Boundary marker at “Au Retour de la Chasse” (Adinkerke, De Panne, Belgium)
Photos - Info - Meteo - Tips - Geo Info -
General information about the boundary marker at "Au Retour de la Chasse"
Au Retour de la Chasseis another one of those ancient, cozy cafés that are becoming increasingly rare. Anyone who walks in Adinkerke on the border, or "de schreeve" as they say there, will know this place. What's more, they've probably even visited it. In the summer months, it's always packed, both inside and on the terrace.
Au Retour de la Chasse was the café where Charles Cabour (1856–1924), a French broker, real estate owner, and judge in the commercial court of Dunkirk, always went after hunting. He lived on a large estate nearby. He owned a lot of land in Adinkerke. At that time, they hunted rabbits a lot. At that time, hunting was an elite sport. There were severe penalties for poaching. In De Panne, there are still streets that refer to rabbits: Konijnenweg (Rabbit Road) and Kleine Konijnenweg(Little Rabbit Road). There was a clear class distinction: "The rich hunt, the poor poach."
What far fewer people are aware of is that less than 50 meters from the café stands a very old boundary marker. It dates back to 1819. On one side, you can see the letter "F" for France, and on the other side... a "B"? Of course not, there is no "B" because Belgium did not even exist at that time. However, there is a letter "N" for the United Kingdom of the Netherlands. This boundary stone is still honored with a beautiful flower bed around it. This boundary stone did not yet appear on Google Maps, but we have now had it added.
Did you know that... the Province of West Flanders once commissioned a study to document the entire border story? You can find the report "De Grens in de Westhoek Deel 2 – Een grensmaterie. Inventaris van het erfgoed van de grens"(The Border in the Westhoek Part 2 – A border matter. Inventory ofthe heritage of theborder) by Monument in Ontwikkeling here (Frank Becuwe, 2012, 199 pages, PDF). Among other things, you will find all the border posts there. For example, you can read that there is still a border post at Maerestraat 4 with the letters F and B on it. This dates from 1892. Belgium already existed at that time, hence the letters.
Want to learn a bit of Dutch history over a Picon? You can do just that here with the friendly bar owner Rita! All the ingredients of a typical traditional café are there: an old bar, "the coffee pot on the stove," the savings bank, the jukebox, the statues of Christ, the annual calendars... In the past, it was also a border shop as well as a café.
Since Arnout Hauben visited it for his TV program "Dwars door de Lage Landen"(Across the Low Countries) and mentioned it in his book, this place has become even more popular than before. Don't expect luxury, just pure nostalgia. 😉
Did you know that this café is also called"Crockes café"? This is because Willy and Maria Decrock-Delanghe bought this café in the 1960s.
Visitor tips Boundary marker at "Au Retour de la Chasse"
General tips:
1) if you are looking for other nearby attractions, consult our Tourist map of Top.Vlaanderen.
2) You can consult our overview lists: by category ( e.g. timeline, size, ...) or by region
3) You can also always consult tourist services: see our overview of tourist services
Tip 1: You are close to Farmer Deswarte, the grower of dune asparagus.
Tip 2: Everyone is familiar with the phenomenon of "dunes." In De Panne, for example, you can visit the De Westhoek Nature Reserve . However, few people know that there is another type of dune, namely the so-called fossil dunes (the Cabour dunes). These dunes are several thousand years old. You are close by. Perhaps it's time to go and take a look? You might also spot the beautiful sheep grazing there.
Tip 3: Oh yes, before we forget to mention it: don't look for the border post where you would expect it to be, near the Belgian flag. No, it's on the other side: take the road to the sea. There you will find it in a flower bed on the left side of the road, near the café.
Tip 4: Do you like authentic, old-fashioned pubs? Then be sure to visit Gisèle, known as "the queen of Picon," at Herberge Sint-Elooi in Houtkerke (France).
