Folk games in Poperinge pubs

A first visit to Poperinge beer festival in October 2025, gave an opportunity to also visit several ' Folk sports cafes ' with a variety of Flemish 'folk games' as part of a city walk .

'Shot at Dawn' memorial by Anno Dijkstra with a hollow base.

On Sunday 26 October, Tim's walk started in Burggraaf Frimoutpark named after Dirk Frimout , the first Belgian astronaut. The park features a raised wooden walkway, paths, trees and statues. 

Town Hall  -  Master Ghybe  -  War Memorial

After a circuit of the park, Tim crossed the Grote Markt with the Town Hall on one corner across from St Bertinus church. Near the church there is a war memorial and the Master Ghybe statue where the folklore figure sits backwards on a donkey holding a boulder which relates to longstanding rivalry between Poperinge and Ypres. The boulder is the symbol of the people of Poperinge who are also called "keikop" (stone head).

The next stage of the route was to walk the length of Quintens Wandeling from its starting point between 45 and 47 Professor Dewulfstraat. This follows the route of the former Poperinge - Hazebrouck railway line, closed to passengers since 1954 with the track removed in 1972. 

Het Mysterie

Volksspelencafe Het Mysterie, Abeelseweg 29, lies just south of the town's ring road (Westlaan).

There's a bar for drinkers on the left and a larger room on the right of the central entrance. I sat in the front corner of the larger room and ordered St Bernardus Pater 6 brewed locally at Watou.

There's a selection of available bottles on display on five shelves at the inside end of this room. There may only be a few draught beers but a wide range of local, unusual and Trappist bottled beers means that there is something to satisfy every beer lover.

One shelf has 'witch / spooky themed' beers including Quintine Blonde, four from De Bie Brouwerij and three from Brouwerij De Moare. There's a bottle of Picon on the top shelf. 

With Halloween approaching it was hard to tell how much of the spooky decor was permanent and how much was added for Halloween. The gas canister 'pumpkins' outside were particularly impressive.

I was well looked after at Het Mysterie and was given a small dish of different cheeses. Later, I ordered soup with bread for lunch and was then treated to more cheese that had been left over from the lunch for an extended family group who had been sitting around a large table in the same room.

There are further rooms in a timber extension behind the premises and beyond that a long garden. This is where most of the 'folk games / sports' are played. 

It was a delight to see people enjoying themselves in traditional pastimes involving mental and physical skills. Most of the games were played on boards or frames made from wood.

It was obvious from their customers that Het Mysterie has an appeal for people of all ages.

Bierhuis In den Havermuis

Returning towards Poperinge, taking a path parallel to Quintens Wandeling, gives views of Poperingevaart and a group of local residents on walkabout!

Where this path ends at a street named Havermuis (Harvest mouse?!), the western brick wall of In den Havermuis is visible, 50 metres up a slight slope, where Quintens Wandeling meets Havermuis.

The bricks at the front have been painted white and there is a wooden fence with a wide gate. The Bierhuis looked closed but there was some sound from inside and after opening the green door I was greeted by a lively pub dog eager to assess a new arrival. 

Thankfully, the proprietor calmed his dog and as only one table in the room was occupied, I was soon seated and served with a glass of Queue de Charrue Ploegsteert Blond from a bottle (€4). This fairly sweet 6.6% ABV Belgian Blonde is brewed by Vanuxeem at Ploegsteert, 20 km to the south, near the border with France and Armentieres. The two draught beers were Stella Artois and Brugse Zot.

From my table, I could see display cabinets filled with mouse figures, a standing mouse wearing a coat in a brick alcove and a tall cage with canaries next to the bar, behind a wooden fence to keep the dog away.

It was lucky that on Sundays the Bierhuis provides complimentary snacks at lunchtime and I enjoyed a small dish with hot chicken wings and sausages!

Before leaving I enquired about folk games but was only able to learn that these are only played here during summer months. It was just possible to leave through the narrowly opened door without the lively dog escaping. 

Less cold and still bright, the return to Poperinge along Quintens Wandeling gave a view of the Old Military Cemetery. Following the bronze arrow symbols for the route in the pavement at Deken de Bolaan led into Poperinge Communal Cemetery and on to the town centre.

De Legen Doorn

Situated north of the town centre, from Gasthuisstraat just follow Pottestraat up a gradual incline until you reach De Legen Doorn (The Empty Thorn) at the junction with Sint Sixtusstraat.

