The Baraques les Dolimarts circular route in Hautes-Rivières

Car park at the entrance to the last bridge in the commune of Hautes-Rivières on the way to Belgium, in the neighbourhood known as Failloué.

(S/E) Head south along Rue du Bois Jean. Pass a factory on your left and take a gravel track, following the red and white markings of^{the GR®®16}. Reach the Franco-Belgian border at Baraque Laurent.

(1) Continue straight ahead into Belgium, still following the^GR®®. Pass a small meadow. Reach the wooden bridge over the Ruisseau du Bois Jean: on the right, near a fence, are the ruins of the Baraque Gérard.

(2) Cross the bridge at the signpost for “Baraque Gérard”, leave the Chemin du Bois Jean and climb left up a path overlooking the Semois (Belgian) or Semoy (French), offering fine views of the border village of Les Hautes Rivières. At the^first Fork in the road, turn immediately right onto a fairly steep, winding path, following the^GR®®. You’ll reach a crossroads of paths

(3) Leave the^GR®® and take the path on the right. You’ll come to a clearing and a tarmac road with a signpost marked ‘les Dolimarts’. After admiring a few huts, continue along the old tarmac road which joins the Bohan–Sugny road.

(4) Leave the road and take a path opposite which leads to Bohan. This path, which is downhill and heavily rutted, should be descended with care. You will then come to a crossroads of paths.

(5) Take the path on the right, marked with a Red Rectangle; this is a very pleasant path through the woodland. You’ll come to a small clearing with a signpost for “La Cuve” and a viewpoint: climb up to the upper platform to admire the Belgian village of Bohan.

(6) Continue along the almost level path until you reach a road junction with a signpost for “La Suette”.

(7) Turn left onto the road called Rue du Vieux Moulin and follow it for a few hundred metres. You’ll reach another junction.

(8) Leave the road and turn right onto the descending path. Please note: this path is rutted, deeply cut into the hillside and damp, so take care on this descent. Continue down the path marked with a Red Rectangle, with a lovely hedge of young fir trees on your right. Cross the Flexa stream and you’ll reach the remains of the Baraque Léger, where only a few squares of white tiling are visible.

(9) Take the grassy path on the left, leaving the wide Bois Jean path which leads uphill. Walk alongside the Bois Jean stream, where you can see dams built by beavers. Carefully cross the ditch created by the stream coming from the right and arrive at the Baraque Cagnaux.

(10) Continue straight on to reach the Baraque Gérard.

(2) Return to the wide Bois Jean path and head for the border crossroads.

(1) Follow the same route as on the way there to return to the car park in the Failloué neighbourhood (S/E).

A story of customs
(1) Comments on the Baraques
The nail-makers’ revolt of 1846–1847 blamed Belgian workers for poverty and unemployment. To find new work, they built shacks in the Bois Jean valley, a border gorge accessible from the Semois and the Meuse. Four shacks were built between 1855 and 1859:
- the Laurent Shack, built in 1858 and in use until 1967,
- the Gérard Shack, 1855–1951,
- the Caniaux Baraque (1855–1924),
- the Léger Baraque, built in 1859 and demolished in 1995.
Thus began an era of prosperity for these ‘baraques’ – a sort of café-cum-shop where one could buy everything at a third or a quarter of the price charged in France
Sources: Magazines *Le pays des Hautes-Rivières* No. 18 *Le bois Jean*: pp. 17–23; No. 11 *Gabelous, fraudes et contrebandiers*: pp. 4–14

(4) Comments on Dolimarts:
1950: For over 30 years, thousands of tourists came to stay in chalets scattered across 22 hectares of lush greenery. They had been won over by the advertising of the time, which extolled its virtues:
Situated in the heart of the province of Luxembourg, the Dolimarts offer you all the charm of the Ardennes combined with modern comforts. Mini-golf, a funfair, a dance hall and an American-style bowling alley will delight young and old alike. The Dolimarts – so much better.
2000: the owners’ association sold the site to the Belgian state, which intended to use it to house asylum seekers. For ten years, the site was ransacked and vandalised.
2020: The state resold part of the estate to a private individual who, after demolishing all the remaining chalets, proposed an eco-tourism project comprising simple, elegant cabins, set in the heart of nature and combining the principles of sustainable development with socio-economic considerations.
2022: Around ten of the ‘Cabanes des Dolimarts’ are nearing completion. A true aesthetic success.
Sources: RTBF, Sia Architects, Vivre ici.be
See also the Dolimarts website