From Bertrix to Cugnon and from Château des Fées to Point de Vue de La Mergire

Parking in the forest, after the Ardennes campsite, Route de Mortehan in Bertrix.

^GR®®129trail markers

(S/E) With the car park on your left, go straight ahead and turn left at the forest path. At the next crossroads, turn left. Ignore the path on your right and climb up to the multiple crossroads. Take the^second path on the right. Further on, a path returns to your right; continue to the crossroads.

(1) Continue straight ahead on the wide forest track. At the intersection, continue straight ahead. The track becomes a path and continues along the ridge. Turn left and descend. Ignore the track that goes straight ahead (not shown on maps) and continue on the left. Descend and join a path (not shown on maps).

(2) Continue to the left. Keep descending and, at the crossroads near the picnic table, continue straight ahead. At the footbridge, turn right to see the Château des Fées. Return to the footbridge, cross the Goutelle de Morceux stream and turn right onto the road. Descend to the intersection with another road.

(3) Turn right. Walk carefully along this busy road for 200 m until you reach the bridge. Turn left, cross the bridge and turn immediately left just after the bridge. End of signposting.

No markings

At the fork, take the left-hand path along the Muno stream. The path turns right, runs alongside the Goutelle du Wé stream and leads to a road. Cross the road.

(4) Take the steeply ascending path; a signpost on the road confirms that you are on the right track. At the top, ignore the path and signpost on the right and continue straight ahead. Descend, rejoin a wide path and continue straight ahead to the car park with the picnic table.

(5) Ignore the path leading to the road on your left and the path on your right, and take the^second path, the one going uphill (not shown on maps) after the Goutelle de Derrière la Forêt stream. Follow this winding path uphill, then turn left at the top. Go around the rocks. A little further on, the path passes between two rocks. Ignore the path on the embankment coming back on your right and continue straight ahead to the road.

(6) Turn right and carefully follow the busy road until you reach the beautifully landscaped car park on your left. Turn right onto the path opposite the car park and near the meadow. Keep to the left of the rock and, at the fork, keep left. Climb up and pass the Mergire viewpoint. Continue to the Notre-Dame du Prompt Secours chapel.

(7) Opposite the entrance to the chapel, take the path to the right of it. You will come to a dirt track, which you follow straight ahead. At the bend, continue straight ahead on the path. Pass behind a campsite. At the fork, keep left. You will arrive behind a lodge with the Marian grotto on your right. Continue past the lodge and return to the road.

Markings^GR®® variant

(8) Turn left and cross over the Semois. After the bridge, turn immediately left onto the dirt track leading down to the Semois. Follow the river and pass the old Mortehan cemetery. The path becomes a road. Walk up to the N865. Cross carefully and continue straight ahead. Then turn left onto Rue de la Cherreau and go up to the intersection.

(9) Turn left and go downhill. When you reach the N865, near the Sainte-Barbe Chapel, turn right. Cross the Semois and turn left. After the house on the right-hand side, turn right onto the road going uphill. End of signposting.

No markings

Pass in front of a house and then turn right. Enter the quiet zone.

(10) Go around the barrier. On the left, you will see the remains of a slate quarry. At the fork, turn right. At the road, turn left. Walk carefully along the road and head towards the^second barrier on the right, set back from the road. Go through the barrier, close it behind you and walk to the tunnel.

(11) Go through the tunnel, pass the barrier and go up the path, keeping to your left. You will come to a schist picnic table on your right and the first Pierre qui Parle (Talking Stone) on your left. Turn right into the broom bushes. Further on, pass the barrier, ignore the hairpin bend to the right and continue to the crossroads.

(12) Take the path on the left with a road sign (white circle with red border) prohibiting motorcycles and cars at the entrance. Go through the barrier and walk for about 800 m, ignoring the paths on your left. At the schist picnic table, take the path on the left. Follow it for a short while and, when you return to the wide path, continue to the left. Walk to the Pierre qui Parle (Talking Stone) at the Sainte-Barbe Chapel (visible below through the foliage).

(13) Turn around and look for the path on your right, going up the embankment before the large fir tree. The blue markings on a thin birch trunk confirm this.

Blue markings

Climb up and, at the wide path, turn left. Further on, the path turns sharply to the right. Continue climbing until you reach a path on your right.

(14) Turn right. The path narrows and then opens onto a clear-cut area. Join a forest track and continue along it to the left until you reach a crossroads.

(15) Turn left into the clear-cut area. Climb up and, at the crossroads halfway up, continue straight ahead. Markings end.
No markings

At the top, turn right. At the fork, keep left. At the road, continue straight ahead until you reach a forest track on your left.

^GR®® markings

(16) Turn left and, at the fork, go right. Stay on this forest track until you reach your car park. (S/E).

Option to add the Bertrix Arboretum at the T-junction after (15). Follow the green rectangle markings on the left.

Benches: In the first kilometre, after (3), at (6), after the Mortehan cemetery, after (9)

Picnic tables: after (2), at (5), at (6), after (8) along the Semois, after (11), after (12)

Some markings are only followed for a short distance (at (4), after (5)), so they are not listed.

Option to shorten the route by 3 km at (6): stay on the road, rejoin the trail 300 m further on, and continue along the path on the left, just before a house. You will find yourself at (10).

From October to December, bear in mind the hunting season.

During
Château des Fées
La Mergire Viewpoint
Chapel of Our Lady of Prompt Relief
Cugnon Mill
Chapel of Sainte-Barbe in Mortehan and at (13)
Talking Stones

Nearby
Bertrix Arboretum