Discovering Hansez: Olne - Saint-Hadelin - Forest

This walk starts at Croix Renard and takes you to Saint-Hadelin before heading up to the Olno radio guidance station and the beautiful village of Forêt.
You will then pass through the Massouheid nature reserve before crossing the hamlet of Hansez. Admire the listed pond and the four old farms with their barns.
Halfway along the route, there is a picnic area with a superb view.

Details

n°927263

Creation:
11 Jan 2018

Last update:
04 Nov 2020

Last review:
19 Jan 2026

Activity: Walking
Distance: 8.34 km
Average duration: 2h 55
Difficulty: Easy
Back to start: Yes
Ascent: + 190 m
Descent: - 190 m
Highest point: 258 m
Lowest point: 141 m

Country: Belgium
City: Olne
Start/End: N 50.58291° / E 5.722083°
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Photos

Frescoes in the Church of Sainte-Catherine in Forêt

Description of the walk

(S/E) Start and finish at Croix Renard. Yellow diamond markings No. 7 throughout the walk.
At the entrance to the road leading to Forêt, immediately turn right onto the dirt track towards the fief of Saint-Hadelin.

(1) At the bottom of the descent, take the first path on the left towards Forêt. Before that, a short optional detour of 100 metres will take you to the Chapel of Saint-Hadelin, with its nail tree and view of La Neuville.
You will pass the OLNO guidance station on your way to the village of Forêt, which you will cross, passing in front of the Church of Sainte-Catherine, which is well worth a visit for its beautiful frescoes. On the square, there is a water pump where you can fill your water bottle. Then join the main road and turn right towards the war memorial.

(2) Behind this monument, there is a path that you should follow towards the valley. Then take the first path on the right. After 150 metres, you will see a lime tree and a superb viewpoint. Continue for another 150 metres.

(3) Take the small path on your right. At the end of this path, continue straight ahead. Enter the Massouheid nature reserve, stay on the path and keep your animals on a lead!

(4) At the bottom, take the tarmac road to the left. It climbs back up towards the hamlet of Gelivaux.

(5) After 400 metres, at the bend, leave the asphalt road and take the dirt track on the right, where you will find a picnic area. This track leads to Route de Hansez. Continue along the road for about 1 kilometre, cross the hamlet
At the first fork, at the Natura 2000 classified pond, turn left and continue through the hamlet.

(6) After the pond on your right, the old village school, a little further up on your right before an old square farmhouse, take the dirt track.

(7) At the bottom of the track, turn left and follow the path called "sur les jardins" (through the gardens). After this short detour, you will return to the main road and continue along it to the right to return to the starting point at "La Croix Renard" (S/E).

Waypoints

S/E : km 0 - alt. 236 m - Croix Renard
1 : km 0.75 - alt. 201 m - Saint Hadelin Cemetery
2 : km 2.9 - alt. 250 m - Forêt war memorial
3 : km 3.83 - alt. 218 m - Path leaving Rue Massouheid
4 : km 4.39 - alt. 141 m - Rue de la Fenderie towards Gelivaux
5 : km 4.99 - alt. 190 m - Dirt track towards Hansez
6 : km 7.2 - alt. 254 m - Hansez near the old chapel
7 : km 7.66 - alt. 222 m - In the gardens
S/E : km 8.34 - alt. 235 m - Croix Renard

Notes

Start and finish: Croix Renard in Olne.
The entire route follows signpost no. 7 (yellow diamond).
Two other walks start from Croix Renard (n°s6 and 8).
Many other walks start from the Fief de Saint-Hadelin and the Hall Omnisport leisure and sports centre in the centre of the village of Olne, where there is a cafeteria and a restaurant. There is a chip shop at the end of Rue des Combattants.
There is a playground next to the Hall Omnisports.

Worth a visit

On the route:
The walk takes us to Saint-Hadelin, Forêt and Hansez.

The old centre of the hamlet of Hansez is characterised by four large square buildings. The large gates of these old farms are topped with a teuté (canopy), which is characteristic of the Olne region.

Those interested in small heritage sites can consult the website, which provides explanations for each object (potales, crosses, drinking troughs, gates with teutés, remarkable trees, etc.) and locates these objects on a map.

Nearby

- Two other walks pass through Hansez, starting from the "Croix Renard". Others are signposted from the
Hall Omnisport in the centre of the village of Olne.
- With its century-old buildings in the centre of Olne and the Fief de Saint-Hadelin, Olne has been designated one of the "Most Beautiful Villages of Wallonia".
If you would like to find out more, please visit the website of the most beautiful villages in Wallonia, the Olne municipal website and Wikipedia.
- Lovers of small heritage sites: visit the website olne.petit-patrimoine.be, which tells you about the history of the small heritage sites (fountains, mills, crosses, etc.) along your route.
- Most beautiful villages in Wallonia: there are two other most beautiful villages in Wallonia near Olne: Soiron (4 km) and Thimister-Clermont (10 km).
- Wégimont (3 km): imposing castle, lake, playgrounds, mini golf, outdoor swimming pool.
- Further afield: Liège, Maastricht, Verviers, Eupen, the Hautes Fagnes, Monschau and Aachen.

