A picturesque loop between the French Avesnois and the Belgian highlands

Starting from and returning to the Brasserie au Baron, traveling between the Avesnois Nature Park in France and the Haut-Pays Nature Park in Belgium, this hike brings together the most picturesque segments through back alleys, winding paths, remarkable village centres, paths through the wooded countryside and old railway lines.

Details

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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 19.23 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 6h 05 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 193 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 184 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 131 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 57 m

Photos

Description of the walk

(S/E) From the square in front of the "Au Baron" brasserie, take the Pont du Marquis, turn left and then immediately take the path that climbs to the right.

(1) Just before the bridge, carefully take the path that descends to the left.

(2) At the bottom of the narrow path, take the footpath, go 5m to the right and then take the path on the left, the one with the small wooden barrier.

(3) After the small steps, turn left, then left again before the gate.
At the bottom of the path, go straight ahead on your left.

(4) Opposite the sewage treatment plant, go right up the steps to the next path.
Cross the road (hill 116) to take an alleyway between two houses slightly to your left.

(5) When you reach the road, turn right and then left to reach the Bellignies sluice gates.
Cross over the floodgates and head up the path.

(6) Go down Rue du Moulin, then follow this street up a long hill to Rue de la Maniette.

(7) At the crossroads, turn left into Rue de la Maniette.
At the crossroads, continue straight ahead on Rue de Rotteleux.
After l'Alouette, don't take the path straight ahead, but continue left on Rue de Rotteleux.
At the junction, continue straight ahead towards Place de Fayt-le-Franc.

(8) In the square, take the footpath at the foot of the school on your left.
At the start of the path, turn right immediately towards the clearing on your right.
Cross the street and take the footpath at the foot of a house on your right.
Continue along La Petite Honnelle.

(9) Once you've climbed back up from the Moulin de Fayt, take the upward path in front of you (Rue Comtesse de Belleville).
At the end of the path, you'll come to the Place de Montignies-sur-Roc.

(10) Walk down the square, keeping to your left. Just before the blue bird, go down the road on your right.
Take the small footbridge over the ford of La Petite Honnelle, then head up the path.

(11) When you reach the road opposite the Pype farm, turn right and immediately take the left-hand path. Keep to the left.
Turn right into the village of Onnezies.
At the end of the square, turn left and continue straight ahead.

(12) At the wood junction, turn right into Bois d'angre.
Follow the path straight ahead to reach the Ravel (line 98A).

(13) After walking for 100m, take the small downhill path on the left.
At the end of the path, turn left onto the old railroad line.
Take the paved road to the left, then keep left.
Continue along the café "le Beau Vallon", keeping to the left to take the Chemin de la Marbrerie.
At the "Chez Mireille" café, continue straight ahead on the road.

(14) In the bend, at the green footbridge, take the path that climbs to your left, then turn left towards the Prudence chapel and continue up towards the church.
At the church, turn left onto Rue de l'église.
Take the first right onto Chemin du champ de l'église.
At the junctiom, turn right, still on Chemin de la Maladrerie.
At the town hall junction, continue straight ahead.

(15) Turn right onto Chemin Royal.

(16) In the square, continue straight ahead. As you leave the square, take Ruelle des Marchelles on your left.
At the junction, continue straight on towards Fond Des Rocs. You've reached (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 66 m - Marquis bridge over the - Hogneau (rivière) - Affluant de la Haine
  2. 1 : km 0.2 - alt. 79 m - Pré Verquint bridge
  3. 2 : km 0.25 - alt. 71 m - Chemin de la Halte
  4. 3 : km 0.92 - alt. 76 m - Encade Wood
  5. 4 : km 2.16 - alt. 89 m - Water treatment plant
  6. 5 : km 3.24 - alt. 93 m - Rue de la Place
  7. 6 : km 3.57 - alt. 91 m - Rue du Moulin
  8. 7 : km 4.65 - alt. 116 m - La Maniette
  9. 8 : km 7.01 - alt. 121 m - Place de Fayt - 9th place
  10. 9 : km 8.16 - alt. 103 m - Moulin de Fayt
  11. 10 : km 10.43 - alt. 83 m - The Blue Bird
  12. 11 : km 11.46 - alt. 77 m - Pipe Farm
  13. 12 : km 13.74 - alt. 97 m - Bois des Pendus
  14. 13 : km 17.07 - alt. 72 m - Prudence Chapel
  15. 14 : km 18.28 - alt. 112 m - Chemin Royal
  16. 15 : km 18.81 - alt. 102 m - Ruelle des Archelles
  17. S/E : km 19.23 - alt. 66 m - Brasserie Au Baron

Notes

We strongly advise you to download the itinerary to avoid roaming data / loss of network on the route.
You'll be able to grab a drink and a snack, or even a bite to eat at various points:

Start - Brasserie Au Baron
15 - Chez Greg at 9e place, Fayt-le-Franc
19 - Chez Dolo on the Place de Montignies/Rocs
21 - L'oiseau Bleu (tavern, restaurant, café)
34 - Chez Mireille
Finish - Brasserie Au Baron.

