Gentse Feesten Special (Wetteren to Ghent - 25km + city walk)

Next Sunday is the last day of "Gentse Feesten", the yearly 10-day festivities in Ghent. I am organizing a hike that starts in Wetteren and ends in Ghent, with afterwards an optional visit of the festivities.

We will start early in Wetteren, a town along the Scheldt river. The trail leads us to the Castle of Laarne, where we will have a picknick. After lunch we will walk through the "Damvallei" nature reserve with a couple of natural lakes. The trail finishes in the city center of Ghent, close to the railway station of Gent-Dampoort. Alternatively, you can also walk to the railway station of Gent-Sint-Pieters, which has better connections to Brussels.

The track is a combination of two GR trails, with more or less 50% unpaved roads. Some parts can be muddy, even in summer, so water proof hiking shoes are advised.

●●You can find the gpx track here (opposite direction):
https://www.routeyou.com/nl-be/route/view/12294056
●●A description of the hike with some pictures can be found here:
https://lenaertriet.myportfolio.com/treinstapper-gent-dampoort-naar-wetteren
●●Information about Gentse Feesten can be found here:
https://gentsefeesten.stad.gent/en

●●Meeting point:
We meet at 9h35 in Wetteren (in front of the railway station). If you start from Brussels-Central, you should take train IC 3631 to La Panne at 8h45. I am starting from Ghent, so I will meet you in Wetteren.
●● Train tickets:
I think that a return ticket to Gent-Dampoort would be ok.
●● Back to Brussels:
From Gent-Dampoort you have two trains per hour, with a change in Gent-Sint-Pieters.
●● Specifics:
Distance: ca 25km
Elevation gain: a few bridges
Net walking time: ca 6h
Weather forecast: Not too hot and small chance of rain.
In the unlikely case of too bad weather, we may cancel a hike, even few hours before the event. If this must happen, we will of course update the Meetup website and send out an email to those registered. So it is important to have access to either the [[[[Meetup.com](http://meetup.com/)](http://meetup.com/)](http://meetup.com/)](http://meetup.com/) website and/or your emails.
●● What to bring:

• Comfortable hiking clothes &shoes
• rain gear (just in case)
• water + food for the breaks
• sun cream
• Compeed for blisters
• some small money for drinks

●● Basic rules:
Please RSVP only if you really intend to come. And if your plans change, update your RSVP asap, even hours before the walk. This is basic courtesy towards others. Repeated late cancellations are not well considered (at all). No-shows are even worse.
Do not show up for a hike unless you are on the “going” list.
●● Acknowledgement of member responsibility and release of liability:
You are responsible for yourself and should be fit enough if you want to take part. As the participation in the events is strictly voluntary and you freely choose to join, it is the responsibility of individuals participating to ensure that they are fit enough and have adequate coverage to protect themselves. By signing up for this event, you agree to release the organisers from any responsibility and liability. Moreover, the organisers aren't tour operators, so they don't feel obliged to answer to every text message or email!