From the Flemish Ardennes to the Pays des Collines

Start at the foot of the church in Everbeek-Beneden (Everbeek-Bas). (Municipality of Brakel).

(S/E) Leave the square by heading up to the right of the church, north-west, and ignore the entrance to the cemetery on your right. About fifty metres further on, turn left off the road (junction 83): the lane continues diagonally to the right along a path. Ignore a path on your left.

(1) About 300 m further on, turn right onto the grassy path, which leads back to the road you left (oratory). Cross it and, opposite, take the lane, which leads to a fairly straight country lane.
This country lane leads to a small road at a place called Korrele. Follow it to the left until you reach the bend just ahead.

(2) At the bend (control point 27 and^GR® 5A/512), continue straight on and pass a farm. The small road soon climbs between a wooded embankment and a copse. Ignore a path leading off to the right. Shortly after a bend to the right, take the path on your left that runs alongside a property and crosses the fields.

(3) At the end of this, follow the road briefly to the right and leave it to the left, following the red and white markings. The path narrows and continues straight ahead. Pass a path to the left and, shortly afterwards, take a right-hand bend to join a road at the foot of a cross flanked by trees.

(4) Follow the road to the left, still following the^GR® markings^. Not for long. About 400 m further on, at the next junction, leave the road and the^GR®: on your left, take the second Fraan path. The tarmac soon ends and it heads out into the countryside. It eventually bends to the left, then to the right, and joins a small road. (A beautiful landscape lies before you). Continue briefly to the right but quickly leave the tarmac by turning left onto a new country lane.

(5) Caution! Just before the tarmac, turn right. The path narrows, winds its way between fences and leads onto a road. Turn left then right (20 to 30 m further on) and take a new path between walls and hedges. Cut across a junction, then immediately ignore a path on your right. Carry straight on and you will reach a grassy area (rest area) behind the church at Everbeek-Boven.

(6) Shortly afterwards, at the edge of a copse, ignoring a path on the right, head up to the left until you reach a road. Follow it to the right for about fifty metres. Leave it to the right to go down a path, which is sometimes damp and slippery, fitted with wooden duckboards here and there.

Cross a tarmac road and continue straight on. The path (^GR® markings) bends first to the right, then to the left in quick succession. At the junction with a path coming from the left, follow a small tarmac track to the right. 50 m further on, turn left onto a path lined with fences. It leads to a road, which you follow to the right.
Caution! Before reaching the bend in the road to the right, leave the road (and the^GR® markings) at the foot of an electricity pole flanked by a metal cabinet.

(7) Head left onto a straight path lined with fences. It leads to the edge of a wood, which it follows to the left. It widens into a track that reaches a small road running perpendicular to it. Continue to the right. The road bends to the right and slopes down towards an isolated house. Without reaching it, turn sharply left onto a rustic track. It winds along the edge of the forest until it reaches a corner of the woods.

(8) Then turn right and enter the Bois de la Louvière. The path, rutted and damp, descends into the hollow of a small valley. It crosses a stream and climbs back up to emerge onto a long, straight avenue. Follow it to the left until you pass through a gate and emerge into an area lined with picnic tables.
Take care! Without going as far as the crossroads, between two tables, turn sharply left and climb a discreet path, which passes at the foot of a tall metal pylon and runs alongside a fence. It leads to the Chapelle du Crépion.

(9) Immediately afterwards, the path curves round the enclosure to the right and descends onto a track. Take a slight right-hand bend and, straight away, head down the track on your left which joins a road right next to a wayside shrine.
Continue to the left, taking care. At the next junction, carry straight on. Further on, ignore two roads on your left. After about 500 m, the road curves to the left.

(10) Then turn right onto Potterée 20 to 30B. The small, winding road (take care!) runs alongside a copse and descends towards a residential area. At the foot of a monumental owl (wooden sculpture), leave it on the left towards waypoint 22. The tarmac gives way to a rustic path that crosses a copse and descends to the bend in a small road. Follow it to the right. It ends, at the entrance to Flobecq, at the Marais à l’Eau, near a wayside shrine.

(11) Cross carefully and head diagonally to the right (no entry). At the next bend, continue straight on along a path. To the left, cross a culvert (over the Ruisseau d’Ancre). The path joins the L87 RAVeL, which you follow to the left. At the next junction, near a small restaurant, turn right onto the road. Leave it after about a hundred metres and take a path slanting to the left which leads to the corner of the cemetery.

(12) Follow it to the left, ignoring the access road on your right. At the next corner, the path bends left, then right. A few dozen metres further on, turn right. This new path leads onto a street, next to the police station. Follow the road to the left and cross the next junction. The small street leads to Place de Flobecq.

(13) Walk round the church on your left, and at the far end of the square, go through an unusual covered passageway (yellow and red markings of^{the GRP®} 123). This leads to a small square, which continues into a narrow alley. At the T-junction, continue to the left. Where the path meets a street, turn right into a narrow lane, Rue Delvigne, which leads to a junction. Continue left along the garden of the Maison des Plantes Médicinales.

At the next T-junction, turn right along a wall. The path leads onto a road which you follow to the left, leaving the^GRP® until the next junction. Turn right there into Marais Garette. Ignore the RAVeL on your left but almost immediately, leave the lane and, on your right, take a paved path following the yellow and red markings of^{the GRP®} 123. At the foot of a monumental wayside cross, continue straight ahead. The path leads to a tree-lined island between two roads.

