Forest paths and country roads in Villance

Circular route in the Ardennes forest in the Libin region, combining forest paths, trails and quiet country roads for the last two kilometres. Set off to discover the Devil's Stone, the Haute Lesse, the Pont de la Justice and Notre-Dame de Taillevent.

Details

4516449
Creation:
Last update:
Last review:
  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 7.19 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 2h 25 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Easy

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 115 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 116 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 418 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 328 m

Photos

Description of the walk

Car park on the edge of the N808, near the fountain in Villance.

(S/E) With your back to the nursing home, turn left onto the one-way street Grande Fontaine. At the crossroads, turn right towards Glaireuse (Rue de la Gare).

Green rectangle 1 signpost

Go uphill and, at the bend in the main road, turn right. Then turn left into the passage between numbers 56 and 65. Go uphill and then downhill to the path starting at the beginning of the young fir tree plantation.

No Markings

(1) Take the path on the right. At the fork, keep left. A path comes back on your right; continue a little further until you reach another intersection.

(2) Turn left and at the next crossroads, continue to the right.

GR®®17markings

At the road, turn left. At thefirst path, turn right and descend a little to the path on the right-hand side of the embankment.

(3) Go up to the right. Follow the path and walk along the meadow. Look for the path in the middle of the meadow, with aGR®® cross on a tree trunk not far from the path entrance.

(4) Follow the path and descend to a large open space near a private property. Head towards the footbridge and you will see the Devil's Stone on the ground near the oak tree.

MarkingsGR®®17variant

Take the footbridge and cross over the Haute Lesse. On the other side, the trail continues to the right. Go up. Cross the road carefully. Continue along the forest path opposite. Walk for 500 m to the crossroads.

No signposting

(5) Turn right and descend to the next crossroads, where you continue straight ahead. At the forest path, turn right.

GR®®17markings

Further down, ignore the path on the right and continue on the wide path turning left. Descend to the road.

(6) Cross the N808 with caution and take the stairs opposite. Follow the path through the private property of La Mambore. At the end of the path, at a place called Pont de la Justice, turn right.

Yellow Rectangle 1 signpost

Cross the Pont de la Justice bridge and the Haute Lesse river. Continue to the intersection.

(7) Turn right. Go up the clear forest path. The path becomes a road at a property. Walk for a little over 1 km to the T-junction near the farm.

(8) Turn left. At the bottom of the road, turn right. Pass in front of the small Notre-Dame de Taillevent park. At the houses, keep to your right. At the crossroads, continue right onto Rue des Broux. Go up, ignoring the road on your right. At the main road, cross carefully and return to the car park (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 363 m - Place de Villance
  2. 1 : km 0.91 - alt. 390 m - Path on the right at the start of the young pine forest
  3. 2 : km 1.42 - alt. 383 m - Intersection
  4. 3 : km 1.94 - alt. 359 m - Path on the embankment
  5. 4 : km 2.27 - alt. 359 m - Middle path, towards the footbridge at - lesse (rivière) - Belgique
  6. 5 : km 3.41 - alt. 384 m - Crossroads
  7. 6 : km 4.19 - alt. 341 m - Private trail
  8. 7 : km 4.72 - alt. 338 m - Intersection and separation of 2 GR
  9. 8 : km 6.06 - alt. 365 m - Farm
  10. S/E : km 7.18 - alt. 363 m - Place de Villance

Notes

Part of the circular route follows a newGR®® trail, No. 17, which will be available in the spring of 2021.

Picnic table: near the Lesse after (4)

Benches: near the Lesse after (4) and at the crossroads after (5)

(6) La Mambore property: grants us passage. Please respect the premises (livestock, fences, vegetation, cleanliness, etc.). The well-fenced trail is for pedestrians only and during daylight hours.

The walk cannot/can no longer be done in the opposite direction to the one suggested. This is because the owners of the path at (6) only allow passage on their land in one direction (mainly for the circular Loop Between Lesse and Lomme).

Bakery in Villance.

Waterproof footwear: muddy and wet ground in places.

Worth a visit

During

Pierre du Diable: don't expect anything spectacular. At a place called Le Wez de Bouillon, along the Lesse, a long wooden footbridge allows you to cross to the opposite bank, at the foot of which is the Pierre du Diable. On its upper surface, this enigmatic rock has a groove that starts in the middle and curves towards the edge. This perfectly smooth groove allows water to flow, leading to the popular belief that the stone may have been used as an altar for bloody sacrifices, earning it the name Devil's Stone.

The Bridge of Justice: located near the place known as "La Justice", this bridge dates from the 19th century and probably replaces an older structure. It allowed the Lesse to be crossed between Villance and Maissin, on a more important road connecting Saint-Hubert to France. Built of schist rubble stone, it has two low arches joined by a corbel on each side. The entrance is widened on both sides. At the base of the parapet under the coping stone is a protruding cord.

Enclosure of Notre-Dame de Taillevent erected by parishioners to thank her for her protection during the 1940-1945 war.

Nearby

Libramont Fair at the end of July.
Euro Space Centre in Redu.

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

4.6 / 5
Based on 7 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.6 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.6 / 5
Route interest
4.6 / 5
Denis26
Denis26 ★
• Edited:

Thank you, fzutterman, for pointing that out. Although the passage is actually to the left of No. 65, I have just corrected the description to avoid any confusion. As the passage is to the right of No. 56, I have specified that the latter is located between the two houses.
I have also revised the indication of the starting point.

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fzutterman
fzutterman

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

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

Very beautiful route, especially in the first half. Good description overall, except for the beginning. We couldn't find "Place de Villance" – it doesn't exist. The car park is actually opposite the start of Rue des Broux, 100 metres from the church. We set off from the church and had to search a little to find the start. Another small detail: the "passage on the left" between S/E and 1 is at number 56, not 65.

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Bruno Tal
Bruno Tal

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 09, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Superb walk, extremely varied, very pleasant with children and a dog. With beautiful scenery!

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didier fennec
didier fennec

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

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

A splendid walk... in the pouring rain, with the Lesse river almost overflowing...

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FFB185
FFB185

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Dec 05, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A beautiful, varied route that is not very busy and very pleasant with dogs. Of course, don't forget your good waterproof walking boots, we are in Belgium after all 😉 Mainly forest paths, the few roads are very rarely used by cars. A great time! Thank you to whoever shared this!

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lazzerini
lazzerini

Hello colour enthusiasts,

Yes, you're right, there is another path a little further on that joins up with the first one.
But I suppose those logs won't stay there forever.

All the best

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color'ados
color'ados

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 15, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Hello, please note that after point 5, when turning right onto a path, the beginning of this path is completely inaccessible as there has been some logging and the logs/trees are tangled up on the path. I climbed over them, but I think it is better to take the other path a little further on.
Kind regards,
Patrick Van Laethem

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libellule2012
libellule2012

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 13, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Superb route from Villance to the Justice Bridge.
Some uncertainty about the route along the Lesse.
As indicated in the description, you must follow the correct route to avoid taking prohibited paths.

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lazzerini
lazzerini

Hello lecocqe,

I see that you have given a good rating for the reliability of the description.
How can I improve this?
Where did you encounter difficulties/hesitations?

I had to reverse the route of this walk due to a trail closure, which is why I no longer have a return route for the walk.

Thank you for your participation.

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lecocqe
lecocqe

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 31, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Very nice walk.

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