Templar route starting from Amay

Start and finish: on the pavement in front of the Ombret municipal school, at the bus stop for bus 9 towards Huy, located on the school side, Grand-route 50, 4540 Ombret (Amay).
Parking 50 metres away (in the bend connecting Rue Grand-route to the Huy-Liège expressway).

(S/E) At the start, at the bus stop with your back to the school, follow Rue Grand-Route to the right (towards Huy on the bus stop sign). Walk past the cemetery. Take the first street on the left (Rue Alex Fouarge). Leave the street that comes from the left and go straight up. Pass the Renault garage. After the hairpin bend to the left, take the small, steep road to the right. At the end of this road, continue along the path uphill to the top (the climb is steep, but it is the only difficult hill on the route).

(1) Take the path on the right and then immediately the one on the left. Continue for 400 metres along a wide, partly stony firebreak, passing a first junction with a narrow path, until you reach a junction with wider paths. Turn right. Follow this forest track for 1,200 metres. Pass a hunters' hut on your right and leave a path that descends on your left, climb a small hill, pass near the tall antenna tower, cross the junction in a straight line to reach a path that descends to the left, near a signpost for walks to Rausa and Outrelouxhe.

(2) Take this path downhill to the left. After about 200 metres, when the path approaches the stream below on the right, look carefully between two trees marked with a red circle for a narrow path that descends diagonally towards this tiny stream (this is the only part of the route that requires great care). Cross the stream. Take the path to the left, then climb to the right.

(3) At the top, immediately after the 90° left turn, take the wide path to the right (follow the red RandoCondroz rectangle arrow) and follow it for almost 2 km. N.B. After a short descent, this path climbs between the woods and a meadow, where the Fagne Forgeron farm is visible on the right, then enters the woods again. Finally arrive at the church of Rausa.

(4) Turn left onto the road, then immediately after the wall of the old school (now a stopover lodge), take the path down to the left. At the bottom, take the road on the left. Leave Rue Elmer (towards Strée) on your right. At the Y-junction, take the road on the right that goes uphill (Rue Lovine). At the top, leave Rue Jacques on your right and pass under the power line.

(5) Just after the power line pylon, take the small road on the left (Rue du Trou Bottin), which turns into a path, and continue until it meets a road near some houses (Rue Chaumont). Then turn left.

(6) When the path turns right, leave it and continue along the trail that heads straight towards the woods, at the edge of which there is a sign with a map of the forest. After the barrier, take the path on the left inside the woods (the new path on the left before the barrier, between the field and the woods, leads nowhere). The path will soon descend steeply towards a road (Route du Fond d'Oxhe).

(7) Take the road to the right (downhill, with the Suzée stream on your left). Cross the stream (Chaumont bridge). In the bend after the bridge, take the path on the right. Follow this path (the one that passes to the left of the sign with the forest map) which runs alongside the Fond d'Oxhe stream to a place called La Rochette.

(8) At the foot of the rock, continue straight ahead along the stream (the path narrows to a narrow trail, which can be slippery in heavy rain). At the T-junction, turn right and cross the stream. Go up the trail. Note: immediately after the stream, there is a three or four metre stretch that is often very muddy; it is possible to avoid it by walking over the two large stones on the left after the stream, either on top of the stones or between them, but be careful, only walk over the stones if you are sure-footed, as they are quite far apart and quite high, and not everyone will be able to do this.

(9) At the top, after the only house on the right, take the path that descends to the left. Follow this path until it joins the road at Saint-Jean-Sart. Then turn left onto the road. At the hairpin bend, take the stony path that descends straight ahead. Cross the stream again.

(10) Take the road to the right (Rue de la Forge). Leave the street that goes up to the left (Rue de Marnave), cross the stream and continue to Rue Mannehay. Turn left and continue straight ahead to the church of Villers-le-Temple. On the right, the turret is the last visible remnant of the former Commandery of the Temple.

(11) Take the street on the left opposite the church (Rue Joseph Pierco), pass in front of the community hall, then turn left onto Rue Nicolas Dardenne. At the end of the street, turn right (Rue du Pont de Chessaine). Go downhill, pass Rue des Marlières on your left and cross the Houripont stream.

(12) After the stream (Rue du Thier des Bacs), at the start of the climb, take the first road on the left (Au Soleil). Go up public footpath no. 48. At the fork with another footpath on the left, continue straight ahead. Cross Rue de Clémodeau and continue along public footpath no. 48. At the bottom of the descent, cross the stream and climb up to Rue de Frérissart.

(13) Turn right and then take the first street on the left (Rue de Bourgogne). Ignore the path on the right that leads to the Bourgogne farm. Continue to the T-junction at the corner of a meadow (just after the sign with the forest map).

(14) Take the path on the right. Go through the barrier prohibiting vehicle access, then pass under the power line and ignore the firebreak that follows it. 50 metres beyond the power line and firebreak, take the path on the left. At the crossroads, turn right and start the descent (be careful, it is rocky). You will arrive at the Fond d'Oxhe stream.

