From the plateau to the valley via Olne, Saint-Hadelin and Vaux-sous-Olne

Departure from the Olne Sports Hall. Markings: green cross (No. 10).

(S/E) Start from the kiosk next to the Omnisport Hall, take the alley opposite the school and turn left to reach the village centre. Admire the Church of Saint Sebastian and the old houses on Rue Village with their potales. 200 metres further on, go down to the right of the Maison Communale (former patrician house dating from 1746) to cross its garden and head towards the Ri de Rode. On the right, at No. 6 Rue du Chantoir, see the old brewery.

(1) Turn your back on the brewery and the Falize reservoir and follow the Ry de Rode to the left: you will reach the bottom of Rue Herdavoie, which starts on the right. Walk up to the first large farm on the right, opposite which you take the Chemin des pâturages on the left.

(2) At the crossroads, turn right and walk along the old Voie de Liège for 1 km, ignoring the paths on either side, until you reach Château de Saint-Hadelin (at no. 5). A few metres after these old buildings, cross Rue Rafhay and turn slightly right onto Chemin du Rouau.

(3) At Rue Saint-Hadelin, turn left and head back up towards Olne.

(4) Take the first street on the right to the Fief de Saint-Hadelin. Turn left and walk past the calvary to arrive in front of the courthouse (Ancion house dating from 1774). Take a short detour to the back of the Fief and admire the chapel and the nail tree. Leaving the Maison de Justice, turn left towards the Croix Renard, which you will reach by leaving the Saint-Hadelin cemetery on your left. At the top of the path, you will reach the Croix Renard on your left, which offers a 360° view and whose small cross commemorates the deadly brawl involving two farmers from Hansez in 1825.

(5) Leaving Croix Renard in the direction of Hansez, walk a few metres and take the first path on the left to descend towards Nessonvaux. You will arrive at a place called Chinehotte (etymology: chêne holte = pollarded oak), with a remarkable building on the right housing magnificent guest rooms.

(6) Opposite this residence, take a dirt track on the left that leads to Rue Moulin Lochet. On your right, you will see the "Green Valley" studio located in a former mill called "Aux-Usines". Walk up the lane along the Ry de Vaux stream, which takes you past the old communal mill (Moulin Lochet) to the road connecting Olne to Nessonvaux. Carefully cross this main road and take the lane opposite on the left, leaving the stream on your left.

(7) At the intersection with Route de Soiron, which we cross, take the path opposite that crosses the Hazienne to enter Petit-Vaux. Continuing to follow this stream, head towards Grand-Vaux without reaching it.

(8) Take the Chemin des Escaliers on the right, which climbs towards Olne. Halfway along, take the portico footbridge (on the right) which leads to a path that goes around the south of the Bois de Terwangne and takes you back to the village of Olne. As soon as you enter the village, turn right onto Rue des Combattants to reach the sports centre on the left, where you started (S/E).

Departure and arrival at the Olne Sports Hall. A cafeteria and restaurant are available. There is a chip shop at the end of Rue des Combattants.
The hike follows signpost no. 10 (green rectangle) throughout.
Good walking shoes are essential.

With its century-old buildings in the centre of Olne and the Fief de Saint-Hadelin, Olne has been designated one of the "Most Beautiful Villages in Wallonia". Our walk showcases this architectural heritage and the old roads, offering magnificent views.

If you would like to find out more, please visit the website of the most beautiful villages in Wallonia, the Olne municipal website and Wikipedia.

Those interested in "small heritage" can consult this website, which provides explanations for each object (shrines, crosses, drinking troughs, gates with teutés, remarkable trees, etc.) and locates these objects on a map.

During the hike

(1) Admire the Church of Saint-Remacle and its old cemetery, the 17th and 18th century houses built with rubble stone extracted from nearby quarries. Some houses are made of red brick with carved limestone bands. The town hall, dating from 1746, was originally a typical 18th century bourgeois house.

(2) On this route, which follows the old "Voie de Liège" road, you can admire the oldest lime tree in the commune (already marked on the Ferraris map in the 18th century).

(6) and (7) The Vaux-sous-Olne and Nessonvaux valleys are "mill" valleys. In fact, water wheels provided the power initially used to grind wheat, then to work iron and finally to manufacture cannons and rifles. As the water wheels have disappeared (except for Moulin André), it is often thanks to the old leats that we can locate the old mills.

The mill at the foot of the Chinehotte locality called "Aux Usines" was originally an ironworks. It was converted into a forge for "Damascus" cannons and then into a power station, the first to supply electricity to Nessonvaux and Olne. The Moulin Lochet was the second communal mill in Soiron.

Nearby

- There are numerous signposted walks starting from the Hall Omnisport.
- Lovers of small heritage sites: see website
- Most beautiful villages in Wallonia: near Olne there are two other most beautiful villages in Wallonia: Soiron (4 km) and Thimister-Clermont (10 km).
- Wégimont (3 km): imposing castle, lake, playgrounds, mini golf, open-air swimming pool.
- Further afield: Liège, Maastricht, Verviers, Eupen, the Hautes Fagnes, Monschau and Aachen.