Sturdy beach walk in Westende - Nieuwpoort

The Yser (US: ee-ZAIR, French: [izɛʁ]; Dutch: IJzer [ˈɛizər] (listen)) is a river that rises in French Flanders (the north of France), enters the Belgian province of West Flanders and flows through the Ganzepoot and into the North Sea at the town of Nieuwpoort.The source of the Yser is in Buysscheure (Buisscheure), in the Nord department of northern France.

The Battle of the Yser (French: Bataille de l'Yser, Dutch: Slag om de IJzer) was a battle of the First World War that took place in October 1914 between the towns on Nieuwpoort and Diksmuide, along a 35-kilometre (22 mi) stretch of the Yser River and the Yperlee Canal, in Belgium. The front line was held by a large Belgian force, which halted the German advance in a costly defensive battle.

The Battle of Nieuwpoort, between an allied army under Maurice of Nassau and Francis Vere and a Spanish army under Albert of Austria, took place on 2 July 1600 near the present-day Belgian city Nieuwpoort.

Westende is a town in Flanders, one of the three regions of Belgium, and in the Flemish province of West-Flanders. It lies on the Belgian coast, also called Flemish coast. It used to be the far west (West-ende: Dutch for west-end) of the island Testerep which lay along the Belgian coast.