La Calestienne

Set off to explore the region, from castles to rocky outcrops.

Details

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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 10.90 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 4h 05 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: No
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 345 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 358 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 228 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 131 m
  • ⚐ Country: Belgium
  • ⚐ City: Viroinval 
  • ⚑
    Start: N 50.075892° / E 4.598106°
  • ⚑
    End: N 50.078735° / E 4.635898°
  • ❏
    IGN map(s): Ref. 3008SB
  • Hour-by-hour weather

Photos

Description of the walk

Start from Rue de l'Autre Côté de l'Eau, at a hairpin bend in the road.

(S) Head west along the stone path. As soon as you start walking, you will see a path leading uphill to the right. Take this path as it winds into the woods. At a crossroads, always take the stone path that goes uphill. Once you reach the Prosper quarry, continue uphill a little further until you reach a dirt track on the plateau.

(1) Then take the path on the right (north-east). Walk to a crossroads.

(2) Turn left (north). The path descends to the river (the Viroin). Follow the Viroin for a few metres until you come to a rocky outcrop on your right.

(3) Go to the right of this site and follow the path that runs along the small cliff. At the end of the path, you will eventually reach the Haute-Roche site and, further on, Haute-Roche Castle.

(4) After the castle, continue along the path that descends towards the river. At the road, turn sharply left. Then follow the river on your right until you reach the bridge, which you will cross.

(5) At the T-junction that follows, take the path on the left through the woods. After a good kilometre, you’ll see the river on your left. You’ll reach the Olloy railway tunnel.

(6) When you are facing the tunnel entrance, there is a path on your left: follow it (south-west) to the top of the plateau. Once at the top, follow the path on the left to the Roche aux Faucons (panoramic view).

(7) Retrace your steps back to the tunnel.

(6) Once you reach the railway line, cross the bridge over the river just beside it. Just after the bridge, on the left, you will find a path leading downwards. Follow this path to the Frimoye quarry. When you reach the entrance to the quarry, follow a small path on the right-hand side which leads into the forest. At the top of the path, you will reach a limestone meadow.

(8) At the top of the meadow, head right (north-east). Follow the path which, further on, leads into the woods on the left. At the end of this path, you’ll reach a track: take this track to the right and you’ll arrive once again near the Prosper quarry.

(1) Continue in the same direction (north-east) and pass once more through the crossroads you took at the start.

(2) Turn right, pass La Croix Sauvage and, at the next fork, veer left. At the following fork, veer right and continue to a junction. Then take the path on the left which joins Rue de la Goulette. Follow this street eastwards, towards Vierves. On the way, you will see a large copse on the right by the roadside, in the middle of a field. Just after this copse, enter the woods on the right and you will find a path.

Once on the path, turn left then right until you reach La Roche du Pas (panoramic view).

(10) Continue walking towards Vierves (north-east). At the end of the path, you’ll come to a T-junction. Turn left; the path will then follow the boundary of a meadow. Continue until you reach a roughly triangular-shaped lawn. Then head left until you reach a flight of steps leading down to the road (the N5), which you will need to cross to climb the other flight of steps opposite. Follow the path to an old wash house opposite Vierves Castle.

(11) From there, walk along the ramparts on the left to the village church. Then turn right towards the castle entrance. You will see a flight of steps leading down. Follow them and you will arrive in a park. Leave the park and head towards the lower part of the village, towards the Pont de Vierves bridge which spans the Viroin (E).

Waypoints

  1. S : km 0 - alt. 146 m - Street on the Other Side of the Water
  2. 1 : km 0.51 - alt. 214 m - T-junction
  3. 2 : km 0.8 - alt. 211 m - Crossroads
  4. 3 : km 1.31 - alt. 159 m - Rocher aux Nutons
  5. 4 : km 2.08 - alt. 204 m - Château de Haute Roche
  6. 5 : km 2.99 - alt. 149 m - T-junction after the bridge at - Viroin (rivière) - Belgique
  7. 6 : km 4.57 - alt. 156 m - Olloy railway tunnel
  8. 7 : km 5.22 - alt. 181 m - Roche aux Faucons
  9. 8 : km 6.61 - alt. 185 m - Football pitch
  10. 9 : km 8.34 - alt. 185 m - Path on the left
  11. 10 : km 8.95 - alt. 201 m - Roche du Pas
  12. 11 : km 10.47 - alt. 144 m - Washing house / Château de Vierves
  13. E : km 10.9 - alt. 131 m - Vierves Bridge

Notes

We recommend bringing:
- Cereal bars
- Small bottles of water
- A roll of toilet paper
- Small bin bag
- ID documents
- Watch
- Compass
- Pens and paper
- Mobile phone

Worth a visit

La Calestienne is one of the most beautiful regions in Wallonia. It is a unique geographical and geological area, nestled between the French Ardennes to the south, the Belgian Ardennes to the south-east and the Famenne to the north.
It is a strip of land approximately 10 km wide, stretching for nearly 130 km from Chimay to Aywaille. It consists mainly of Devonian-era terrain and is characterised by a rugged landscape rising some 100 metres above the Famenne. It is rich in karst features, some of which are spectacular, resulting from the dissolution or erosion of its limestone and including caves, sinkholes, dolines, cliffs and other rocky outcrops…

The elevation and south-facing aspect of this ridge, combined with the shallow, permeable soil, create a microclimate that allows the development of a characteristic flora comprising calciphile species (which thrive in limestone soils) and/or heliophilic species (which thrive in sunny conditions), as well as the full range of fauna (butterflies, molluscs, bugs, hymenoptera, etc.) that depend on this flora.

Reviews and comments

4.5 / 5
Based on 5 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.6 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.4 / 5
Route interest
4.6 / 5
GuyLeroy
GuyLeroy
• Edited:

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 12, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

I highly recommend this varied mountain hike. A few points to note:
1- Park your car in the car park at the village exit; it’s impossible to park at the starting point
2- There’s a problem at the Prosper quarry: the path is completely blocked; it’s impossible and forbidden to pass through. We found a way up through the grass, but at the top we had to go under barbed wire. This is forbidden and, moreover, dangerous. Bear this in mind.
3-After point 3, to reach the Haute Roche site, there is an extremely steep section (and slippery when it rains, I imagine) equipped with a rope. I enjoyed it, but it may be daunting for hikers unaccustomed to handling steep terrain.
4- The view from the Roche aux Faucons isn’t great and isn’t worth the climb to get there.
5- The finish is stunning, with the beautiful castle. I recommend following the GR or the Blue Diamond route to return to the starting point. That makes for a brilliant 40-minute walk along the river.

So this hike is brilliant, we really enjoyed it – do give it a go!

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Pasdem
Pasdem

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 21, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

A lovely walk

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ArinaTomberg
ArinaTomberg

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

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

A lovely walk with plenty to see.

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ninite
ninite

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 17, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A lovely route to take at a leisurely pace in glorious sunshine; you can do it without a map as it’s very well signposted.
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nicolasjd
nicolasjd

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 16, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A superb walk that can be turned into a lovely circular route, returning along the "Virion" via the "Blue Diamond" route. There are some steep sections at times!

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