The Sars Bara route

Saint-Michel Church car park in Berlaimont.

(S/E) With your back to the church façade, turn left onto Rue de l’Église. Take^{the first} right onto Rue Fernand Thomas. Then take the^first left to cross Place de la Poste and arrive opposite the Town Hall. Turn right onto Rue Gilles de Chin (RD 32) and continue straight on until you reach the station.

(1) Take the footbridge over the railway line, continue right onto Rue Achille Delhaye and go round the factory buildings. When you reach the railway line, turn left onto Chemin des Hayzettes. Enter the heart of the bocage and note the species that make up the hedgerows – hornbeam, dog rose, hawthorn, bramble…

(2) At the stone marker topped with a cross, turn left onto Chemin des Vignerons and, at the next junction, turn left again onto Chemin du Sars Bara.

(3) Turn right, then left and left again, and rejoin Chemin du Sars Bara, which you follow to the right.

(4) At the fork, keep right along Chemin du Capitaine until you reach the junction with Chemin Mirtil.

(5) At the four-way crossroads, continue straight on along Fache du Bois, passing the wayside shrine at Le Vivret.

(6) Turn right onto Rue de l’Église, a small grassy path, to pass in front of Sassegnies Church. Follow the Marie Balleux lane – a remarkable spot on a typical Avesnois hillock. When you reach the road, turn right – take care over these 500 metres and walk single file on the left-hand verge.

(7) Turn left onto Rue des Mottes (known as Le Petit Paris), go under the bridge and immediately turn right onto the side path.

(8) When you reach the railway line, head down to the left along Route de l’Écluse to the banks of the Sambre. Follow the towpath to the left (GR®655 Way of St James). Alders, willows and poplars form the tree line along the Sambre. You may spot some characteristic birds such as the grey heron, the moorhen or the kingfisher.

(9) On your right at Leval, take the footbridge and follow a short circular path to explore the Bras Mort site, then rejoin the towpath via a similar wooden footbridge.

(10) At the Berlaimont lock, turn left to reach the Grande Rue.

(11) Cross the Grande Rue, then turn right into Rue de l’Église. Return to the starting point (S/E).

Route listed in the PDIPR (Departmental Plan for Walking and Hiking Routes).

Please follow the map carefully (partial yellow markings).

Café Rando Nord
Le Sulky in Berlaimont
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Berlaimont played an important historical role. The Lords of Berlaimont were, in fact, hereditary chamberlains to the Counts of Hainaut, and Charles de Berlaimont was even a minister to Charles V (16th century). However, the village, its church and its castle were set alight in 1643 by the Grand Condé, before being completely looted shortly before the Revolution. One of the village streets is now named after Gilles-de-Chin. This advisor to Baudouin IV of Hainaut is said to have valiantly fought a dragon that was terrorising the lands of Wasmes, in Belgium. The legend lives on every year in Berlaimont with the Bouzouc folk procession. Topped by an onion-domed bell tower, Saint Michel Church (1671) will be the starting point for your walk.

The Tellier Orchards in Aulnoye-Aymeries
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