A little piece of Calestienne between Mazée and Vaucelles

(S/E) From the Salle Arthur Masson on the small square in the centre of Mazée, head north-west on the main road (Rue de Treignes) towards Treignes / Nismes / Couvin and at the corner, take the small road that climbs the hill in front of you.

(1) Opposite No. 8, take the long-distance footpath that turns right onto a grassy path. Leave the first path to the right, bear left and continue up the hill following the footpath until you reach a country lane.

(2) Turn right onto the small tarmac road, cross the Mazée - Niverlée - Gimnée main road carefully and continue until the small road bends to the right.

(3) Leave the road and take the grassy path that continues straight on, leaving behind the forest track that emerges from the left. Further on, this grassy path bends slightly to the right and comes to a clearing recently replanted with young fir trees whose shoots are tinted blue (to keep out game and preserve the growth of these young trees).

(4) Take the path on the left at the end of the clearing, leaving behind the emerging forest track. Follow the clearing to the low point where the path enters the undergrowth.

(5) Turn right to take this other path/grassland track and continue straight on for quite a while until you come to a stone track at right angles.

(6) Turn left. After the Notre-Dame de Lourdes grotto, take the road to the right and, at the junction 150 m further on, take the road to the right again towards Vaucelles. Go past a group of houses to the bench on the left of the road.

(7) Take the footpath on the left, which climbs the hillside to a wooden pallet on the right.

(8) To the right of the pallet is a path that climbs Montagne de la Carrière. Take this path as far as the observation tower, and try to spot (in season) the orchids that grow on either side of the path at the edge of the calcicole grasslands (ecological grazing areas). If you're lucky, you might even catch a glimpse of a stork.

(9) Take the narrow road that descends to the right and, 20 m further on, turn left onto a path that winds down the slope and cuts across the bend in the road. Continue straight ahead and, further on, take the path that goes off to the left as the road bends.

(10) At the crossroads in the forest, leave the main path that bends to the left and take the path that climbs straight up. At the end of this straight forest track, there is a bench, a footpath that goes off to the left, a track that continues straight ahead (towards the Château d'Hierges private property) and a path that descends to the right.

(11) Take the path down to the left and follow it to the bottom of the slope.

(12) Turn right and take the first path on the left towards the church and the centre of Hierges.

(13) At Place de la Fontaine, turn right along the access road to the village as far as the war memorial (bench and semi-sheltered picnic table).

(14) Turn sharp right and climb the hillside at the edge of the wood (with a fine view of the château). Continue along this path through the countryside until you reach the end of a field and the edge of a forest.

(15) Turn left onto a woodland path that can sometimes be quite unkempt (brambles and other overgrown shrubs) until it joins a slightly more popular hiking trail (the path of border markers and other - former - fraudsters).

(16) Continue straight ahead.

(17) At Najauge, turn sharp left and descend through the limestone meadows towards the hamlet of Maroc (Vireux-Molhain).

(18) Carefully cross the main road and take the track opposite, after going around an electricity substation. This path gradually approaches the Viroin and ends at a bridge over the old railway line that once linked Mariembourg to Vireux-Molhain (now the Chemin de Fer à Vapeur des 3 Vallées).

(19) Turn left and follow this old railway line (disused on this stretch) to the road.

(20) Turn right, cross the perpendicular road and go up towards Mazée centre for a few hundred metres, until you reach a junction and a lane reserved for local traffic.

(21) Take this road on the left and immediately afterwards the footpath which goes off to the right, skirting gardens and heading up towards Mazée (S/E).

The Meuse Valley
Espace Arthur Masson (Treignes)
Le Fondry des Chiens - limestone formations (Nismes)
The Chemin de Fer à Vapeur des 3 Vallées (tourist train Mariembourg - Treignes) which runs at weekends from May to October.