Berthen walks

These three mountains watch over Bailleul, the capital of Flanders between Lille and Dunkirk: Mont des Cats, Mont de Boeschepe and Mont Noir, plus Mont Kokereel. From the top of these small hills (180m), you can enjoy views over the surrounding area. The route offers several points of interest, including Marguerite Yourcenar's house on Mont Noir, the Boschepe mill in the village of the same name, and Mont des Cats and its abbey of Cistercian monks, founded in 1826.

Starting from the typical Auberge du Vermont, a route through the plains of Flanders at the foot of Mont des Cats and its monastery. Pass by the Moulin de l'Ingratitude and the Vierpot estaminet. Pass through the Boeschepe and Kokereel hills. View of Belgium, Bailleul.

This walk will take you around the Mont des Cats along paths and back roads. It will reveal its viewpoints, its chapels, its heritage and its gentle slopes.

Walk around the Mont des Cats monastery. Peaceful, natural surroundings and panoramic views guaranteed.

A bucolic tour through the wild hyacinths and wild garlic blooming in late April and early May. Discover the Mont Noir and Flanders (Saint-Jans-Cappel, view of Mont des Cats and Bailleul) through undergrowth, forest paths and small roads.

This hike crosses Flanders on both sides of the French-Belgian border via tiny paths. And, to gain a little more height, you can try out an unusual means of transport that has been connecting Mont Noir and Mont Rouge since 1958!This hike is accessible to everyone, young and old alike, with a slight incline to warm up your calves!

A very long route on and around Mont des Cats, allowing you to explore its southern section. I’ve tried to take as many paths as possible, resulting in a very winding route (hence the name of the walk). Take care on the small roads where visibility isn’t always very good.

After passing through Mont des Cats, you head back down to Boeschepe before a short detour into Belgium near Poperinge. As a bonus, there’s a ‘short’ circular route through the Helleketelbos nature reserve – just for the fun of getting your boots muddy.

This is a more family-friendly version of my two other hikes on Mont Rouge. It's short but with a good elevation gain. Half of the route is in the countryside and half in the woods, with a minimum of tarmac. Enough to keep you busy for half a day while getting plenty of fresh air!

Return to Mont Rouge, passing through the Bois du Mont Noir. Enjoy a beautiful stroll through the woods, ending with a superb (and challenging) staircase. Be careful, as soon as it gets a little wet, the paths become very difficult and you can sometimes find yourself with mud up to your mid-shoes. This was the case this morning (19 November 2021).

A long route around Bailleul, the only real challenge of which (especially in dry weather) is its length.After reaching Saint-Jans-Cappel via a farm track, you tackle Mont Noir (and it puts up a good fight!). You then set off along a route running along the border to reach the vicinity of Dranouter.A lovely descent through the fields, followed by a succession of paths and small roads, brings you to the Botanical Conservatory. All that remains is to make your way back to Bailleul, alternating between very narrow roads with badly damaged surfaces and footpaths. A lovely green space (the Bellekindt) allows you to bypass the cemetery, and the walk ends in the centre of Bailleul with its monuments. It’s best to choose a dry spell, otherwise you may encounter some muddy sections. This was the case this morning (5 March 2025: difficult sections at point (5), between (9) and (10), between (11) and (12), and after (23). Avoid the first weekend in August: the festival takes up part of the trails.

When the weather becomes a little wetter, you can still hike on Mont Rouge. This route alternates between small roads (with little traffic), paths and forest trails, which makes it a little less strenuous. It is a winding route, so the app is very useful. There is quite a bit of elevation gain and, in wet weather, the trails are quite slippery. The walk is therefore quite tiring (equivalent to a 25 km route).

This is a route on which I had fun concentrating as many difficulties as possible (more than 400 m of elevation gain). This gives it a somewhat labyrinthine feel, but it allows you to avoid tarmac as much as possible. So you walk from peak to peak on well-marked, clean paths. The use ofthe Visorando app is highly recommended, even though the numbering system is very practical.

A long, slightly winding route to enjoy the beautiful Belgian trails, which are well maintained and clearly marked. Simple signposting: there are posts with numbers and an arrow indicating the number you want to go to (not easy to explain but obvious when you're there). Difficult route, even very difficult in wet weather.

Departure and arrival at the car park of Loker Church via the countryside of Saint Jans Cappel and the Marguerite Yourcenar Nature Reserve at Mont Noir. Pass through the Douve Valley, which forms the border with France, and along Mont Rouge.

A long stretch along the slopes of Mont Kemmel to discover the Lettenberg, a small hill near Kemmel (perhaps the result of the union between Mont Rouge and Mont Kemmel?). The rest of the route is fairly standard, but passes through areas that are often very damp. And as always in this area, the elevation gain is quite significant. Avoid this walk in early August, during the Dranouter Festival.

Departure and arrival at the car park of Loker church via the Westouter countryside. Crossing the Hellegatbos woods with a passage through the Hell Hole of Mont Rouge. Passing near the Baneberg mill in Westouter. Crossing the Douve valley, which forms the border between France and Belgium. Passing into France through the Mont Noir countryside in Saint Jans Cappel and the vineyards of Dranouter.

A pleasant short hike near Loker and Le Mont Rouge, with easy-to-use numbered markings.

Start and finish at the car park of the church in Dranouter via Monteberg, Lettenberg and Kemmelberg. Pass along the Monteberg vineyard and through the woods of the Kemmelberg provincial estate.

Departure and arrival at the car park of the church in Dranouter via Ravensberg in the Bailleul countryside. Pass by the Wijngaard Koudekot vineyard, which produces white, rosé and red wines.

Short route on beautiful, well-maintained Belgian trails with good signage.Simple signposting: there are posts with numbers and an arrow indicating the number you want to go to (not easy to explain but obvious when you're there). In wet weather, some areas may be soggy or even very muddy.

A patchwork of different routes in the area for a long hike that will delight your thighs.As for the mountains, like the Musketeers, there are four (or even five, I forgot the Baneberg near the mill), as you climb Mont Noir twice.In short, a nice climb in the Flat Country on numerous paths and a few small, quiet roads. It's a demanding route, because even between the mountains, there are plenty of small hills. But, as is often the case in Belgium, the trails are well maintained and constantly being improved.

Departure and arrival at the car park of the church in Dranouter via Monteberg, the countryside of Kemmel and Loker. Passing by the vineyards of Monteberg, Kemmel and Loker. Passing by the French ossuary of the 1914-1918 war in Kemmel.

Departure from the car park of De Klijte church via Loker, Scherpenberg, Mont Rouge and Sulferberg.

Departure and arrival at the car parks either at De Klijte church or Loker via Scherpenberg, Sulferberg and the Mont Rouge nature reserve (Hellegatbos, or 'hole in the hill') with its De Kosmos recreation park.

Departure and arrival in De Klijte via Lettenberg, Kemmelberg, Monteberg and Scherpenberg. Crossing Scherpenberg and the Hellebeek nature reserve. Passing close to the vineyards of Mont Kemmel, Mont Rouge and Mont Noir.

Departure from the car park at De Klijte church. Crossing Scherpenberg and the Hellebeek nature reserve. Passing close to the vineyards of Mont Kemmel, Mont Rouge and Mont Noir.