Ittre and the Brussels-Charleroi Canal

Parking is available on the Placette in the centre of Ittre.

(S/E) Head towards the entrance to the castle on Rue de la Montagne and walk up the left-hand pavement until you reach a staircase on the left, right next to the wall of a house. This is where the Sentier Piotte trail begins.

(1) Take this staircase, which quickly gives way to a path between the gardens. At the edge of the woods, you will pass through a turnstile and enter a meadow. The path, sometimes just a faint trail, stays close to the edge of the woods. Cross the meadows, staying close to the edge of the woods. When you are no longer following the woods but a thick hedge on your left, look carefully for the path that leads through it. Climb up through the ferns. At the field, follow its edge to the right. An uphill climb brings you to a dirt road.

(2) Turn left, follow Rue d'Hurbize to the first fork and take the left branch to the Braine-le-Château road.

(3) Cross it and continue straight ahead. A few metres further on, go down the path that enters the Bois du Chapitre. Be careful not to stray from the path, as part of the wood is classified as a Natura 2000 area. Continue straight ahead until you reach a few houses and the tarmac road. At the crossroads after the first two or three houses, turn left to leave the wood on Rue de Clabecq.

(4) Cross it carefully and follow the pavement opposite to the right for about a hundred metres. Go down Rue du Sart on your left. A little further on, it turns right and then left. The Sentier du Facteur or Sentier n°65 starts on the right a little further down. It is narrow and runs between two gardens, quickly bringing you to Sentier n°66, also called Sentier du Facteur. Go down it on your left until you reach the end.

(5) Turn left into the street, Sentier Nizelle, then right to continue down Rue du Sart. Join the Brussels-Charleroi Canal at a merry-go-round and a restaurant, Le Guignon. A short climb and you are at lock no. 5 near the marina.

(6) On the perpendicular fence just after the entrance gate, a turnstile allows you to enter the lock site. Head to the back of the site. If you are with young children, hold their hands. Passage is only permitted on the paths, and the height above the furthest lock gate is impressive. Once you have passed it, head towards the lock keeper's buildings and exit the site through another turnstile next to the entrance gate. Follow the towpath along the upper part of the canal until you reach the^second tarmac path on your right next to the car park.

(7) Turn right and continue straight ahead for 200 metres until you reach the small wood on your left. A path and the^{GR® trail} enter the wood 1 metre after the path bordering it. Turn left to follow it. You will then discover the Sennette before rejoining the aforementioned path. Follow it to the right until you reach a dead arm of the canal. Follow the path on the left-hand side. At the end, take the tarmac road opposite and rejoin the canal. Turn right, then keep right and take the slip road towards Rue Charles Catala. Cross the bridge on your left, take the^first street on the left and continue to the crossroads below.

(8) Go up Rue du Vieux Pavé d'Asquemont on the right. At the top, after a road on the left with a small chapel on the corner, just after the next house, against the garden fence, the Sentier du Platry begins. It climbs between a fence and the edge of a field to lead to Rue de la Bruyère du Masy. Continue climbing until you reach a footpath starting on your right on flat ground.

(9) Follow it to the next street (rue de l'Ascension). Continue climbing to the left until you reach Rue du Masy, turn right and continue to Rue des Châtaigniers.

(10) Cross over and take "Le Mambourg" opposite, which is initially a dirt track and then a steep path with uneven ground, which descends to Rue Haute at the entrance to the village. Turn left to Saint-Rémy Church and continue along its left side to the Placette, a parking area (S/E).

(1) You are on one of the routes to Santiago de Compostela, the Via Brabantica and the^GR®12. Take the time to appreciate the beauty and tranquillity of the places you pass through. Foxes and, no doubt, deer and roe deer also enjoy these places.

(4) Sentier du Facteur, a new, wide landscape opens up before you. For about a hundred metres before it ends, the path is no longer maintained, but there are no nettles. This is the only unmaintained section of the route. Hats off to the municipality of Ittre.

(6) The marina is on your left, on the other side of the water.

(7) At the^second path starting on your right, you can either follow the route or continue straight ahead to the road leading to the bridge.
At the dead arm of the old canal, you can follow either the right-hand side, which is paved at first and then becomes a dirt track, or the path on the left-hand side, both of which meet at the end of this pond-like area.

Food and drink are available in Ittre near the car park.

On the way, just before the lock, there is a restaurant called "Le Guignon".