I think John has conveyed this very nicely and I can recommend the both places Pete and it should not be far from where you are mostly. The beaches outside Brügge are beautiful as well. Well done John.
Thank you for the comments, Pete and Ivar. I visited Ghent on the way back from Bruges (to Brussels) - just have not gotten around to processing the images. I agree with Ivar, it is worth the visit.