Discovering Waulsort

Starts from the picnic area at the Waulsort dam.

(S/E) Cross the Meuse via the dam and then the Waulsort lock.

(1) Walk round the lock building, cross Rue de Meuse with care and follow it to the left.

(2) Take the^first street on the right until you reach the small bridge over the old railway line. Then turn right into Rue des Villas. Next, take the^second path on your left. This is a narrow path that runs round the back of the Mosan houses. Carry on straight ahead when you return to a tarmac road and then back onto a footpath, until you reach a junction.

(3) At the junction, turn immediately left, following the signs with a Blue Diamond for the Promenade des Chamias. This road, which starts as a tarmac road, continues as a narrow dirt track. At the end of the dirt track, turn left. Enter a holiday estate and carry on straight ahead until you reach the sign for “Bungalow 30-31-32”. The walk continues immediately after this. Ahead of you, you’ll see a sign reading “Sentier du Chamia”; take this path and walk a good hundred metres until you reach a path on the left.

(4) Take this path and you’ll be rewarded with a magnificent view! Then carry on, following the Blue Diamond.

(5) At the Y-junction with a wide track, turn left. Continue to follow the Blue Diamond and, at the next junction, turn sharply right. Here, the Sentier du Chamia joins the Fond des Vaux walkway. Now follow the Blue Diamond and the Red Diamond. Twice, after a small right-angle bend, turn left downhill and follow the edge of the woods along a grassy path that descends towards the village.

(6) In the old village, turn left and then, straight away, take the first street on the right. After the 90° right-hand bend, turn left onto Rue du Parvis, which leads down towards the church. After the church, carry on straight ahead until you reach a narrow passageway with stone walls. Pass under the old railway line and you’ll find yourself facing the Meuse, near the Passage d’Eau.

(7) At the Passage d’Eau, there are two options: either turn right, then right again.

(8) Turn left, following the old railway line, and follow the Blue Rectangle. Turn left as you leave the small path, then turn right onto Rue des Bassires, until you come back to the lock.

(1) Cross the lock and return to your starting point (S/E). 

Alternative route:
(7) You can take the path (see timetable under ‘Nearby’), then follow the path to the right on the other side of the Meuse riverbank to return to the starting point (S/E).

Muddy in wet weather; not suitable for pushchairs.

A lovely climb up to the heights of Waulsort between (3) and (4). Otherwise, a fairly flat walk.
Water point between (6) and (7).

Between (1) and (2), a memorial to 23 August 1914. On that day, the German^181st Infantry Regiment crossed the Meuse via a pontoon bridge and by fording. Faced with resistance from a few French soldiers, the attackers shot 14 civilians in front of the Waulsort Lock and set fire to 11 houses.

Between (2) and (3), cross a bridge built over the old railway line dating from 1863, which linked Dinant to Givet. Unfortunately, Line 154 has been closed since 1989. As you explore the village, you will still see some of its remains.

(4) A magnificent panorama overlooking the hillside opposite Hastière-par-delà, with its former brickworks converted into flats and houses, and, higher up, the Domaine du Bonsoi.

(7) Opposite the Passage d’Eau, from 5 April 2025 to 1 October 2025 between 10 am and 6 pm, a ferryman can take you across the Meuse on a ferry using a ‘sabot’. This crossing was established in 1871, following the construction of the railway line linking Dinant to Givet on the left bank (opened in 1863). It enabled the residents of Falmagne and Falmignoul to reach the opposite bank to catch the train to Dinant.

Along the railway line, you’ll pass behind “La Villa 1900”, which, as its name suggests, is a villa dating from 1902, featuring typical Mosan architecture from the Belle Époque. Unfortunately, it has been closed since 2024. Until then, the villa was run by an eco-friendly cooperative which hosted small concerts and served local cuisine in an authentic setting featuring period décor.