Circular route from Braine-l'Alleud to Haut-Ittre

(S) The 1815 site car park is accessible via the eastern ring road.

Turn your back on the Lion's Mound and take the Route du Lion. Cross over the ring road. At the traffic lights, continue straight ahead and go down the Route du Lion.

(1) Shortly after the bookshop on your left, turn right onto Rue de Merbraine and continue straight ahead into the pedestrian zone. Turn left onto Rue du Charron until you reach Route du Lion. Turn right. Leave the street on your right and continue to Chaussée Reine Astrid. Follow it to the left until you reach the railway. Go under the tracks through the tunnel.

(2) Cross over and continue straight ahead along Rue Léon Jaurez, then Rue Cloquet, which runs alongside Place de la Poste. It slopes downwards. At the first crossroads, turn right to go up Rue Wayez. Pass the hospital and a few houses until you reach a footpath going down to the left (next to the entrance to the hospital's car park 2). The path continues along a watercourse towards houses in the meadows.

(3) Formerly the "Le Rossignol" nursing home, take the only road in front of you. At the next crossroads, ignore the three paths on your right and, when you reach a grave on your right, continue along the farm track opposite. It becomes a sunken lane and takes you behind the Saint-Zèle district. At the tarmac road, turn right and head towards the Foriest cemetery. Crossroads: enter the woods opposite and continue to the next crossroads.

(4) Turn left, following the signs for the psychiatric hospital. Pass in front of it and continue straight ahead into the woods without taking the path on the left. Continue straight ahead until you leave the Foriest woods and go up opposite to a small chapel. Continue straight ahead, following Rue au Bois until you reach Chaussée d'Ophain.

(5) Cross over and take the pavement on the right, then turn slightly left onto Rue Robert Ledecq. The street passes through a marble workshop. Ignore all the paths on the left and right. At the start of the climb, just before the trees, there is a bench where you can rest.

(6) After the bench, the street climbs. At the top, turn right and cross over the western ring road. You will pass in front of the Wauthier-Braine cemetery. Again, ignore the side streets until you reach Avenue des Boignées at the bottom.

(7) Do not cross, but turn left to go up this street - the pavement is only on this side further on -

(8) A road marked "no exit" enters the woods diagonally to the right - Rue du Grand Lombroux. Take this road. After a short descent and a few houses on the right, the dirt track becomes a forest path. Continue until you reach some beautiful properties. At the edge of the woods, Rue du Bois de Samme is first tarmac and then old cobblestones under a beautiful tree-lined avenue.

(9) At the Nivelles road, cross over and follow it to the left for 50 metres. Be careful, as the traffic is very heavy and fast. In addition, there is no pavement and the verges are difficult to walk on. Take the first street down to the right, Rue de la Bruyère de Haut-Ittre. Continue straight ahead. It turns and descends until it joins another fast road, Rue Les Fonds. Cross carefully to take Rue du Patriote opposite. It descends steeply to pass over the Ri Ternel. At the first crossroads, turn left and go up Rue Warchay. At the next crossroads, there is a bench where you can rest and have something to eat before starting your return journey to Braine-l'Alleud. Continue along Rue Warchay to the next crossroads.

(10) Turn right onto Rue de l'Eglise. Ignore the first street on the left and go up the street opposite until you reach the next crossroads. Turn left onto Rue de la Ferme du Pré. Further on, you will pass under the western ring road, go past a farm on the right and then some houses on the left. When you come to a diagonal car park on the left, follow it for about 20 metres and continue straight ahead along Rue d'Hennyuères until you reach Rue de Hal. Be careful, as traffic can be heavy and fast - there is a pavement on the left. Follow it to the zebra crossing. Cross the road.

(11) Turn left for ten metres and then turn right onto Rue Armand de Moor. Cross opposite the school. You will pass between the Saint-Charbel monastery and the Château de Bois-Seigneur-Isaac. At the crossroads after the bend, continue straight ahead, keeping to the left-hand side of Rue de Bois-Seigneur-Isaac until you reach the pedestrian crossing. Cross carefully and enter the Bois des Drapes woods, staying on this path. After rain, it can be very muddy, in which case you should take the path parallel to yours on the left. When you reach the tarmac road - Chemin de Bertinchamps - follow it to the right. After the old farm, the path becomes a farm track and may also be muddy in places. At the junction with the Ophain (right) and Griponwelz (left) paths, continue straight ahead until you reach a residential area of Lillois-Witterzée. Turn left into Rue Ramelot, ignoring all the streets on the right.

(12) Take Rue Gaston Dubois to the left, cross the farm - be careful! If you have a dog, keep it on a leash as there is a very friendly dog guarding the yard. - Continue straight ahead to the roundabout and take Rue des Hayettes, which leads into the woods. When it turns left, continue straight ahead on the farm track that runs parallel to it. Follow it until you reach the railway line. Go under the railway line and then under the motorway. Continue straight ahead until you reach Route de Piraumont.

(13) Caution! There are no facilities for pedestrians! Turn right and cross the slip road to the ring road, then further on, the exit from the ring road. At the roundabout, cross the Chaussée de Nivelles, pass in front of the container park and take the path downhill to the right. It becomes a farm track then a footpath, going around a small gas building. Then go up Rue de la Maison à Tout-Vent on the left. At the exit onto Chemin de la Maison du Roi, first turn right then left to take the farm track that runs alongside the ring road. When you reach the asphalt, leave the path leading to Hougoumont farm and go up the road under the trees. Continue straight ahead via Chemin des Vertes Bornes until you reach Butte du Lion. Turn left until you reach the car park. (S/E)

This hike is entirely accessible by mountain bike

Refreshments are available at the 1815 site and at the Chaussée de Nivelles crossroads, as well as in Braine-l'Alleud.

Good walking shoes are recommended, especially after rain.

The 1815 site - museum, hill and Hougoumont farm