Mont Cassel and Mont des Récollets starting from Terdeghem

Start: Terdeghem, Place Saint-Martin (opposite the town hall).

(S/E) Head towards the church. Go round the^{second square} on the left and find a path leading off to the left.

(1) Follow this lovely path (Sentier de Bruige) until you reach a T-junction.

(2)Turn right and follow the Route du Grand Bruxelles. You will reach a fork (with a wayside shrine on the left).

(3) Take the left-hand track. You’ll come to a large farm on the right and, just after that, find a path leading off to the left.

(4) Follow this straight path which passes in front of a farm and then turns sharply right to reach the D 916.
A quick left-right turn takes you onto a new path (caution: dangerous crossing). This path leads to a farm.

(5) At the farm, take the very grassy path opposite. 200 m after a left-right bend, find a path branching off to the left. Follow it to reach a small road.

(6) Follow it to the right. At the fork, take the road on the left and take the first path on the left (Chemin du Presbytère). You’ll reach a T-junction with the village of Straete.

(7) Head straight ahead and you’ll immediately come to a children’s playground on the left. Cross it and, at the far end on the right, you’ll find a small lane leading to the cemetery. Turn left then immediately right to pass in front of the Church of Sainte-Marie-Cappel (Route de Cassel). You are now on the GRP® des Monts de Flandre and will stay on it for a while. After the bakery and the restaurant,take the second left. Follow the Petit Chemin d'Oxelaere. At the fork, keep left and reach a T-junction.

(8) Turn right (still on the GRP®) and cross the Pis Becque. You’ll reach another T-junction (at a place called Coq de Paille). Take the track on the left to reach a small road.

(9) Follow it to the right to cross the town, heading up Rue d’Hazebrouck. At the very top, with the Chapelle Blanche on your right, cross the D301 road and follow it to the left. Pass in front of the stadium and reach a road junction.

(10) Then turn right, staying on the GRP®).

(11) At the top, take a path on the left and continue to a junction.

(12) Leave the GRP® and take Rue des Remparts opposite, joining Chemin du Tilleul a little further on. Follow it to the right.

(13) Cross Rue d’Aire and continue straight ahead onto Rue des Remparts (you are now back on the GRP®).
Continue straight on and eventually join the main road to Cassel, the D933, after a very narrow stretch.

(14) Turn right onto it, then immediately left onto Place du Général Vandamme. Turn right straight away, walking alongside the houses until you reach a junction. Head straight on along the pretty path to arrive near the Moulin de Cassel. Turn right, walk past the mill and join a good path which you follow to the left. At the junction, continue straight on to reach a T-junction.

(15) Here, you have a choice:
- follow Rue du Casino to the right: a lovely street with steps and a downhill slope that joins Rue Alexis Bafcop.
- follow the good path to the left, which also joins Rue Alexis Bafcop (this is the route).
Follow Rue Alexis Bafcop to the left until you reach a junction. Turn right into Rue de Bergues and walk between a secondary school and a primary school to reach a junction.

(16) Turn left onto Rue Notre-Dame, walk past the Collegiate Church and look for a flight of steps leading down on the left.

(17) Go down these steps and, at the bottom, continue straight on along Chemin du Chapitre to reach Avenue Albert Mahieu. Follow it for a few metres to the left.

(18) At the corner of the cemetery, take a path down to the left. At the fork, take a sharp right to reach a junction.

(19) Continue straight ahead between the houses to reach Avenue Albert Mahieu.

(20) Cross it and continue straight ahead along Chemin de la Perche. After about fifty metres, turn left onto a path and follow it to the D916.

(21) Follow it for a few metres to the right (take great care) then turn left onto a path (GR®) that runs alongside Mont des Récollets. At the very end, you’ll reach the D948.

(22) Follow it to the right (a place called Le Coucou). Ignore a road on the left and immediately afterwards turn right onto a path. Pass in front of a house.

(23) Just past the house, follow the path on the left (GR® 128) to Terdeghem. At the T-junction, continue to the right and at the next T-junction to the left to reach the church and return to the starting car park (there’s a lovely little pub nearby). ( S/E)

Make sure you wear suitable footwear and a walking stick may be useful.

Refreshments available in Sainte-Marie Cappel (a friendly-looking bakery that also serves coffee: closed on Mondays and Tuesdays) and, of course, in Cassel, where there is plenty of choice.