(15) Continue along the path on the right and follow the stream until you reach the road (Rue du Bois des Dames). Turn left, cross the bridge and then immediately turn right. Follow the road to the top (viewpoint over the Meuse valley and Amay). In the left-hand bend, avoid the street that goes up to the left. Pass in front of the La Pierre Falhotte chalet.

(16) Immediately turn right onto the steeply sloping street (Rue des Croupets). At the bottom of the descent, to avoid the main road, turn left and take the underpass. Immediately turn left (near the Grotte de la Vierge). At the crossroads, cross at the pedestrian crossing and continue straight on to the local school (S/E).

Access by public transport:
- Bus 9 Liège Opéra - Huy (Ombret école communale stop).
- Amay station 1,250 metres away (take Rue du Pont, cross the Meuse, continue straight on to the village of Ombret, at the main road, follow it to the right to the start of the walk).
Equipment: there are no particularly difficult sections, so good walking shoes are sufficient. As there are some long wooded sections, it is a good idea to take a drink and possibly a snack (biscuits, fruit, chocolate, etc.).

The route can be shortened in several places (see map).

Breaks:
- There is a bench near the church in Rausa (4).
- At the top of Rue Lovine, opposite Rue Jacques, between (4) and (5), there is a shelter with a bench at the bus stop.
- Between (7) and (8), there is a small rest area. On the path leading to La Rochette after the Chaumont bridge, turn right at the forest map. The rest area is a little further on. There is no need to turn back to find the hiking trail. Go to the end of the path, from where you can easily get back on the trail.
- In Villers-le-Temple, there is a bench in a TEC shelter at the crossroads of Rue Mannehay and Rue Neupont, between (10) and (11).
- There is also a bench with a table opposite the Villers-le-Temple community hall, after the (11) and a bench in the Villers-le-Temple countryside, on Rue de Bourgogne, with a beautiful view, between the (13) and (14).

Shops:
In Ombret, there is a newsagent where you can buy drinks (100 metres behind the start of the walk, along the main road, on the Liège side). Opening hours: Monday to Friday from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday from 7.30 a.m. to 5 p.m., closed on Sundays.

In Rausa, there is a bakery 100 metres from the route (at the bottom of the hill after the old school, on the right). Open Monday to Saturday from 7:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., Sunday from 7:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

In Villers-le-Temple, there is a pharmacy on Rue Mannehay, between (10) and (11), on the right as you go up.
There is also a café in the centre of the village (11).

In Villers-le-Temple, there is an ice cream parlour 750 metres from the route, "La Vache à glace", open from 2pm to 9pm Tuesday to Sunday, from April to September. Between (12) and (13), when trail no. 48 joins Rue de Clémodeau, leave the route and take this street to the right. At the end of the street, turn left onto Rue de la Ferme de l'Abbaye. The ice cream parlour is opposite the farm. Return in the opposite direction.

(4) Rausa: the road that passes in front of the church, to the right, is a section of the old Roman road between Arlon and Tongres. In the other direction, you will find this road after the downhill path (this is Rue Elmer, which climbs towards Strée at the corner of the farm (shortly after the top of this street, archaeologists have uncovered and excavated a Roman relay station (Elmer relay station), which is invisible because it is completely covered).

(8) La Rochette: a rocky massif made of puddingstone, about 20 metres high, occupied in Neolithic times (many objects found there are now in the Curtius Museum in Liège). The view from the top of the rock is magnificent. It can be reached via a path starting at the point where the rock is closest to the stream (blue rectangle walk). Caution: exercise extreme caution and stay well back from the edge of the rock.

(11) Villers-le-Temple: this village owes its name to the Commandery of the Order of the Temple, which was established there in the 13th century.
On the way up to the village centre and the (11), after the crossroads formed by Rue du Pont de Chessaine and Thier de Scry, on the left after house no. 44, at the end of the short driveway, you can admire the Manoir de la Tour, with its keep believed to date from the 12th century.
- Rue de la Tourette, the route passes in front of the remains of this Commandery, notably the small tower.
- Inside the church, in the entrance on the left, you can admire the remarkable tombstone of Gérard de Villers (who died on 28 February 1273), founder and commander of this establishment, which was very important at the time.
- Just before the church, below, you can admire an old fortified house (14th and 16th centuries).

(12) From the descent of the second part of trail no. 48, you can see the Tour au Bois manor house on your right.

(16) Pierre Falhotte: Rue des Croupets is another section of the Arlon-Tongeren Roman road. This road descended towards the village of Ombret, already occupied in the early centuries of our era, and the Meuse, which it crossed via a bridge built slightly downstream from the current bridge. According to legend, it was from the Falhotte stone that Saint Ode threw her staff across the Meuse, promising to build a place of worship where it fell (the Collegiate Church of Amay). For those interested in the history and heritage of the region, a visit to the Amay Municipal Museum of Archaeology and Religious Art, located in the cloister of the collegiate church, is a must, as is a visit to the collegiate church itself (with its exceptional sarcophagus of Sancta Chrodoara).