Arriving at 4.15pm, it was quiet in the front bar. The beer menu lists Streekbieren (regional beers) at the top, featuring Poperings Hommelbier, Tripel Plukker and four beers from St Bernardus brewed in Watou. 

St Bernardus Extra 4 Blond was rather dry for my taste but good value (€3.50).

There was a darts board and an unusual streamlined stove in the larger room on the other side from the bar. It gave out a lot of heat from burning coal.

I asked the lady who served me if I could see the folk games room and she kindly escorted me to the Boltra alley at the back of the building where a privately booked game was in progress. It was fascinating to watch the progress of the thick wooden discs being rolled down the trough-like alley even if the rules were unknown. Once again it was encouraging to see a group of mixed ages enjoying their drinks and activities. To play Boltra / Trabol here one must reserve the alley. I think the charge mentioned was €20 per hour.

Now it was only a 400 metre walk down Doornstraat to Maeke-Blydezaal to meet up with my CAMRA friends again for the second and final day of Poperinge Beer Festival. 

Ypres and Westvleteren - 2025

A first visit to Poperinge provided an opportunity to attend the nightly Last Post ceremony at the Menin Gate in Ypres (Ieper).

Poperinge station (terminus)

Technical problems with Le Shuttle caused a delay on Friday 24 October. However, there was just enough time for Tim to catch the 19.07 train from Poperinge, arriving Ieper at 19.14.

On a wet and windy night, a walk across town, passing Lakenhallen (In Flanders Field Museum) at the Grote Markt leads to Menenstraat.

The Menin Gate (Menenpoort) war memorial is now visible, providing a way through the historic city's defensive walls.

Meeting up with Graham at St. Arnoldus which offers 25 beers on tap, we found a place to stand under the Menin Gate, protected from the rain but not the wind! At 8pm, the Last Post was sounded and was followed by a short address and some choral music before another Last Post to finish. 

Thanks to the Last Post Association there is a ceremony at 8pm every day which is free to attend with no need to reserve a place.

Afterwards, we weren't the first to enter the Ypra Inn, on the corner, but we were just in time to secure a table and enjoy a glass of draught Ypra 'hoppy Belgian blonde' served in a tall stemmed glass. Tim's first beer in Belgium after a long day's travel tasted especially good!

Our next stop in Ypres, recommended by Jezza, author of Brugge Beer & Pub Guide, as 'the best bar in town', was Kaffee Bazaar at Boomgaardstraat 9, about 500 metres away, back towards the station.

Arriving at 9pm on a Friday we were fortunate to find a free table in the high ceilinged area by the front window giving a view towards the bar. with lights overhead, on the left side of the long room.

Tim's beer here chosen from a blackboard listing draught beers was Pater Lieven Blond brewed by Brouwerij Van Den Bossche (6.5% ABV, €5). 

It was Graham's round and he chose Hoppin' Frog Barrrel Aged D.O.R.I.S. the Destroyer, an American Double Oatmeal Russian Imperial Stout brewed in Akron, Ohio (10.5% ABV, €9).

We didn't have time to visit another bar recommended by Jezza - Øl Beerbar, next to Ypra Inn, which features eight 500 litre tanks for draught beer. Instead we caught the hourly train back to Poperinge at 10.25pm.

Westvleteren

Having 'topped' his Poperinge trip with Ypres, Tim was able to 'tail' it with a visit to Westvleteren, thanks to a ride in Terry's car, on the way back to Calais for Le Shuttle on Monday.

We wouldn't need to buy take away beers there after a kind Belgian friend kept his promise to donate a crate of 24 Trappist Westvleteren 12 to our group. Bless! 

With the crate safely loaded into Terry's car we set off for the Trappist brewery's renovated 'In de Vrede' taproom near to St. Sixtus Abbey. 

There's a large car park and a giant version of a Westvleteren beer glass, made from beer crates, outside the entrance.

Inside the spacious and airy contemporary space, there are plenty of large tables with bench seating. 

Cheers Terry!

Table service allowed us to look at the menu and soon our 'Croque monsieur' and Westvleteren beer orders were taken and delivered. Tim enjoyed Westvleteren Blond (5.8% ABV). It was interesting to see an old 'British road sign' mentioning Swindon and Southend. A notice mentions 'During WWI many camps were built around the St. Sixtus Abbey where soldiers could rest. The sign shows the campsite where the regiment stayed. (period 1917).'

St. Sixtus Abbey behind a high brick wall at exit from In de Vrede car park

All too soon it was time to depart, to give time for a supermarket stop before boarding Le Shuttle. 

