PopsHouse is the place to be for a stay in Poperinge, in the heart of the Flemish Westhoek (west corner).During the Great War, British soldiers could come to rest here for a while after days in the trenches. They called the town 'Pops'.‘Pops’ also refers to the poppies that are scattered in the landscape, and that inspired the soldier John McCrae to his famous poem 'in Flanders Fields'.
Bed & Breakfast
Popshouse
Bed & Breakfast
The guesthouse is part of a larger building, erected in a beautiful setting close to the city center of Poperinge, a resort for the British soldiers during the Great War. In the other direction, it offers a direct access to the open fields and meadows, interrupted only by farm houses and hop fields, and to the nearby Flemish hills. The property has a surface of more than 6 acres, occupied by the main house and the guest house, a horse stable and pastures, and a large garden with two ponds.Your hostessYour hostess is Roseline. Since our children grew up and left the house, we have decided to open up part of our premises to people in search of peace and relaxation, eager to discover the historical sites or the many testimonies to the cruelties of the Great War, wanting to sip a good bear and savour a gourmet meal, looking forward to walk or cycle in the splendid surroundings, or to enjoy one of the many activities organized in the Westhoek: art in Watou or Lo, festival of Dranouter, processions and historical evocations...The conceptWe're offering a luxury stay in splendid rooms, a rich breakfast and quiet and beautiful surroundings in your private garden. But we're going one step beyond that for our guests: help in finding your way around, suggestions for trips and excursions, reservations where needed.The guesthouseThe guesthouse, though part of the same building, is only connected to the main house by the entrance hall of the owners. The guests have a separate entrance, and have two spacious rooms each with a bathroom, and a kitchen/dining room at their disposal. They also have their own private garden, with terrace on the bank of a pond.The animals3 horses, two small donkeys, and five dogs keep us company. The premises have been divided in two, so the guests have complete privacy and can enjoy viewing the animals without having to bother with them. During your stay, you can freely stroll around half of the terrain, or relax on the terrace next to the pond.
B & B Flanders Fields
The guesthouse
Ieper Poperinge Westhoek region
We have done all we could think of to make your stay at Popshouse memorable. A welcome package upon arrival, two luxury rooms with en-suite bathrooms and all modern comfort, a kitchen where we'll serve a varied breakfast with local products, and that's well enough equipped to serve your other needs as well: do your own cooking, or simply enjoy a glass and have a chat in the evening. A beautiful garden, including a terrace and garden furniture, offers you a private outdoors.
Popshouse
Accommodation and Services
holiday guesthouse lodging
The rooms The first floor contains two spacious luxury bedrooms: the blue and the red poppy room. They have been beautifully decorated and are each equipped with all modern comfort: a comfortable double bed and a living room corner with flat panel TV and DVD player, a bathroom with lavatory and shower, luxury bathing products from the new line of Omnisense (Paris), hair dryer, make-up and shaving mirror, and internet connection. They both offer space for two extra persons by means of a couch that unfolds into an additional double bed. The floor has air-conditioning.
The kitchen and dining room A fully equipped kitchen is located on the ground floor. Cold and hot drinks are freely available. All dishware and cookware is available, including a refrigerator, cooking plates, a coffee machine and water heater and a furnace. If you don't fancy eating out, you have everything at hand to do your own home-cooking. If required, ingredients can be provided at cost.
breakfast We serve a rich continental breakfast using a selection of the finest local products, and with a choice of coffee and various teas. If you have any dietary requirements, we'll be happy to tailor your breakfast accordingly.
Facilities The domain is completely enclosed, and offers ample privateparking space. For motorcycles or bicycles, we'll clear our garage to provide indoor parking. Wet driving gear can be dried, and our toolbox is freely available for small repairs, check-ups or tune-ups. During your stay, you will be provided with a remote control for the main entrance Gate, hence allowing you to come and go at liberty. Though the rooms can of course be safely closed, on request we can put your valuables in our safe deposit. If needed, some DVD's can be provided at no extra expense.
