Between Ardenne and Calestienne, the Vicinal path

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This route is an ideal walk for appreciating the topographical and geological differences between the Calestienne and the Ardennes.

Details

n°576714
Creation:
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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 3.03 mi
  • ◔
    Average duration: 1h 40 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Easy
  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 322 ft
  • ↘
    Descent: - 322 ft
  • ▲
    Highest point: 781 ft
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 456 ft
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Photos

The ponds on the Chemin du Vicinal
Ollloy-sur-Viroin
The bridge over the Viroin. Olloy-sur-Viroin
Picnic area by the local road

Description of the walk

(S/E) We start in front of the church in the village of Olloy-sur-Viroin, with our backs to it. We head straight ahead (west) and, a little further on, we see the imposing vicarage. We take Rue des Frères Bouré on the left. We cross the railway line and leave Rue de la Champagne on our right.

(1) We take a small, uphill street on the right, Rue de Baimont. At the next Fork in the road, we let this street veer off to the right and continue straight on along Chemin du Vicinal. We are now on a road overlooking the village; we ignore the paths coming from the left and right and continue straight on.

(2) We pass close to a pond with two basins (on our left) before heading into the forest, where we will soon see another one, this time consisting of three basins.

(3) We continue straight on to the Chemin du Vicinal picnic area. We then retrace our steps and take the path on the right, which climbs gently through the woods.

(4) At the junction, we turn left and then continue straight on along the Chemin du Plane.

(5) We have now reached the end of the path. We come to a road called Rue Pré-des-Vélus, where we must be careful due to the traffic. We take this road on our left.

A little further on, just before the bend in Rue du Pré-des-Vélus, we take a small road leading down to our left, Chemin des Nuées. We follow this road straight on until we reach the heart of the village and the church (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : mi 0 - alt. 459 ft - Village church
  2. 1 : mi 0.09 - alt. 469 ft - Rue de Baimont
  3. 2 : mi 0.55 - alt. 548 ft - Ponds
  4. 3 : mi 1.48 - alt. 659 ft - Junction
  5. 4 : mi 1.97 - alt. 761 ft - Crossroads
  6. 5 : mi 2.48 - alt. 551 ft - Rue Pré-des-Vélus
  7. S/E : mi 3.03 - alt. 459 ft - Village church

Notes

No special equipment is required. However, do remember to bring something to drink along the way.

Once you reach the halfway point (3), you have the choice of returning to the starting point via a forest path, as indicated in the description, or retracing your steps along the route you took on the way out, which is more convenient if you are accompanied by young children or have pushchairs.

Worth a visit

The Chemin du Vicinal is a former tram line that used to run through the woods, connecting the village of Oignies-en-Thiérache to Olloy-sur-Viroin railway station and the Charleroi–Vireux (in France) railway line.

Reviews and comments

4.4 / 5
Based on 4 reviews
Reliability of the description
4.3 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.5 / 5
Route interest
4.5 / 5
ArinaTomberg
ArinaTomberg

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

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

A short and easy walk. It can be combined with other walks starting from Olloy-sur-Viroin.

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Salim J.
Salim J.

Hello,

Thank you very much for pointing that out. There was indeed a typo in the description and on the map; the picnic spot is actually a few dozen metres further along. Everything is sorted now. Thank you! ;-)

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Netra
Netra ★

Hello Fabian, and thank you for your comments.

Indeed, in point (4), there was a right/left error that had slipped through the net, both during writing and proofreading prior to publication. Error corrected.

Thank you for pointing this out!

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Fabian2310
Fabian2310

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 13, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

Please note: there’s a small error in the description that needs correcting. After the picnic spot, you turn back and head up into the woods, taking the path on the right. At the very end of this path, at the junction, the description says to turn right, but you actually need to turn left (as shown on the route map). Otherwise, it’s a lovely walk to do with the children.

Machine-translated

Salim J.
Salim J.

Hello,

Thank you for your feedback regarding the route. I’m surprised you encountered a problem, especially as I passed through there at Easter and there were no particular changes to report, and the Chemin du Plane is a proper forest track used by a few tractors or 4x4s.

Do you, by any chance, have a record of your actual route so that I can understand exactly when you ‘lost’ your way? Perhaps there is something in the description that could be improved so that this does not happen to future hikers?

Thank you for your feedback.

Salim

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Julien Felu
Julien Felu

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 29, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Path interrupted (or lost) between points 4 and 5, a flat path.
Finish using GPS to reach the starting point via a clearing running parallel to the Chemin des Vélus.
Otherwise, a magnificent hike.

Machine-translated

capanglais
capanglais

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 30, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Stunning scenery; an easy walk once you’ve done it once in one direction and reached the 10km mark...

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The GPS track and description are the property of this route's author. Please do not copy them without permission.