(14) Walk 20 m to the right along the small road, then cross the main road diagonally to the left. Follow the^GRP® markings along the stony path that runs alongside a property (on your left) and heads out into the countryside.

At the junction near an isolated farm, continue straight on: you will then begin a steep climb through woods and meadows. You will pass a dilapidated wayside shrine (bench) and, at the edge of the woods (Tournibois), you will reach a junction in the hollow of the embankment, at the foot of a monumental beech tree. (Panorama).

(15) Continue, veering left, up this sunken path, which is often damp. At the top, past an isolated house and just after a dilapidated chapel, turn right (whilst the^GRP® continues straight on). Immediately ignore the junction to the right and carry on straight ahead through the countryside. The quiet, scenic little road overlooks a pond and passes a crossroads. When you reach a T-junction, head down to the right and cross the small hamlet of Esquennes. The little road gradually curves to the left.

(16) Caution! At a bend to the right, in front of house no. 1 and just before a road mirror, leave the road to the left. The rustic path bends to the left and begins a climb through the bushes. Watch out for the ruts, which can be deep.

At the end of this climb, the path joins a road. Follow it straight ahead, keeping the tall Crépion pylon in sight. After passing a few houses, you reach the boundary between Everbeek-Brakel and Flobecq-Vloesberg.

(17) Just at the gable end of a farmhouse, turn right onto a small path. Watch out! 50 m further on, leave it again to the right and head down towards junction 97 of the Vlaamse Ardennen. The path, often damp, winds through the undergrowth below the embankment. It climbs again and approaches the edge of the woods.

Then turn left. The path descends along the edge of the woodland, then runs above the Ruisseau de Kleppe. It comes out onto a small road, next to an old wooden wayside cross on the left. Follow the road to the right until you reach a junction at the foot of a chapel. (Bench).

(18) Leave the tarmac road to the left. The small path descends into a valley and crosses a culvert. Just beyond, turn right: the path winds through a copse on the bank of the Ruisseau de Kleppe. At the T-junction at the edge of the woods, take a sharp right to immediately join a small road. Follow it to the left.

Ignore the^first junction on the right (oratory), then two successive junctions on the left, continuing straight on towards Terkleppe. About fifty metres further on, you reach a^fourth junction just before a small chapel on the left.

(19) Turn right here towards Terbeken. The small road runs past a few houses, then bends to the right. Leave it here and, straight ahead, take a path between a fence and some shrubs (pollarded hornbeams).
At the end of it, turn left onto the rustic path that runs through the fields.

(20) At the next junction, in open countryside (a memorial site), keep going straight ahead until you come out near a farm.

(21) Continue to the right. After about 150 m, the small road ends in a cul-de-sac in front of a listed farmhouse. Turn right onto the rustic track. 50 to 60 m further on, turn left and follow the Everbeekpad (Everbeek path). The path narrows into a track, then bends sharply along the bank of a stream. Where it joins a road, follow it to the left. You are now back in Everbeek-Beneden. Pass a junction on the left just before returning to the square at the foot of the church (S/E). You’ve completed a circular route!

(S/E) Easy parking.
(6) Grassed area, benches, picnic table
Shortly before (8) Picnic tables
(9) Shelter and benches
Between (10) and (11) At the junction of the RAVeL and a road, the former barrier guard post has been converted into the Faim de voie café-restaurant.
(13) Shelter (kiosk), benches, cafés, chip shop
(18) Bench, next to the chapel
Between (18) and (19) Near the memorial site (see below), benches

(9) The pretty Crépion chapel nestles, very discreetly, under the canopy, on the edge of the Bois de la Louvière. It would be a very romantic spot were it not for the tall metal pylon and its wire-mesh enclosure, which spoil this woodland site.

Between (10) and (11) The RAVeL, which you follow for a very short stretch, runs along the route of the former L87 railway line. This line linked Bassilly, Lessines, Renaix and Tournai. Today, this slow-moving route is almost entirely developed between Lessines and Ellezelles. It allows walkers and mountain bikers to explore the bucolic valley of the Ancre stream and the Pays des Collines.
(13) On Place de Flobecq, be sure to take a look at and inside the church. Saint Luke’s Church marks the transition between the Romanesque and Gothic styles. It is built on an architectural plan inspired by Flemish hall churches. It houses a 13th-century reliquary of Saint Christopher and a 14th-century polychrome wooden statue of the same saint.

Between (12) and (13) As you leave Flobecq, the series of paths runs alongside the House of Medicinal Plants. This is a tribute to a thriving industry in the Flobecq, Lessines and Deux-Acren region from the mid-19th century onwards. A century later, it had declined and virtually disappeared, displaced by countries where labour is much cheaper.

(15) Just before the Corne du Tournibois, on the right-hand side, a vast panorama opens up towards the Lessines area. Landmark on a clear day: a modern water tower situated at the entrance to Lessines.

Between (15) and (17) The Kleppe Stream, which you overlook as you cross the woods, runs alongside you here and there until you return to Everbeek-Beneden, particularly in the copse following the landmark (17).

Between (18) and (19) At a crossroads in open countryside, the route passes the De Pijkskapel memorial site. A small brick enclosure surrounds the meagre remains of a chapel. It was built in 1815 by three residents of Everbeek. Enlisted in Napoleon’s armies, they survived the Russian campaign. Right next to it, a modern monument celebrates peace.