The Tournibus forest at the start of Hanzinelle

Set off to explore the woods of Tournibus and the vast, gently rolling landscapes of this part of Entre Sambre-et-Meuse along wide forest paths and discover its history, which was sometimes tragic, such as the Battle of Wagnée on 24 August 1914. It was at Hanzinelle Castle that the "Hanzinelle Agreements" were signed in 1978, restructuring the Walloon steel industry. Not to mention its folklore with the famous Marches de l'entre Sambre-et-Meuse, re-enactments in period costume of Napoleon's armies.

Details

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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 12.80 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 4h 05 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 150 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 155 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 279 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 221 m

Photos

Description of the walk

Park in the car park along the N675 near Place d'Hanzinelle.

(S/E) Leave the church behind you and turn diagonally left onto Rue Fayt. Walk along a large grassy area on your right, Place d'Hanzinelle, cross a crossroads and continue straight ahead. At the next crossroads, continue straight ahead. The road quickly gives way to a wide grassy path. Shortly before the edge of the woods, follow the faint trail and look out for the path on the left that enters the woods.

(1) Depending on the season, this path may be overgrown with ferns. It leads to a wide path; follow it to the right. It crosses the Saint-Feuillen woods and leads to a Y-shaped crossroads. Take the left branch and walk along a field on your right.

(2) Walk along another field on your right. The grassy path reaches a T-junction of dirt tracks. Turn right and, after a slight descent, you will reach a private pond, the Trou du Renard. Leave the pond on your left and continue along the uphill path. It makes a sharp left turn, runs alongside a wasteland and reaches a T-junction.

(3) Turn left and follow the wide, stony path downhill. After a sharp right turn, you will reach a crossroads and a hunting shelter, which is largely covered by vegetation.

(4) Turn right and follow the slightly uphill path. After a left turn, the path crosses a plantation of tall spruce trees, and the landscape is very reminiscent of the Ardennes forest. When you reach another crossroads, turn right and immediately take the path that runs diagonally to the left of the road. This leads to another path, which you should follow to the left. Leave the woods and you will reach a Y-shaped crossroads. Take the right-hand branch and you will come to a crossroads formed by two paths and two roads.

Red and yellowPR® markings.

(5) Turn right onto the road leading uphill towards two farm buildings, but first take a look at the pretty stone wall on the right of the crossroads and its message. After the second farm, you will reach a Y-junction.

(6) Take the stony path on the right which leads towards the woods via a steep climb. At the top, there is an information panel and an orientation table dedicated to the battles that took place here on 24 August 1914. Continue the walk to a five-way crossroads and continue straight ahead on the path which climbs again. Follow this path, leaving a path on the left.

End of the red and yellowPR® markings

Continue straight ahead, taking the time to enjoy the sumptuous landscapes around you, until you reach a crossroads.

(7) Turn right and head towards the woods. The path makes a sharp left turn and leads to a beautiful straight avenue. Follow it and, after a slight climb, you will reach a wide track on the right with a footpath running alongside it.

(8) Follow it to a T-junction, turn right and then quickly turn left.
Cross a wasteland. At the next crossroads, at the end of the wasteland, continue straight ahead and cross an old railway line on an old metal bridge. Then turn left onto a wide stony path that leads to Rue de la Gare d'Oret.

Yellow and redPR® markings.

(9) Follow it to the left until you reach a water treatment plant, take the dirt track that goes behind it and then turns left, and follow it to a crossroads.

(10) Turn right onto this path, which runs alongside a large property, the Château d'Hanzinelle. Ignore a path on the left and continue to the first houses in the village and Rue Basse Ruelle, which joins Rue de la Gare d'Oret.

(11) Follow this street to the left, cross a crossroads and reach Place d'Hanzinelle, a large grassy area.
At the next crossroads, turn left to reach the car park along the N975 (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 253 m - Parking along the N675.
  2. 1 : km 0.84 - alt. 261 m - Path to the left
  3. 2 : km 1.88 - alt. 271 m - Fork in the road
  4. 3 : km 3.5 - alt. 252 m - T-junction
  5. 4 : km 4.43 - alt. 239 m - T-junction with hunting shelter
  6. 5 : km 6.34 - alt. 221 m - Crossroads with roads
  7. 6 : km 6.78 - alt. 242 m - Path to the right
  8. 7 : km 8.36 - alt. 260 m - Crossroads
  9. 8 : km 9.66 - alt. 275 m - Path to the right
  10. 9 : km 10.57 - alt. 257 m - Follow the road at the end of the lane to the left.
  11. 10 : km 11.35 - alt. 250 m - Crossroads
  12. 11 : km 12.47 - alt. 256 m - T-junction
  13. S/E : km 12.79 - alt. 253 m - Parking along the N675.

Notes

Picnic table at the information panel on the Battle of Wagnée.
No water available along the route.
The hike took 3 hours and 5 minutes (travel time) and 3 hours and 35 minutes including stops.

Worth a visit

The author of several hikes, "Papylou", has published a beautiful 13.5 km hike on Wikiloc, starting from Hanzinelle and entitled: From Hanzinelle to Thy-le-Bauduin via the Thyria Valley. I highly recommend it.
The Saint-Christophe Walk, one of the many famous walks in the Entre Sambre-et-Meuse region, is organised every year on the last Sunday in July.

Always be cautious and plan ahead when you're outdoors. Visorando and the author of this route cannot be held responsible for any accidents occurring on this route.

The GR® and PR® markings are the intellectual property of the Fédération Française de Randonnée Pédestre.

Reviews and comments

4.8 / 5
Based on 5 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.8 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.8 / 5
Route interest
4.8 / 5
Gosth
Gosth

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 04, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Hello, it was a nice, easy hike with little elevation gain and few people. One small caveat: be careful at point 1, as crossing the small grove is not the easiest part, and the section that leads directly to the Ravel trail is particularly overgrown with ferns and brambles (including raspberry bushes). It's not very long, but a bit tedious. That's really the only downside. Otherwise, it was very peaceful and we were in forests and fields almost the whole time.
Thanks to the author 😉

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JacquesVa
JacquesVa

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 06, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A beautiful walk through woods and fields, with very little road.
Fairly easy.

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pphilippe
pphilippe

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 17, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

We only did part of the route (as planned from the outset), between points 2 and 3, at the narrowest point between the outward and return legs. We turned right onto a (wide) path, which then runs alongside a field, to arrive below point 7. So, 7.2 km with this shortcut.
A very pleasant walk through the countryside and mainly woods, with almost no tarmac. Regarding the route, there was a possible problem at point 1 in finding the path that branches off to the left (actually just after, as the start of the path is visible): we needed to use geolocation to (re)find the path (we were too far to the right).
No difficulty (on the part we followed, at least), just a few hundred metres where tractors pass between 1 and 2, with very deep ruts (and possible water, depending on the weather).

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Marc Vi
Marc Vi

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 07, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A very pleasant walk on easy paths through woods and countryside.
Be careful at point 1, as the entrance to the small wood is difficult to find (use the map to help you). Then, just before the exit of the woods, the path disappears into ferns and brambles, making it impassable. To get out, go through the neighbouring field at the end of which (corner with the woods) you have to turn back (left) into the woods until you reach the path leading to point 2.
The scenery is magnificent and there is an interesting historical stop after point 6 (7 km) on the edge of the woods with a picnic table.

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Légat Christine
Légat Christine
• Edited:

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 22, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

The route is almost entirely through woods, which means beautiful colours and tranquillity. Find out about hunting season depending on when you plan to do this hike.
I will do it again in the spring 😊

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