It's easy to discover the flora and fauna of Flanders, but it's a lot easier with two feet on the ground. With the fine weather, it's time to dust off your walking boots and explore the Flemish countryside.

Saeftinge

Where? Four kilometres north of Kieldrecht, East Flanders
Why? Waders, ducks and geese galore

Stretching into the Netherlands, the Drowned Land of Saeftinge is a vast 3,500 hectare area of the River Scheldt estuary encompassing mudflats, sandbanks and raised salt marsh. It's hard to believe, but, up to the 16th century, people used to live here, when the region was fertile polder land and hosted four villages. Saeftinge was the largest, with a castle, two churches and a toll-house that charged ship owners for the use of the Scheldt.

However, to prevent the Spanish from conquering Antwerp during the Eighty Years' War, the dykes were demolished in 1584. The whole area was flooded, and the people fled to higher ground. Today, the place is a nature reserve and home to rare plants and animals.

As the area is protected, access is only with permission, and you need a guide to navigate you safely through the gullies and quick sand (ask at the visitor centre in Emmadorp). However, you can walk around the perimeter on your own, where you can get excellent views over the whole region. Look out for wigeon, teal, curlew, sandpipers and egrets.

Leuven-Mechelen canal

Where? Anywhere between Leuven and Mechelen
Why? Great views of white storks

The Leuven-Mechelen canal can be accessed at a number of points. You simply choose the distance you want to walk, and then stroll along one bank and back down the opposite one.

Children will love the close-up views of herons and white storks, which feed in the shallows and neighbouring fields. From the canal, you can see the storks' huge nests in the Planckendael Animal Park.

Further north, at Muizen, is the Mechels Broek nature reserve, with its visitor centre on Muizenhoekstraat and the handily situated Het Brughuis café. The area offers fantastic walks, while its two bird observation hides give you the chance to sit down, relax and hopefully spot the local kingfishers, reed warblers, little ringed plovers and various ducks and geese. Keep an eye open for rare migrants such as ospreys and hen harriers.

Vorsdonkbos

Where? Start from Gelrode railway station, near Aarschot
Why? Wild orchids and other woodland flowers.

The nature reserve of Vorsdonkbos near Aarschot is a lovely place to walk and offers a wealth of nature. Highlights are the wild orchids - mainly heath spotted and marsh orchids, but you may spot the rarer bee orchid.

Follow the red squares for a guided walk around the area, which is rich in wildlife. Check the ponds for frogs, newts and dragonflies; the woodland for woodpeckers, jays and warblers; the sunny banks for painted lady and blue butterflies. In the streams, look for the bogbean, with its pale pink 5-petalled flowers rising from the water on long stalks. Its alternative name "bog hop", comes from the use of its leaves as flavouring for beer.

For a longer walk, follow the signs for the Beemden, which will take you along the Demer River into the centre of Aarschot. You'll find plenty to see (and eat) in this pretty Flemish town.

Denzil Walton is the author of the pocket guide Nature Walks Near Brussels, which includes activities for children and suggestions for where to eat and drink local specialities along the way. Order it for €6 directly from the author at [email protected]. Postage free for readers of Flanders Today.