Worth a visit

- Bois d'Encade nature reserve (ruins of the old marble works)
- Bettrechies quarry
- Bellignies sluice gates
- Fayt Le Franc square
- Fayt Le Franc mill
- Place de Montignies Sur Rocs (most beautiful village in Wallonia)
- Onnezies (remarkable dovecote)
- Bois d'Angre
- 15-meter bridge at Autreppe
- Prudence Chapel in Gussignies
- Saint Médard church in Gussignies
- Place de Gussignies
- Jardin au Naturel de Gussignies
- Brasserie Au Baron

Reviews and comments

4.8 / 5
Based on 10 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.7 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.8 / 5
Route interest
5 / 5
User 11226676

Overall rating : 5 / 5

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

A lovely, pleasant little walk, with the added bonus of a nice beer at the local brewery when you arrive.

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User 19562343

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 25, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

very beautiful route, with the option of shortening it by 1.5 km at the end of the trail if necessary.

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MAILLARD.HERVE
MAILLARD.HERVE

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 28, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

What a beautiful walk in the spring sunshine; everything was there: fauna, flora, landscapes, sunshine...
What a mistake to be tempted by the bistros. Unless you classify it as a beer walk.
We skipped the last loop in Gussignies: the terraces were waiting for us!
The description would benefit from a more precise description of the changes of direction in Fayt le Franc.

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pierre gobin
pierre gobin

I didn't walk the whole route and, what's more, I walked it in the opposite direction, so I started with the(15 and 14) and made a loop from the Mairie via the Rue Sohier, the Rue de l'église, the Chemin du Champ de l'église and back to the Mairie to follow the Rue Charles Gaulle, the Rue du Calvaire, le chemin du Champ de l'église and back towards the town hall to follow Rue Charles de Gaulle, Rue du Calvaire, cross the junction with Chaussée Brunehaut to rejoin the route at Rue de la Maniette towards (7) and finish the route in the opposite direction. A walk of 11.15 km. The parts of your walk that I followed were really magnificent, with a particular favourite being the site of the dam bridge over the Hogneau at Bellignies. The path that starts for me on the way up is a wonderful discovery, but unfortunately it's not maintained and is covered in brambles. The same applies to the return to the starting point, with lots of fallen trees on the path. For the parts of your route that I followed, I thought it was very beautiful and the description was OK. The only downside was that I wasn't able to enjoy your establishment because a thunderstorm broke out on my return. Game postponed.

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michel tout court
michel tout court
• Edited:

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 27, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A superb walk offering scenery, undergrowth, small rivers, small gradients, all in full bloom at this time of year. This ignores the tarmac section between points 7 and 8. We took the alternative route shown below on 07/03/2023: From Onnézies leave point 12 and go straight ahead. The dead-end road becomes a path that takes us to Pont Notre Dame. Go under the bridge and then straight ahead (a little damp). At the T, turn left towards the Moulin d'Angre. At the first crossroads, turn left towards the Bois du Beaufort, taking the path down towards the Grande Honnelle as far as the Caillou qui Bique. Shortly afterwards, at an explanatory sign, follow the blue path up the hill, leaving it 100 metres further on to the right to join the greenway and follow it to the right. It becomes a path after a bridge. There are a few trees in the way, then we reach point 13 at the Pont Rouge.
This walk + the variant brings us to 20 km and 200 m of ascent.

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Velebra
Velebra

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 20, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very nice walk with beautiful scenery.

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BaudouinB
BaudouinB

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 06, 2023
Reliability of the description : Not used / Not applicable
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Apart from an excessively long asphalt section between point 7 and point 8, this ride was a pleasant surprise. We'd never been to the region before and it was a great pleasure to discover it on this walk.

We did, however, change the route. At the church in Onnezies, instead of descending to point 12, we continued straight down into the Grande-Honnelles valley via the Beaufort woods. This was a totally enchanting experience, even at a time when the trees haven't yet regained their foliage! The route is a couple of kilometres longer, but it's well worth the effort!

Then, from the railway bridge, after point 13, we followed the route again.

All in all, it was a great walk that we'll be sure to do again in the summer! Thank you so much!

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Adelsop72
Adelsop72

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 11, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

parish specific to Brittany. lovely walk starting from a pretty little village full of charm with a pretty little river and woods nearby. a real change of scenery.

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marcherverslebonheur
marcherverslebonheur

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 21, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A beautiful walk in a relatively varied landscape that allows you to enjoy the pretty autumn colours between France and Belgium. No great difficulty, in fact it takes more than 4 hours apart from the stops at the breweries For more photos, don't hesitate to have a look at my Instagram page @marcherverslebonheur
Well done and thank you for describing this walk!

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virgule
virgule

Nice brewery tour. Stay tuned

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GG VB
GG VB

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 09, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very fine walk, with the advantage of passing through villages and their bars, as well as a particularly varied landscape. Some very pretty houses along the way. As it's on the border, there are no hunters, which is good at this time of year, which is difficult for walkers. It took us 4 hours to get there. There are no difficulties apart from a little slipperiness on the wet descents.

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papounmamoun
papounmamoun

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 18, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

At number 10 in the description, turn right before the blue bird and not left. Otherwise a very nice walk.

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