Nassogne walks

A pleasant hike through the hills and valleys of the Nassogne countryside and woods. It first takes you to the Chapel and Calvary of St-Léonard before descending towards the Masblette stream and the village of Masbourg. This is followed by a very steep climb up a very stony path on the agricultural plateau between Masbourg and Ambly. You may need a machete to approach Ambly, but the view on arrival is magnificent. The return to Nassogne is still a bit of a challenge for your calves, but you won't need a machete: the path is a little wider and properly cleared.

Starting from Masbourg, the forest trails will take you halfway to the Fourneau Saint-Michel, an estate comprising the open-air museum of rural life in Wallonia and the Iron Museum, with a return trip through the heights of the Masblette valley.

This is a very easy route through one of Belgium's largest deciduous forests, on comfortable gravel paths and a little tarmac, but very secluded, completely away from 'civilisation'. It passes by the Étang de Bilaude bird observatory, which is superb in its moorland setting. In several places, beautiful benches carved from tree trunks invite you to rest and contemplate.

A walk through the rolling Ardennes countryside around two rivers that are emblematic of the region. The Masblette is a tributary of the Lomme (also spelled L'Homme in some sources). Their confluence is located between the villages of Lesterny and Masbourg, south of Forrières.

Discover the Notre-Dame des Pauvres Chapel, whose stained-glass windows, dedicated to the Virgin Mary, allow light to penetrate under the arch sheltering the Virgin of Banneux. Beforehand, cross the Pont des Cloyes, a prime spot for observing herons, mallards, kingfishers and other birds of the Lomme.

Walk in the Land of the Awenne Clog Makers. This slightly hilly route, mostly through forest, will take you past the Notre-Dame de Lourdes cave and the Ri Bellerose stream to the heights of the Prairies de Gimbes ridge, passing by the open views at a place called La Justice.

The Hédrée river forms in the marshy area of the forest on the outskirts of Marche-en-Famenne between the villages of Gênes (Rendeux) and Bande (Nassogne).The route crosses this rushing stream at the ford on the path shortly after kilometre 2 and then follows one of its tributaries, whose bed runs alongside the path for just under the next kilometre.This is not the only wet spot on the walk: you often have to take a path through the undergrowth instead of the road until you reach the junction with Rue des Fagnes at kilometre 4.4.After a well-deserved break, it's back to the same thing for about 2 kilometres after crossing the national road.The last 4 kilometres are much drier.A short stop on the bridge at the bottom of Grimbièmont allows you to see how much the waters of the Hédrée have swollen over the first few kilometres of its course.In autumn, the circular offers not only the beautiful colours of nature but also an incredible diversity of mushrooms.

This circular walk follows the wide forest tracks through part of the future Nassonia National Park and the Deux-Ourthes Nature Park.Starting from the Sapin Fî car park, the walk first heads towards the Rouge Poncé birch forest and its boardwalks, then towards the Wallonia Log Park before branching off towards Mochamps, the Fagnes de Priesse observation tower and the Croix des Russes.After a long descent into the Rabani valley, the walk crosses the Masblette, the iconic river of Fourneau-Saint-Michel, via a small footbridge following the destruction of the two-arched stone bridge during the floods of summer 2021.On the return journey, the route climbs slowly but surely, following the Palogne stream back up to Sapin Fî.

Starting from the Chapel of Notre-Dame de la Salette, the walk begins in the countryside before entering the woodland, quickly reaching the Lomme stream, which it follows upstream for over 4 km to the provincial fish farm at Mirwart.The ponds stretch out one after the other along the course of the Marsault or Marsolle stream to the former site of the Marsolle blast furnace, which operated from 1536 to 1568 on behalf of the Lord of Mirwart.The route then zigzags through the forest for around 9 kilometres to reach the rural heights of Bure and return to the starting point.

Set off to explore the River La Basseille, a tributary of the Ourthe which rises in Saint-Hubert. The river, whose banks form a Nature Reserve, flows exclusively through the Forest of Freyr for around 10 km. Please note: there are two sections that are more difficult to follow; a GPX track is recommended.

The Fond des Vaulx is part of the Famenne-Ardenne Geopark, the first UNESCO Global Geopark in Belgium. A stone's throw from the town centre, this small, steep-sided valley offers a landscape that contrasts with the expanse of the Marche plain. It is home to several caves, chantoirs and holes, including the Trotti-aux-Fosses chasm, which is unique in Belgium and remarkable for its collapse chasm morphology.

Glacière, ponds, arboretum, Croix des Bûcherons: circular around Mirwart Castle.

Glacière, ponds, arboretum, Croix des Bûcherons, but also Croix des Morts, La Lomme, Rocher de Marie Gobaille. Let's set off on the grand tour of Mirwart.

Eaux & Forêts (Water & Forests): older people will certainly remember this former name of the Wallonia public service Direction Nature et Forêt (Nature and Forestry Department). The former name perfectly reflects the intrinsic characteristics of this long hike starting from the provincial estate of Mirwart, which takes you on a journey of discovery along the Lomme, the Parfond Ry and a few other nameless streams. Nothing but forest and aquatic bliss... especially when the rivers and streams are in flood! That said, the paths and trails in this region of the Belgian Ardennes are in much better condition in the middle of winter after heavy rains than in other regions such as Limburg or the Pays des Collines, to name but two. Of course, the ruts dug by forestry machinery during various felling or clearing operations do not always help to keep the paths in good condition for hiking. Hike without description to be followed with the Visorando app.

The deforested hillsides in the Waharday, Chéoux and Hodister area have been repopulated with various species of shrubs, notably broom, which has taken root there in their thousands.When they flower in May, they light up the whole area with their characteristic magnificent yellow colour.The icing on the cake is that the numerous meadows are also illuminated in yellow by buttercups.A real feast for the eyes.