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the Degree Confluence Project
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Belgium

1.2 km (0.7 miles) E of Zichem, Vlaams-Brabant, Belgium
Approx. altitude: 17 m (55 ft)
([?] maps: Google MapQuest OpenStreetMap ConfluenceNavigator)
Antipode: 51°S 175°W

Accuracy: 65 m (213 ft)
Quality: good

Click on any of the images for the full-sized picture.

#2: View to the North #3: View to the East #4: View to the South #5: View to the West #6: GPS #7: Nearby railway line

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  51°N 5°E (visit #10) (secondary) 

#1: View of the Confluence from the other side of the canal

(visited by Phil Boyle)

31-Jan-2009 -- Having had success at 51N 4E, I should probably have just driven back home to Lille. But, I'd really hoped to get two Belgian points during the afternoon, so pushed on even though there wasn't much daylight left.

As a result, I made rather a mess of this point. I hadn't really thought about how I would get there, apart from heading to Zichem and hoping for the best. Once there, it wasn't at all obvious to me which would be the best route of approach, so I headed off into some woods by a canal at a distance of around 950 m from the target. There are a series of canals and bridges around the point, and I then wasted considerable time unnecessarily hacking through the woods and being scratched by dry branches. Unnecessary because a nice path running adjacent to the railway line would have taken me to exactly where I was aiming for! However, either way it would've been the wrong choice because I'd made the same error as that of Hans Augdoppler in Visit #2 and found myself on the opposite bank to the CP, some 65 m away, with no way to cross over.

Technically a successful visit, therefore, but not really one to be proud of. I tried looking around for a way across, but the sun had almost set by then and I had to be content with not being exactly on the spot. To the South and West one can see the CP's field beyond the canal; to the North and East lies a small wood, with the trees bathed in the lovely sunset light, and a path which takes you to the railway line, and then back into Zichem. And a very nice end-of-day stroll it was too.


 All pictures
#1: View of the Confluence from the other side of the canal
#2: View to the North
#3: View to the East
#4: View to the South
#5: View to the West
#6: GPS
#7: Nearby railway line
ALL: All pictures on one page