Extras If extra services are requested (disposable BBQ sets, cheese or meat dishes, ingredients for your cooking, transport service to or from the nearest airport or train station...), please do ask. We speak your language, and we will do our utmost best to provide whatever help you may desire. Extra costs will be clearly communicated up front and will be settled at the time of departure. Bikes can be rented at the premises itself (4 sturdy bikes).
The garden The garden is well kept, and provides privacy and joy throughout the year, each season bringing its own wonders. You can get a foretaste by clicking through the pictures in the home page. Two ponds are located in the garden. Close to one of them, reserved exclusively to our guests, a beautiful pergola with garden furniture invites for a relaxing moment.
Warning In order to ascertain your safety and bearing the comfort of future guests in mind, we do not allow smoking inside the building. Due to the location of the rooms on the first floor, this accommodation may not be suited for certain disabled persons. Due to the presence of the ponds, we do not accept parties with children that are not yet capable of swimming. Several animals are kept on the premises: horses, dogs and donkeys. We kindly ask that you limit yourself to enjoying their company and refrain from approaching or feeding without our presence and approval. For the same reason we do not allow our guests to bring their pets along.
4-star four-star
A full service
bicycle friendly - motorcycle friendly lodging
Popshouse intends to be more than just another B&B. We aim at people and parties expecting just that extra touch. We speak your language, and we are familiar with the region. We can help you make your stay one to be remembered. Please make your wishes known, and we'll do our utmost best to get them fulfilled.
festival - Dranouter - Ypres Rally - hop shoots - Gastronomy - art Watou - oldtimer
Photo courtesy Monique Callens
breakfast
The 'Westhoek' and the Poperinge area
comfort - luxury
battlefieldexploration As this was the stage of the Great War, the landscape is frequently interrupted by historic sites, craters, bunkers, and several British cemeteries, perfectly maintained by the CWGC. Tyne Cot, a battlefield cemetery from the Battle of Passchendaele, and Lyssenthoek, a field hospital cemetery are widely known, but there are numerous other little jewels, Belgian, French and German ones as well, like the one at Langemark, each telling its own tragic story and breathing its own atmosphere. At Ypres, the famous FlandersFields museum is located. Also here, every evening the lastpost still commemorates the hundreds of thousands of casualties, the names of who are inscribed in the walls at the MeninGate. If you're looking for a more intimate ceremony, you can join the lastpost at the Ploegsteert memorial, each first Friday of the month. As a member of the Board of 'War and Remembrance', your hostess can easily arrange for highly professional guided battlefieldexplorationtours, focusing on your specific area of interest, often leading you off the beaten path.
Culture There is more to be seen in the Westhoek than testimonials to the Great War. Early 14th century, the region was the world centre for cloth weaving and trade, importing the wool from the coast and from England. As an anecdote, if it hadn't been for a regulation in 1324 by the count of Flanders that forbade all cloth weaving within a three hour distance from Ypres, Poperinge might have outshined Ypres - or so it's said. Now the fierce Cloth Hall in Ypres testifies to a period of prosperity. The impressive and beautifully preserved fortification belt of Ypres, the structure of which was designed by Vauban, betrays its strategic importance to the French Sun King. Also the churches in the Westhoek are worth a visit. Poperinge has two churches that are a nice example of coast Gothic, a typical gothic building style in Flanders, characterized by the use of bricks, heavy towers and closed wall surfaces: the St. Bertinus and the Holy Mary church. Ypres has the St. Martin cathedral erected (and rebuilt) in the Scheldt Gothic style, with magnificent stained glass windows that refer to the Great War.