Reviews and comments

4.7 / 5

Based on 13 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.5 / 5

Ease of following the route
4.8 / 5

Route interest
4.8 / 5

VicMumu

19 Jan 2026 at 13:15 3600

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 19, 2026
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

unglasses super, beautiful, hiking, well marked, and thanks to the app, impossible to take the wrong route:

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Marc D.

30 Nov 2021 at 09:13 3600

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 27, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

3 hours of fun. Varied route, beautiful views

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Le Liégois

09 Mar 2021 at 22:17 3600

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 08, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

Very beautiful hike, I recommend it. The signposting is unreliable, but Visorando is not responsible

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Louis Lempereur

21 Dec 2020 at 10:56 3600

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Dec 20, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

Magnificent landscapes near Liège - St Hadelin Chapel is not signposted in the village, but someone was able to direct us, and the view is worth the detour - Interesting points of interest, but unfortunately the churches were closed - Passages through the nature reserve are very tricky and need to be made safer in wet weather! - Difficulty level "easy" needs to be reviewed! - Recommended walk!

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MimidelaStGermeau

27 Nov 2020 at 13:37 3600

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 25, 2020
Reliability of the description : Not used / Not applicable
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Very beautiful hike. Not much road. Diverse landscapes.
I didn't use the description because the signposts and a mobile app were enough to follow the route without any problems. This allowed me to fully enjoy the surroundings. It was really very pleasant and I look forward to doing the walk again in summer.
The hike is advertised as "easy", but I think "moderate" would be more accurate. The route has some steep climbs and two tricky descents due to mud and stones made slippery by the damp. For an experienced hiker, it is certainly still "easy", but for beginners with no experience, I think "moderate" would be a more accurate description. It's all a matter of perspective, of course.

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japau

25 Nov 2020 at 12:35 3600

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 11, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Beautiful hike, country lanes, few roads, slightly hilly, lovely discovery of the village of Forêt.

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Vincent Filo

16 Nov 2020 at 09:34 3600

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 10, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A very pleasant and refreshing hike. Not too many roads, and when there are, they are pleasant.

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Christian Collin

09 Nov 2020 at 19:04 3600

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 08, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Lovely walk along country lanes. Some very beautiful views.

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Bbill

04 Nov 2020 at 18:08 3600

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 01, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

First walk with Visorando! (I really enjoyed it.) Thank you

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igormimi

27 Jul 2020 at 14:35 7200

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 21, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Pleasant walk.

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Dujardin am

06 Jul 2020 at 22:11 7200

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 06, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Lovely walk

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danhal51

12 Aug 2019 at 12:17 7200

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 12, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : Not used / Not applicable
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

The course perfectly met our expectations (aged 65).
Perfectly marked, slightly hilly and well maintained.

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henri57

10 Feb 2019 at 11:40 3600

Hello,

And thank you for all these details.

See you soon

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MARCHEETDECOUVERTE

10 Feb 2019 at 08:23 3600

Gentlemen, hello,

Having read your messages and as trail markers for this walk, we would like to clarify that the path you found "blocked" during your hike is a communal path that can be used by hikers, but unfortunately it crosses private property belonging to a difficult and uncompromising individual.
Following Zorro's message, we rushed to remove the barrier, but not without being attacked by this individual.
The tree that fell across this passage suits this person very well, as they are using it as an excuse to "remove" the passage and are, of course, in no hurry to remove it. On the contrary, they have used the branches to try to erase the path over several metres and thus catch anyone who tries to bypass it in the act of trespassing.
Steps are currently being taken between the two municipalities concerned and should be completed during February.
We will ensure that this issue is resolved before the start of spring, of course.
In the meantime, please feel free to give your opinions on our other walks.
Best regards,

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henri57

24 Jan 2019 at 14:24 3600

Hello,

Thank you for taking the time to give your opinion

i encountered two problems on this walk:
- from the village of Forêt, the description mentions twice that you should turn right, whereas the signposts indicate that you should turn left. A glance at the map allows you to correct this, but it creates doubt, which is reinforced later on.

This is the eternal problem with signposts.

Visorando does not recommend signposting because it can be changed or removed, whereas information on the ground is stable.

Visorando provides a detailed description (which can always be improved) and a 1:25,000 IGN map. And for those who have difficulty finding their way around, Visorando offers virtual signposting: a GPS application.

Best regards

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