Ham-sur-Sambre circular

A short hike in the woods of Ham and Roly, and along the Sambre. You can hike with a dog without any problems and also mountain bike, but perhaps in the other direction as the Bois Roly has quite a steep gradient, which is easier to descend by bike than to climb.

Details

4273954
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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 6.45 mi
  • ◔
    Average duration: 3h 25 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 486 ft
  • ↘
    Descent: - 495 ft

  • ▲
    Highest point: 715 ft
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 272 ft

Photos

Description of the walk

There is no longer any parking available at the trailhead, but if you head down Rue de Gilberoux in the opposite direction, just after the bend, there is a spot where model aircraft enthusiasts come to fly their planes and there are parking spaces; this is at the junction with Rue Cortil Mozet (which is a dirt track). And at the end of the walk, you can also, rather than taking the Route de Taravisée, continue along the dirt track at point 10; however, if it has rained on the day of your walk, it gets very muddy as it’s in a hollow.

(S/E) Head west along the edge of the woods.

Red and yellow markings forthe GRP®®125

(1) At the junction with theGR®®125, follow it northwards, turning right as you reach the junction. Carry on straight ahead to point 2; the paths to the right and left are private.

(2) Keep to the left and continue for 200 metres.

No markings

Leave theGR®®125by continuing straight on along Rue Chaumont. Carry on to the junction.

(3) Turn right onto Rue du Try du Bois, which is a hairpin bend. At the start of Rue de la Vallée, you can visit the Domaine Marial Notre-Dame du Pauvre Tunnel. Continue straight on until you reach the junction between theGR®®412East and theGR®®125.

Red and yellow markings forthe GR®®125

(4) On leaving the village, where Rue du Try du Bois splits in two, take the left-hand branch, which leads downhill, and follow theGR®®125again. Continue along Rue des Praules. When this street bends to the right, take a path on the left.

(5) After a good fifty metres, turn right. Immediately turn right again and walk between, on the right, the old branch of the Sambre – now a fishing pond – and, on the left, the Sambre itself. Further on, join Rue du Longwez and walk along it for 250 m, taking care between the two sections of towpath: there is no pavement and cars drive fast. Afterwards, follow the towpath along the Sambre, still on theGR®®125.

(6) Pass the Mornimont lock and continue along the Sambre until you come out onto Rue de la Mouchelotte. Follow it to the left for a few dozen metres.

(7) Leave the road and head up to the right into Bois Roly (GR®®125).

No signposting

(8) Leave theGR®®125by going straight on, exit the woods and continue to Rue de Deminche.

(9) Head west (to the right) to return towards Fosse-la-Ville, passing under the N90.

(10) At the junction, keep to the right, passing the Franière strawberry farm – an ideal stop in season to round off the walk nicely.

Carry on along the Chemin de Taravisée to join Rue de Taravisée, which you follow to the left. Please note: there is no pavement here either and cars tend to drive a bit fast (take care). Return to the starting point at the junction with Rue de Gilberoux (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : mi 0 - alt. 686 ft - Parking at the side of the road
  2. 1 : mi 0.44 - alt. 702 ft - Junction with GR°°®°°125
  3. 2 : mi 1.85 - alt. 384 ft - Crossroads
  4. 3 : mi 2.16 - alt. 364 ft - Rue du Try du Bois
  5. 4 : mi 2.52 - alt. 351 ft - Rue Try du Bois – GR125
  6. 5 : mi 2.7 - alt. 299 ft - Junction
  7. 6 : mi 4.22 - alt. 276 ft - Mornimont Lock - Sambre à finaliser
  8. 7 : mi 4.6 - alt. 328 ft - The GR125 enters the Bois Roly
  9. 8 : mi 5 - alt. 617 ft - GR°°®°°125 trail abandoned
  10. 9 : mi 5.25 - alt. 633 ft - Rue de Deminche
  11. 10 : mi 5.55 - alt. 650 ft - Crossroads
  12. S/E : mi 6.45 - alt. 686 ft - Parking at the side of the road

Notes

If you are walking in the evening or after dark, remember to wear a high-visibility vest, especially on Rue du Longwez and Rue de Taravisée.

Worth a visit

Always be cautious and plan ahead when you're outdoors. Visorando and the author of this route cannot be held responsible for any accidents occurring on this route.

The GR® and PR® markings are the intellectual property of the Fédération Française de Randonnée Pédestre.

Reviews and comments

4.5 / 5
Based on 14 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.5 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.5 / 5
Route interest
4.4 / 5
EzioAuditore
EzioAuditore

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 15, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Very pleasant hike.
A few muddy sections.
I parked my car at the side of the road at the indicated starting point, just before the private property.
Completed the loop in 2 hours without stopping.