private parking
Nature The Westhoek is a flat country, veined by ditches and streamlets, and interrupted by a row of witness hills marking the harder soil that withstood the erosion after the sea, once occupying the larger part of Flanders, withdrew. The Kemmelberg, Scherpenberg ('sharp'), Rode berg ('red'), Zwarte berg ('black') and Katsberg ('Cats', already in France), can be seen from your window at Popshouse. Further in France this line is extended towards the coast. To the East, the 'flemish Mountains', notorious from the tour of Flanders, complete the line. The iron-containing soil, the slopes, and the protection from the hills create a microclimate that, surprisingly enough allows growing splendid vines. The soil in the remainder of the Westhoek, and in particular the Poperinge area, is heavy, the blue clay layer often extending to the surface. About one quarter of the population earns its income from farming or related activities. Cultivation of grass (hay, meadows), corn, wheat, sugar beets and potatoes takes most of the area. Most farmers also have a small livestock. The Poperingeregion houses a specialty: hop. The hop bells, symbol of the city of Poperinge, are the basis for the bitter taste in beer, while at the same time acting as a conservative. In the last decades, the cultivation has gradually decreased in view of stiff competition from abroad. With the growing success of the combination of beer and Gastronomy, and the promotion of hop shoots as a culinary delicacy, a revival is noticed. The hop Fields with the poles rising high are remarkable landmarks in the Poperinge area. It's not all open country though. Several small but beautiful woods invite for a walk. Close to Popshouse there are the Helleketelbos ('Hells Kettle') and the Galgenbossen ('Gallow').
Gastronomy and local products In 2010, Poperinge was nominated the West-flemish Ambassador of 'Flanders, delicious Country'. Flanders and the Westhoek in particular, are well known for their gourmet kitchen. There are restaurants for every occasion, and to everybody's taste, liking and wallet. From small local bistro’s, scattered in the landscape, to well-known restaurants that earned their place in the Michelin or Gault-Millau guide. Whichever you choose, you'll not leave the table unsaturated. Culinary specialties are the 'hop shoots' (early spring), and various dishes based on beer. The Westhoek is indeed famous for its local beers, brewed with the hop bells from the Poperingeregion. People interested may pay a visit to the Hop Museum, and taste some beers on the terrace of a local café or visit the abbey of Westvleteren and taste the World's best beer of 2010. Other brewers in the American top-100 list are the Struise Brouwers (Woesten) and St. Bernardus (Watou), all a stone's throw away. There are even vineyards that prosper in the protection of the flemishhills, with the right to carry their own 'Appellation Contrôlée'.
natural environment
Folklore and local hits Traditions are kept up high in the Westhoek. Piety, miracles and legends are expressed in various folksy processions that involve local people often in splendid historical evocations embedded in a full day of folksy festivities. The 'Maria Ommegang' in Poperinge (first Sunday of July), the Penitence procession in Veurne (last Sunday of July), the Cat procession in Ypres (every 3 years), the 'keikoppen' (stubborn) carnival in Poperinge, the Hop procession with the beer festivities every 3 years (next occasion on September 18, 2011), the Cheese procession in Passendale, the Witch procession in Beselare are only a few examples... In and around Poperinge, theatre groups and local history societies also often engage in theatre walks (like the Coachman in Reningelst, end of August) or re-enactments like Pops17 (April). Be aware that these spectacles attract a lot of tourists and require early booking! Let's not forget Marktrock Poperinge. It's becoming a major annual event, with an attractive cast appealing to a broad audience. And then, lastweekend of June, there is of course the YpresRally, one of the most important rallies of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge and the European Rally Championship.
Poperinge town
Activities...
Flanders Fields: battlefield exploration
Whatever the purpose of your visit, we'll do our best to make it worthwhile. We can assist with suggestions for visits and excursions, and if appropriate, make reservations. We can point you to the restaurants of your liking, or suggest the local products you should taste. We can provide you with directions or maps for hikes or cyclingtours, with motorcycle roadbooks or car routes, we can arrange for guides, specialized in the matter of your interest...
