the Flemish government constructed a cycle path on the embankment of the decommissioned line, connecting Bellegem with Rollegem, including a tunnel under the A17 motorway. However, approximately 300 meters of tram track, between two meadows, remained untouched. Starting in 2004, the city council purchased plots of land along the tram track. The missing section was included in the Cycle Route Plan. This section also includes the former bridge over the Fabrieksbeek stream. The new Chiro building is located on the site of the former tram station. Source: Stadskrant Kortrijk

The Mauroy Bridge is one of three movable bridges spanning the canal at Saint-Léger. Each bridge had a bridge keeper's house, where the bridge keeper lived, responsible for opening and closing the bridge each time a ship passed. These houses were often also cafés... or still are, as here. Just beyond the bridge, the old Mauroy farm bordered an imposing castle, the Mauroy Castle, designed by Sanderus in 1644. In 1504, the castle and the Mauroy estate belonged to Arnould de Maulde, a lord of the manor. Source: brochure "Promenade Saint-Léger"

Today, the Camille Depinoy municipal school is partly housed in the castle (park).

The lordship of Templeuve is already mentioned at the end of the 13th century. In 1278, Guillaume de Mortagne received the lordship of Rumez, which is now a hamlet within the municipality. Guillaume was also lord of Dossemer, near Templeuve. It is assumed that he also received the lordship of Templeuve from there. In any case, his son, Guillaume II, gave it to his wife as a dowry in the early 14th century. Dossemer and Templeuve remained in the hands of the Mortagne family until the end of the 14th century. This family presumably gradually expanded the manor, thus laying the foundation for the first fortified castle in Templeuve-en-Dossimer. In 1414, only Templeuve came into the possession of the du Quesnoy family. The Blondel and finally the Lannoy families followed. Around 1500, the castle likely became a manor house and a farm. The evolution of military weapons led the lords to demolish the old, cumbersome fortress and replace it with a lavish and modern residence. Out of respect for feudal traditions, which would continue for another two centuries, the moat was preserved, but the drawbridge was replaced by a permanent stone bridge. Originally, moats ran along all sides of the castle. The moat surrounding the castle on the east side was removed in 1845 by Victor de Formanoir de la Cazerie. The towers, a privilege of the noble lord, are preserved more as decoration than as a means of defense, as is the quadrangular shape, which was once dictated by military necessity. In short, its appearance as a 'castle' or 'fort' is more defined by tradition and grandeur than by military function. Source: Wikipedia

The original 14th-century church was destroyed by the Germans in 1918, at the end of World War I. They blew up the bell tower, which then collapsed, almost completely destroying the church. Miraculously, part of the original Gothic facade, including the 15th-century portal, remained standing. In 1923, barely five years after the destruction, the new church was built thanks to the villagers' determination and donations. This reconstruction was the work of architect Paul Clerbaux, who designed the church according to the same plan as the previous one, in the neo-Gothic style. The vaults were raised with ribbed arches, and the tower was built higher, above the transepts. The portal, dating from the 15th century, has a basket-handle arch beneath a pointed arch, flanked by two buttresses added in 1923. On either side of the doorposts are two statues in a covered niche, decorated with cabbage leaves. The first statue depicts Saint Amand (damaged by iconoclasts in 1566), and the other Saint Vincent (a saint not generally venerated in the Tournai region). Source: cipar.be

The Roubaix Canal, or the Espierres Canal, as it's called in French or Belgian, forms part of the link between the Deûle River in France and the Scheldt River in Belgium. In 1843, the two canals were connected between Leers, France, and Leers-Nord, Belgium. Despite damage sustained during the two world wars, the canal was the pinnacle of the region's textile industry for over a hundred years, transporting coal from Belgium to numerous French factories. In Leers-Nord, Belgium, the workers who pulled the coal-laden barges were called "satcheux" (sailors). Next to the lock keeper's house, a stone's throw from France, the crossing point between France and Belgium, a customs guardhouse was built. Customs officers were present to inspect the numerous goods transported by barge. After the decline of the textile industry in the 1970s and 1980s, the canal gradually lost its usefulness and was closed to shipping in 1983. In the early 2000s, the canal was the subject of a cross-border rehabilitation project to allow tourist boats to pass through again. As part of the Interreg Blue Links project, a collaboration between France, Flanders, and Wallonia, it was flooded again. The final works were completed in 2011, and navigation reopened. Since the early 20th century, the Roubaix/Espierres Canal has been a place of conviviality, walking, and fishing for cross-border residents and commuters. Consequently, strong public opposition has arisen to the plan to convert the canal into a motorway. Source: www.caue-nord.com