Tip 5: Would you like to find another boundary marker? Please note that there is a new border post has been placed at Camping Perroquet in Bray-Dunes. Why a new one? Quite simply because the old one was irreparably damaged in 2021. There are/were a total of nine boundary posts in De Panne. Some of them are now buried under the sand. Would you like to read more about "border issues"? Then take a look at José's Bliedemaker website.
Geographical information
Address: Maerestraat 1, Adinkerke, West Flanders, Belgium
Geographic coordinates:
– Google Maps: Latitude = 51.0645036 – Longitude = 2.5626013
– Open Street Maps: Latitude = 51.064498 – Longitude = 2.563331
– Altitude h = 6 m
Indication of boundary marker at "Au Retour de la Chasse" on:
Tourist map of Top.Vlaanderen – Google Maps – OpenStreetMap.
Route to boundary marker at "Au Retour de la Chasse": Route via Google Maps
Meteo
9°C
| Day | Condition | Temperature | Precipitation | Rain Chance | Wind | Humidity | Pressure |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Today
22:00
|
 cloudy
|
8° | 10°°C | 0 mm | 0% | 17 Km/h | 99 % | 1025 mb |
|
Tomorrow
22:00
|
cloudless
|
4° | 17°°C | 0 mm | 0% | 10 Km/h | 96 % | 1024 mb |
|
Mon Mar 26
10:00 p.m.
|
 light rain
|
9° | 17°°C | 1 mm | 100% | 14 Km/h | 93 % | 1020 mb |
|
Tue Mar 26
10:00 p.m.
|
light rain
|
9° | 15°°C | 1 mm | 100% | 14 Km/h | 91 % | 1018 mb |
|
Wed, Mar 26
10:00 p.m.
|
light rain
|
7° | 11°°C | 1 mm | 100% | 32 Km/h | 90 % | 1020 mb |
| Hour | Condition | Temperature | Precipitation | Rain Chance | Wind | Humidity | Pressure |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Today
16:00
|
cloudy
|
9° | 11°°C | 0 mm | 0% | 17 Km/h | 99 % | 1025 mb |
|
Today
19:00
|
 cloudy
|
7° | 9°°C | 0 mm | 0% | 14 Km/h | 97 % | 1025 mb |
|
Today
22:00
|
cloudy
|
8° | 8°°C | 0 mm | 0% | 10 Km/h | 97 % | 1025 mb |
|
Tomorrow
01:00
|
partly cloudy
|
8° | 8°°C | 0 mm | 0% | 9 Km/h | 95 % | 1024 mb |
|
Tomorrow
04:00
|
 slightly cloudy
|
7° | 7°°C | 0 mm | 0% | 9 Km/h | 96 % | 1023 mb |
|
Tomorrow
07:00
|
 very light cloud cover
|
4° | 4°°C | 0 mm | 0% | 9 Km/h | 95 % | 1023 mb |
|
Tomorrow
10:00
|
cloudless
|
11° | 11°°C | 0 mm | 0% | 10 Km/h | 77 % | 1023 mb |
|
Tomorrow
13:00
|
cloudless
|
16° | 16°°C | 0 mm | 0% | 9 Km/h | 55 % | 1022 mb |
Tide predictions
Want to see the tides for another date?
Internet information from and about Grenspaal at "Au Retour de la Chasse"
Boundary marker at "Au Retour de la Chasse":
Website - 
YouTube
Wikipedia information on:
– the phenomenon of “boundary posts” (EN - FR - AND)
Link to the Facebook post by TV personality Arnout Hauben about this pub.
Tourism Department "Visit De Panne"
Website - Facebook - Instagram - YouTube
Tourism "The Coast (Westtoer)
Website - Facebook - Instagram - YouTube
Adjacent hospitality business "Au Retour de la Chasse":
Website
Our photos of the boundary marker at "Au Retour de la Chasse"
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Photos from the visit on February 14, 2026
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