Ypres
... to everybody's liking
Poperinge
Within walking or cycling distance Since we're located at the outskirt of Poperinge, our guests have easy access to the many local festivities: hop shoot festival, beer and hop festivities, carnival, Marktock, the four days of the Yser (march of defence) and a bit further away Dranouterfestival, YpresRally, oldtimerhappening in Watou... The local places of interest: Talbot House, the hop museum, the Death Row and execution pole in the city hall, the almshouses (‘Weeuwhof’), the Old and New military cemeteries, Lyssenthoek - the second largest British cemetery from the Great War- are all within walking distance. You can select one of the more than 22 marked walking trails and 20 bicycle routes of the Westhoek and admire the flat landscape of the Westhoek, or take a chance in the flemishhills 5 miles to the south. You can also join more folksy activities such as a covered wagon trip in the area, combined with stops at local pubs and traditional games... At Popshouse, we have maps and descriptions for most of the walking and cyclingtours in the Westhoek at your disposal. Our 'cycle-friendly accommodation' label not only means that we offer bicycles to rent, but also that we comply with all provisions of this label: we bring your luggage (free of charge within 25 km) to your next accommodation, we have everything at hand for minor repairs, you may wish to dry your clothes ... We go even a step further: we have developed a number of shorter (15-50km) routes that bring you from Popshouse in all directions to the most beautiful sites of the Westhoek, often via off-road shortcuts.
For a solid bike ride or a short trip with the car ... This opens a realm of additional possibilities. In the one direction, at a 8 mile distance, lies Ypres, splendidly resurrected from the ruins of the war, and restored meticulously to its (almost) original state. Must-see places are the marketplace, the impressive Cloth Hall, housing Flanders Field museum, the MeninGate, the city reinforcement belt that reflects the ideas of Vauban. St Martin's Cathedral, rebuilt to its original splendour of Scheldt Gothic, houses the tomb of Robrecht van Bethune, count of Flanders early 14th century, and surnamed the 'Lion of Flanders'. The vicinity of Ypres still bears witness to the massacres of the war: Tyne Cot and Langemark military cemetery, the Pool of Peace, Hill 60,... Scars in the landscape. Those who are more in the mood for a relaxing walk can stop at the provincial park Palingbeek, more than 500 acres of varied woods and countryside. In the other direction, near the French border, lies Watou. The peaceful village, homestead to some famous local breweries, awakens each year when visitors from all over Europe invade it to experience Watous Art Summer. And Watou is not the only one in de Westhoek. In Lo you will be enchanted by two 'Art Trails' that can be done by foot or bike, and that expose you to the finest of poetry and figurative arts in a beautiful setting.
Or maybe a day-trip ? Several clearly marked touristic car routes traverse FlandersFields and allow to discover the countryside without getting lost. For those who love the sea, Poperinge lies at about 25 miles from the coast with charming polder villages such as Beauvoorde, Veurne and Diksmuide within reach. And once you reached the sea, why not visit Bruges ? Or you can go shopping or visit the art museum surnamed 'le petit Louvre' in Lille (20 miles). Indeed also across the French border there's a lot to be seen. Enjoy the panoramic view near the abbey on Cat Mountain, or from Cassel Mountain. Visit Cassels new 'Musée départemental de Flandre', admire the fortification belt around Bergues, take a break at one of the pittoresque and charming villages in a splendid landscape. Discover the wells of the Yser...
Motorcycling ? The Westhoek is a favourite destination for motorcyclists. Local enthousiasts have developed a series of roadbooks, on map or GPS, leading you across the region via surprising routes and through less known places. We even have an arrangement with FlandersFields Outrider, who organizes guided motorcycle trips where the splendor of the Westhoek sharply contrasts with the sad memories of the Great War... Enjoy the scenery and the sensation of the wind blowing around your helmet.
Kids on board ... Two major amusement parks for kids are located in the Westhoek: Bellewaerde park, about 10 miles from Popshouse, and, somewhat further on the coast, Plopsaland.