Louvain-la-Neuve – Braine-l’Alleud

Grand’place in Louvain-la-Neuve.

(S) Head towards the cinema and turn left onto the ‘Déserte Jaune’, which leads to Place Montesquieu. Cross it diagonally. Head towards the opposite corner. At the small square that follows, take Rue du Buret on the left, which becomes Rue du Ciseau after the bend. Follow it all the way to Avenue des Arts – a ‘T’-junction. Turn left until you reach a pedestrian walkway branching off to the right.

(1) Turn right and follow this footpath, which runs alongside Avenue des Musiciens, until you reach Rue Charles De Coster. Turn left onto Rue des Carillonneurs. At the first junction after this, opposite the Clos des Violoneux, you’ll find the Sentier des Ménétriers.

(2) Turn right onto this path, then head towards the centre of this area – the playground – and continue straight ahead along the Sentier de la Maclotte, which leads to Rue des Harmonies. Turn left. Follow the bend. Continue to the roundabout on Rue de Namur.

(3) Take the second exit – Rue de Namur N233. Continue to Rue du Ruisseau. Cross it. Carry on straight ahead. The pavement on the right is called Rue du Morimont, the one on the left, Rue des Bruyères… Pass one street on the left, then one on the right, until you reach a path on the right.

(4) Turn right and follow this path into the Bois des Bruyères. Stay on the main path but do not take the stony path branching off to the left (private property further on). At the T-junction, first turn right then left. At the start of the bend, carry on straight ahead until you reach Rue du Bois des Rêves.

(5) Carry on straight ahead, go under the railway line, and follow Rue de Franquenies. At the junction, the road turns right. Follow it, cross the railway line – Céroux-Mousty level crossing – and cross the River Dyle.

(6) Turn left onto Rue Ernest Berthet and, a little further on, turn right onto Rue du Ry. Cross Avenue Provinciale.

(7) Take Rue du Culot opposite. At a small square – Place du Centenaire – it turns right. Follow the bend and, at the corner of the square, first turn left then right onto Rue du Champ d’Enfer.

(8) At the end of the enclosed area, the street becomes a footpath – Sentier du Champ d’Enfer or Chemin n° 24 – and climbs into a woodland along a sunken track which, please note, can be very muddy in places. On leaving the woodland, continue straight ahead. Cross Path No. 1 and join Rue Chapelle aux Sabots, a cobbled road. Follow it straight ahead until you reach Rue Croix Thomas – Rue Grand’rue.

(9) Take the street on the left, then the first on the left – Rue Jean de Mons, a cobbled road. On Chaussée de Bruxelles, make the first turn left then right and take Rue de Ferrières straight ahead.

(10) After a few metres, turn right onto an uphill farm track, Rue de la Fontenelle (track no. 9). Cross Rue Hergé; it is then called Rue du Commerce. At the edge of the field, it turns right into a residential area.

(11) Turn left onto Rue Nicaise. Take the path branching off to the right opposite No. 11. At Grande Avenue, turn left, then carry on straight ahead at the next junction. At the ‘Y’ junction, carry on straight ahead along Route de Beaumont until you reach Lasne-Chapelle-Saint-Martin and a five-way junction.

(12) Take the street diagonally to the front left. At the next junction, turn left onto Rue Collart. In the woods, stay on the street as it curves, then continue straight ahead – it becomes Route d’Aywiers – until you reach Rue de l’Abbaye. Follow this straight ahead until you reach the main road. (see practical information)

(13) Carry on straight ahead into Rue de Fichermont. It climbs steeply, then levels out. Continue to the edge of the woods.

(14) Turn left onto the dirt track – Rue Babeaux – and follow it straight on until you reach the entrance to a large property after a climb. The road becomes tarmac. Follow it downhill and then uphill.

(15) Junction of Rue Babeaux (path no. 35) and Chemin de Plancenoit: continue straight on up the dirt track. On the descent, the track becomes a sunken lane; turn right to reach the hamlet known as ‘Ferme de la Papelotte’, on Route de la Marache Potale, on the corner opposite.

(16) Turn right, then take the first left (cobbled) onto Chemin des Catamouriaux. Ignore a road leading uphill to the right and carry on straight ahead along the sunken dirt track until you reach the junction on the plateau.

(17) Turn left onto Rue de la Croix (path no. 2). Continue straight ahead along the cobbled road – a new concrete cycle path – until you reach the Chaussée de Charleroi. Caution: heavy and fast-moving traffic . Make sure you use the traffic lights at the pedestrian crossings.

(18) Cross the road and continue straight ahead towards the Butte du Lion and the 1815 site. Head towards the car park. (E) (see practical information)

• Between (12) and (13) Roadworks are currently blocking the underpass beneath which the road runs, but it is possible – and permitted – to pass through on foot or by bike.
• (E) End of the stage – end of the “Parkin’son tour de Walonnie”. It will be published as a book in September 2026. Thank you for following my journey.

The 1815 site as a whole.