Towards Farnières Castle

Parking at Vielsalm station.

(DA) At the station, head towards the platforms on the side of the station building. Take the tunnel on your left and head towards platform 2. Once on the other side, continue along the path opposite and climb the winding path to the road.

(1) Continue to the left. Go downhill and ignore the bridge on your left. Continue along the railway tracks until you reach the path on your right.

Yellow diamond markings

(2) Take a sharp right turn. Climb Chemin de Bonalfa. Ignore adjacent paths and trails for just under 1 km until you reach a crossroads. During the climb, enjoy the view on your right of Vielsalm and its lake.

(3) Continue straight ahead, ignoring the paths and trails on either side for just over 400 m until you reach a crossroads (not marked on IGN) where you turn left. At the next intersection, turn right. Change of signposting.

Markings: Blue Diamond - Black H - Blue Diamond

At the fork, go right. Go downhill and, at the meadow, continue left until the next junction.

(4) Continue to the right. The dirt track becomes a road. Enter Goronne and turn left at the road.

Blue diamond markings.

At the intersection with the cross on your left, continue straight ahead. Cross the Goronne stream. At the fork, turn right. At the N822, cross carefully and continue straight ahead until you reach a fork with a cross.

(5) Turn right. After the last houses, and before the entrance under the fir trees, turn right onto the dirt track. Go downhill and cross the Rencheux stream via the pontoon. Continue to the left, going straight up at each intersection for about 900 m until you reach a crossroads. Markings end.

No markings

(6) Turn left. At the next crossroads, turn right. At the crossroads, turn right and continue for a few metres until you reach a fork.

(7) Continue left and descend. At the multiple crossroads, go straight ahead on the path sloping slightly to the right. Continue down the path. A stream joins the path. Arrive at the rear of the Chapelle de Farnières. On your left is the Château de Farnières. Turn sharply right and take the forest path to the fork.

Blue diamond markings

(8) Take the path on the left. Walk straight ahead at each intersection for 1.3 km until you reach a multiple junction where you turn diagonally left. Continue straight ahead at each intersection for just over 500 m until you reach the next multiple junction with a cross on the left.

(9) Continue straight ahead until you reach a crossroads, where you also continue straight ahead. Go downhill, where a stream joins the path. Return to another path, where the stream is still present. Walk along the main forest path until you reach a clearing not far from the Rencheux stream.

(10) Take the footbridge on your left over the stream. At the fork, turn left and go uphill. Back on the path, continue to the left. At the crossroads (not on OSM), continue straight ahead and keep going uphill. The path comes out of the woods. View of Vielsalm. Pass behind the warehouses, the path turns right. Look for the path on your left after the^{first house}.

(11) Turn left and walk past the gardens of the houses. At the road, turn left. Keep left and continue left into the cul-de-sac. Walk past the school and, in the bend near the school car park, find a path on your right.

(12) Turn right onto the path near the hazel tree. Go down the steps at the end of the path. At the level crossing, turn left, cross the road carefully and cross the car park. Continue along the road until you reach the barrier.

(13) Descend near the lake onto the path on the left. Walk along the lake and, at the end of it, return to the road. Keep to the right at the buildings and walk back up towards the station and its car park 255(S/E).

No drinking water on the route.
Muddy depending on the season.
From October to December, bear in mind the hunting season dates, Vielsalm walks 3 and 4.

During:

Farnières Castle: Not open to visitors. The hamlet of Farnières is located at the crossroads of ancient paths that led from Vielsalm to Saint-Jacques and from Lierneux to Grand-Halleux and then Prussia. Saint-Jacques was a stop on the pilgrimage to Compostela. In 1926, Fernand Orban de Xivry, a nobleman who was very involved in youth work, built a castle there. What was intended to be a hunting lodge was given a chapel, classrooms and a dormitory, and was donated by the family to the Salesian Fathers of Don Bosco. Currently, the castle is occupied by the CRH Don Bosco and the FOX spiritual centre.

Farnières Chapel: Near the castle is a small, very old chapel. Its origins are unknown, but legend tells us its story. In the 14th century, a beggar discovered a statue of the Virgin Mary at the foot of a tree. He offered the statue to the Lord of Rosister, who placed it in the chapel of his castle. However, the statuette stubbornly returned to the place where it had been found, so the lord realised that a chapel had to be built there.

Lac des Doyards: Covering an area of 11 hectares, this lake was formed in 1978 by the construction of a dam on the Salm river near the centre of Vielsalm. The depth varies from 90 cm at the point where the Salm enters the lake to 6 to 7 m at the dam. The purpose of this dam is to prevent flooding when the Salm is in spate. Lake Day takes place in August.