Poperinge Bierfestival 2025

It was nice to be invited to join a group of CAMRA friends on their annual trip to Poperinge for the beer festival on Saturday 25 and Sunday 26 October 2025.

The 28th edition of Poperinge Bierfestival was held in Zaal Maeke-Blyde, a concrete barn-like building with a car park in front.

It's located north of the town centre but only a short walk away.

Poperinge itself is near the French border and just over an hour's drive from Le Shuttle terminus near the Channel tunnel entrance just west of Calais. 

Poperinge has a railway station with an hourly train service to Antwerp via Ghent stopping in Ypres and Kortrijk. (Ghent is served by frequent trains from Brussels. Kortrijk is served by hourly trains from Lille.)

On arrival at Zaal Maeke-Blyde, there is a self service cloakroom area before reaching the ticket desk. With free admission, it is only necessary to purchase a 15cl tasting glass (€5) and tokens (€2 each) before entering the hall which has no windows and lighting with colour effects making it difficult to take photos and see the true colour of beer in a glass. Entrance to the good quality toilets involves a payment of €1 fee which earns an ink stamp on your hand to qualify for further use on the same day.

A useful four page programme lists all the beers and the location of the 25 individual brewery stands located at the four edges of the hall.

My first beer on Saturday afternoon was one that had been recommended to us on a preceding visit to GAST. Brouwmens Soesol is the first beer brewed by three friends - Pepijn, Jordi and Michiel - who met in Poperinge and discovered brewing during the coronavirus period. It's a pleasant 6.5% ABV Blond beer.

The official welcome and opening of the festival, organised by Bierclub Poperinge, took place in mid afternoon with toasts from the stage. This would be the only break from the continuous amplified music from the stage where Gregoir was on permanent duty as DJ.

The hall could easily seat over a hundred people at round tables and there were people of all ages from Belgium and beyond. Cheese, ham or crab baguettes could be purchased for 2 tokens (= €4) from a counter near the entrance.

Lupulus Fructus & St Bernardus Prior 8

Many of the stands around the hall were for small local breweries like Brouwmens but there were a few larger breweries including Leroy Breweries with Hommelbier, Brouwerij St Bernardus from Watou and Lupulus. 

Terrest Golden Tripel & De Plukker Rookop served by Valerie Van der Bauwhede

Valerie Van der Bauwhede brews Terrest Brewery and De Plukker beers at Terrest Farm outside Houlthurst. In the Keikoppenbier section of his book Hidden Beers of Belgium, Breandan Kearney writes 'In the summer of 2023, Valerie Van der Bauwhede started interning on [Joris] Cambie's [De Plukker organic] hop farm as part of an 'introduction to agriculture' class.' This weekend, Valerie was serving beers and answering questions about them at Stand 25, near the entrance to Poperinge Bierfestival.

Having enjoyed Tripel Plukker at Cafe De Snoek on Friday, Tim tried three more beers brewed at Terrest Brewery during the festival including De Plukker All Inclusive, an 8% ABV Blond featuring eight hops: Cascade; Fuggle; Centennial; Challenger; Goldings; Phoenix; Pilgrim and WGV.

At Stand 16, Brouwerij St Bernardus shared with Brouwerij Kazematten. After reading a Belgian Smaak post by Breandan Kearney about Kazematten and it's unusual location behind the ramparts of Ieper (Ypres), Tim added Wipers Times Tripel to his Untappd Belgian wish list. On Sunday evening, he was finally able to enjoy drinking it!

At Stand 1, near the entrance, two tokens (= €4) were needed for a glass of Brouwerij Werbrouck Tripel Blond with added Poperingse Patron Picon (17% ABV). This was a memorable way to enjoy a final Sunday drink at the festival. Located in Roesbrugge, near the French border, the family brewery was founded in 2018 and brews with Poperinge hops.

After a few beers, it was easier to accept the coloured lights and constant pop music and get used to a couple of tunes that were played regularly for DJ Gregoir to get a response from the drinkers - The Poperinge Song (Poperinge, Poperinge chorus) and Sweet Caroline (video above)! 

Before closing time on Saturday there was even a conga line circling around those still seated that can be viewed above.

Sunday night was less busy but our group again stayed on until after the closing speech and the lights were turned up.

Thanks to the festival organisers, breweries, friends in our group especially Terry for driving and Mark for accommodation etc. Thanks also to the kind people at the festival who gave us spare tokens and shared tipples with us! See you in Poperinge in October 2026?!