_Digues_ made in this solid fashion, all of them higher above the
shore than the Thames Embankment is above the river, and some of
them broader than the Embankment, will, before very many years
have passed, stretch along the whole coast of Flanders without
a break, and will form not only a defence against the tides, but
a huge level promenade, with the dunes on one side and the sea on
the other. This is a gigantic undertaking, but it will be completed
during the lifetime of the present generation.
[Illustration: LA PANNE. A Flemish Inn--Playing Skittles.]
Another grandiose idea, which is actually being carried into effect,
is to connect all the seaside resorts on the coast of Flanders by
a great boulevard, 40 yards wide, with a road for carriages and
pedestrians, a track for motor-cars and bicycles, and an electric
railway, all side by side. Large portions of this magnificent roadway,
which is to be known as the 'Route Royale,' have already been completed
between Blankenberghe and Ostend, and from Ostend to Plage de Westende.
From Westende it will be continued to Nieuport-Bains, crossing the
Yser by movable bridges, and thence to La Panne, and so onwards,
winding through the dunes, over the French borders, and perhaps
as far as Paris!
A single day's journey through the district which this 'Route Royale'
is to traverse will lead the traveller through the most interesting
part of the dunes, and introduce him to most of the favourite _plages_
on the coast of Flanders, and thus give him an insight into many
characteristic Flemish scenes.
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