From Eppe-Sauvage to Sivry, the journey of ValSy the black stork

As part of the Baladavesnois collection, this trail allows you to discover forest and aquatic environments.

Details

2625200
Creation:
Last update:
Last review:
  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 5.84 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 1h 55 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Easy

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 92 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 93 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 235 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 175 m

Photos

Description of the walk

Parking: Porte des Fagnes or Porte de Touvent in Sivry, just across the border.

(S/E) You are in Belgium. Head towards the campsite and turn right onto the Transylvestre path heading east. Follow the yellow signs for this hiking trail and come to a 90° bend.

(1) Follow the path to the left. At a wooden fence and picnic area, continue straight ahead. Arrive at the end of a street.
Follow the Transylvestre trail to the right, heading east. Follow the small wooden passageways. You'll reach the Gallot pond. Continue for about 50m to a footbridge.

(2) At the end of the path, take the footbridge on your right and the log climb up to the dead tree. The path runs along the border.

(3) Pass a wooden fence and follow the Transylvestre to the right for about 800m. Go straight on to the south, where the path leaves the forest and meets Rue du Grand Rieux.

(4) Turn right. A few dozen metres further on, the Oatoire de Notre Dame de Walcours is on your right. Continue straight on until you reach the D83 and the lake at Eppe-Sauvage, whose upstream area is nicknamed "the Mirror of ValJoly". Follow the road to the right to the next crossroads with a bus stop.

(5) Cross the road and turn left at the bus stop sign towards the esociculture (pike farm). Head for the ValJoly resort observatory, where you can admire the pond and the birds that regularly land there.

(6) With your back to the observatory, take the highest path on the left, made of pebbles.
At the fork, continue to the right. When you reach the road, cross carefully and take the roadside path to the left of the roundabout, returning to your starting point (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 227 m - Porte des Fagnes and Touvent at Sivry
  2. 1 : km 0.23 - alt. 218 m - Left turn off the path
  3. 2 : km 2.03 - alt. 193 m - Footbridge and log climb
  4. 3 : km 2.71 - alt. 232 m - Transylvestre sign 8km
  5. 4 : km 3.64 - alt. 224 m - Rue du Grand Rieux crossroads
  6. 5 : km 4.63 - alt. 184 m - Farming - Helpe Majeure (rivière)
  7. 6 : km 5.31 - alt. 216 m - Observatory
  8. S/E : km 5.84 - alt. 226 m - Porte des Fagnes and Touvent at Sivry

Notes

- Download the Baladavesnois app before you set off to complete the route and obtain information.
https://www.parc-naturel-avesnois.fr/blo...
Once installed, it works without a connection.
Proposed as part of the Interreg ValSy cross-border project, led by Espace Nature de la Botte du Hainaut (Belgium).
- If you have a pair of binoculars, please take them with you.
- This trail is not suitable for people with reduced mobility or strollers.
- Please bring suitable footwear.
- Long clothing is recommended for crossing forests.
- Please note that the trail is not accessible during hunting seasons.

Worth a visit

Reviews and comments

4.7 / 5
Based on 14 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.7 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.7 / 5
Route interest
4.7 / 5
isabelleseny
isabelleseny

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 12, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very pleasant walk along lovely paths (with just one small downside for the very last part along the road).
A word of advice: bring binoculars to enjoy the shelter along the lake.

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Calliope
Calliope

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 23, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Magnificent, superb family outing.

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battante
battante

Yes, there was a lot of mud but the foresters had been there and there were huge ruts, which explains that.

Apart from that, a very nice route

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jean-pierre 59
jean-pierre 59

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 21, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Nice walk, mainly in the woods, but very muddy....
When we got to the observatory, we took the tarmac road again, because it wasn't easy to find the small path without making a mistake (as I said in another comment).

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battante
battante

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 07, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Very nice walk, mostly in the forest, with lots of mud, especially at this time of year.

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Piettedaf
Piettedaf

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 05, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Lovely walk through the woods. We saw two deer go by. To be done with boots if it rained.

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Anne Delsaux
Anne Delsaux

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 29, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Personally, I found this route remarkably well described up to point 6...
With my back to the observatory, on the left there was a pebble path that I took and from this point onwards, I'm still looking for a fork !!!!...the only "fork" I found was in the centre of ValJoly....
Maybe I wasn't paying close enough attention or maybe I wanted to keep following the yellow markers Maybe at some point I shouldn't have followed them any more?
As a result, my walk was 9kms instead of 6kms....
If someone can explain this to me???
But superb scenery!...Thanks for the walk...

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Arianelagolden
Arianelagolden
• Edited:

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 28, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A word of clarification for future hikers: to find the starting point, the easiest way is to enter the address of Camping de la Porte des Fagnes, Rue de Touvent 31, 6470 Sivry, Belgium (or D83 in France), as the walk starts on a path in front of the campsite (with a huge car park opposite). We had trouble finding it because "Porte des Fagnes" and "Porte de Touvent" are not addresses but brasseries, and the commune of Sivry is huge. After that, the description is impeccable, and the walk very pretty!

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Pi & Li
Pi & Li

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 23, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Just a few comments:
- it would be good to indicate the precise address of the car park. I don't know why our GPS wasn't picking up the figures.
figures
- the car park doesn't have a rubbish bin
Having said that, it was a great walk! We can't get enough of your site!

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bottine
bottine

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 14, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

It was a lovely walk, with a picnic stop on a bench by a pond, in absolute peace and quiet apart from the sound of trickling water. I collected many different types of mushroom (inedible, of course) to help identify them for a mushroom enthusiast like my wife.

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agnes thuiber
agnes thuiber

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

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

typing error in the mileage
at number 3: it should read "follow the transylvestre for around 0.8 kms" and not 8 kilometres!

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bapfred
bapfred

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

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

Thank you for sharing this with us, we found the walk very pleasant with its little valleys. It's a shame the weather was grey. The walk takes place mainly in the forest with a beautiful view of the mirror lake at the end.

thanks again

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Isam
Isam

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

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

A pleasant walk in green surroundings.

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mitsychat
mitsychat

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 20, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Superb course of undoubted ornithological interest and very beautiful wooded courses.

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naya59!
naya59!

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 19, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

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