Adinkerke

Adinkerke (French: Adinkerque) is a village in the municipality of De Panne in western Belgium close to the French border. It forms a conurbation with the coastal town of De Panne, which in turn is part of the west Belgian coastal conurbation. Adinkerke railway station is also the western terminus of the Belgian coast tram line to De Panne; Nieuwpoort, Ostend and beyond. Near the city is Plopsaland, formerly Meli Park. The 'kerke' suffix is common in west Flanders as an area surrounding a church (similar to kirk in Scotland and North East England). The closest French towns are Ghyvelde and Bray-Dunes, which can be accessed via the E40 (A16) motorway, N39 (N1) main road, or N386 (D 60) minor road in addition to a canal. The roads names in brackets employ French nomenclature once crossing the border. There are regular NMBS trains to Brussels. Access by train to Dunkirk is via Gare de Lille Flandres which is in France. The line across the border is out of use. Dk' bus run buses from the station forecourt to Gare de Dunkerque. A campaign group called Trekhaak-73 is seeking to re-open the railway line.