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Vincentvince67
Vincentvince67

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 22, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

A hike without too many difficulties, but the last part, when you reach Roly Wood after the towpath, is still challenging.
The start of the hike is really lovely, as is the section through the Roly woods.
As for the rest, there's too much tarmac for my liking and the towpath isn't really interesting, except to see the Mornimont lock.

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JacquesVa
JacquesVa
• Edited:

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 16, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Nice walk, fairly easy (I'm not very athletic). The only downside is the end of the hike. About 1 km on a road with quite a bit of traffic. Otherwise, mostly in the woods. I don't use the markings but follow the GPS track, so I don't really have an opinion on the markings

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Lenam96
Lenam96

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 10, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

The sections through the woods are great, but the tarmac towpath is hard on the legs!
To park, we pulled over to the side of the road by the strawberry field (on Rue de Taravisée), so we were on the route and avoided the long detour to the designated emergency car park.
At the start of point 5, the path is not very well maintained, so it might be better to go directly onto the towpath...
Thank you in any case for this hike!

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Manele Sirine
Manele Sirine

Overall rating : 2.7 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 14, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Ease of following the route : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

It was on the 13th that we wanted to go on this hike
But right from the start, we got lost because we couldn't find the path.
We gave up and went for a leisurely stroll instead
And that's true for most of your hikes
It's a shame.

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Yogiyoga
Yogiyoga

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 07, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Hello Sherdadolf,
First of all, thank you for this superb hike.
A few points to note on our part.
We parked on the trail at the starting point without knowing it was prohibited. However, this was pointed out to us in a friendly manner with a note on the windscreen.
In the woods, some areas were very muddy despite the good weather at the beginning of September 2021. Our shoes got muddy up to our ankles. The climb after the lock and the short stretch on the road were quite a challenge for us, as we are in our sixties and seventies. But as all work deserves its reward, we were proud to have completed the circular route.
As for our appreciation, it was great.
Yogiyoga

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Alain Volon
Alain Volon

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : May 14, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

With the app on your mobile phone, there are no map issues.
The last few kilometres (2 km) are in the countryside, which is very busy with cars driving at high speed.

Otherwise, it's fine overall.

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pjacmin
pjacmin

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Dec 29, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A very beautiful route with a few challenging sections.
The end is a little less enjoyable (road), but overall it's a very nice walk (with plenty of variety).

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Fabyvre
Fabyvre

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Dec 21, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

As always, a very good description. A magnificent hike.
The footbridge is finished!

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bichenana
bichenana

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Dec 02, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very beautiful route, pleasant and varied.
To avoid the last part on the road, we took the dirt track opposite us (no. 10) towards the wind turbines. We then turned right and continued straight on to return to the starting point.

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isabelleseny
isabelleseny

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 22, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

A lovely walk, despite ending on a country road that was quite busy with traffic...
The forest is beautiful at this time of year and we heard (but didn't see) a nuthatch.

The benches near the lock allowed us to comfortably enjoy our picnic.

One downside: when you leave the towpath to walk on the road, you are really bothered by bushes with large thorns (black locust trees, I think) that force you to move closer to the middle of the road. Cutting them down or having them cut down would not be a bad idea
The path belongs to everyone, but crossing paths with mountain bikers travelling in the opposite direction can sometimes be a problem, especially on muddy paths. You have to stay alert.
.

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Ricola
Ricola

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 22, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very beautiful route with quite a challenging elevation gain.

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andredomy
andredomy

Overall rating : 3.3 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 14, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

The first part of the route, through the woods, was very pleasant. Then the walk along the towpath beside the Sambre seemed a little long and monotonous. Finally, the third part was through the forest, but with all the uphill walking concentrated in this short section, and then the last part was along a fairly busy road (dangerous!) with little of interest.
Fortunately, the weather was pleasant for the season.

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Sherpadolf
Sherpadolf

Thank you for clarifying the street name. I often pass by there but never noticed its name. I found "Rue de Gilberoux" by looking on Google Maps. I will see if I can change it in the description.

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fzutterman
fzutterman

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 06, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

Quite a nice route, except for the road section at the end. Some inaccuracies in the description. As for the starting point, we couldn't find "Rue de Gilberoux" either on our GPS or on site. The path where you start is located at the crossroads of Chemin de la Rongie and Rue de Taravisée. At point (1), we didn't see any GR markers on the right, but it's the first authorised path on the right. Between (1) and (4), the details of the description are a little confusing and superfluous: you just need to keep going straight ahead, and almost all the side paths are closed off anyway. The road between (11) and (S/E) seemed very dangerous to us, especially in the fading evening light: lots of cars, driving very fast! We preferred an alternative route, which was slightly longer but much quieter. At point (11), go straight ahead to take the dirt track that crosses a field with wind turbines and, at the end, turn right onto the small tarmac road that leads back to the starting point.

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