Zoutleeuw walks

Country walk starting from the provincial estate "Het Vinne".Ponds, rivers, orchards, pastures and crops for the hiker's enjoyment!There are a few observation points at the edge of the pond. 

The Sint-Truiden region is renowned for its cherry (to a lesser extent), apple and pear orchards. The walk offers the chance to see them up close (very close). We particularly recommend it during the flowering season, usually in April. 

Pear, apple and cherry trees, as well as vines, strawberry plants and currant bushes, ensure the wealth and reputation of this part of Limburg's Hesbaye region for its fruit production. There are orchards galore to admire in spring when they are in bloom and later in the season when they are producing fruit.

Welcome to the Demer valley, where water, reeds and meadows form a living landscape, shaped by time and floods. Around the village of Schulen, the Gulkerveld is reminiscent of the former floodplain, once feared, now a refuge for birds and botanists.With its 700 hectares, the Schulensbroek nature reserve is one of the largest wetlands in Flanders. Herons, greylag geese, lapwings and bitterns share the ponds and meadows.The Halbekerdijk, an old dyke, bears witness to the struggle against the waters, while the drier Vijversheide contrasts with its pine and birch trees. The Schulensmeer, created to regulate the floods of the Demer, has become a paradise for aquatic wildlife.Area: +700 ha, origin: floodplain, special features: artificial lake turned reserve, migratory birds, wetland flora.Here, the water tells the story of the landscape and the passage of time.

Schulen Lake and the adjacent marshes are part of the Wijers region , which is home to 1,001 ponds. It is a paradise not only for birds, but also for birdwatchers and walkers. Of course, bird populations vary depending on the season, but you will almost always see egrets, ducks, cormorants, coots, herons, geese and sometimes even the odd kingfisher. Goats and sheep are helping to rehabilitate some of the banks.

Almost exclusively rural, this circular takes you through the hilly part of Hesbaye, straddling the provinces of Liège and Walloon Brabant. A few old mills dot the route: the one at Jauche-la-Marne, which the route bypasses, and those at Petit-Hallet, which can be seen from a little further away. In Orp-le-Petit, the Grande Ferme (18th century), the Pilori, the Château Rose and the rail adventure are likely to catch your interest. Along the way, it is not uncommon to flush out a hare (literally), spot a pheasant or scare off a heron or egret.

Between Hasselt and the Demer valley lies a world of water and mist, shaped by floods and time. Herkenrode Abbey, founded in the 12th century, marks the starting point: a Cistercian stronghold, it recalls the ancient link between spirituality and nature.In Stokrooie, the landscape becomes wetter before reaching the Albert Canal, dug in the 20th century, a marriage between industry and ecology.The Wijvenheide nature reserve reveals its peaceful ponds, where herons, kingfishers and ospreys thrive. The Kleine Vijver, Witven and Grote Platwijer are home to a rich variety of flora and fauna, between reed beds and floodplains.The Zonderikbeek and Vrankenschans meander through peat bogs and fields, witnesses to a time when the Demer shaped local life.The walk ends at the Bosvijver and the Vossen Kuil, where the silence of the water mingles with the breath of the wind.

A walk that takes you along the Geer and into the Haut Geer nature reserve. Walkers will enjoy the scents of the earth, the sound of flowing water, the colourful palette of freshly blooming flowers, the ballet of pollinating insects, the melodious song of birds and the rustling of leaves swaying in the gentle breeze as they pass through the nature reserve.

In the mysterious area of the numerous springs of the Geer, encounter the ghosts of the Lord of Herzée in the Chevées, the nuns in the former Carmelite convent, the prior of the convent in his farmhouse, and let yourself be seduced by the quiet charm of the two Lens.

Roughly halfway between Leuven and Diest, south of Aarschot, Horst Castle stands proudly on the edge of its pond and wooded estate.This hike offers a long loop through woods and countryside around this vestige of the past.

Enjoy the fresh air in the rolling countryside south of Jodoigne.Fields and crops await you.Things to see along the route: a few chapels, Dongelberg Castle (a kind of local coliseum that has suffered the ravages of time), a cross commemorating a former French military cemetery, in the distance the twisted bell tower of the Chapel of Notre-Dame-du-Marché on the Grand-Place in Jodoigne, the pretty village of Jauchelette.

This region, with its 1,001 ponds and numerous nature reserves, is full of beautiful trails for hikers. Here is one that takes you between the main Wijers ponds and the Albert Canal, which connects the Meuse and Scheldt rivers between Liège and the port of Antwerp.The ponds and the surrounding aquatic and rural landscapes are absolutely magnificent in good weather.

Hiking between legends and secret valleys in the Hageland. Sint-Pieters-Rode is a peaceful village at the gateway to the Hageland with paths steeped in history. Why is hiking magical? Because it has a varied geography, unique geology, rich flora and fauna, and legends everywhere. It is an immersion in nature, history and imagination.

A peaceful walk, both rural and countryside, along the banks and immediate surroundings of the Mehaigne and its tributary, the Soile, between the villages of Avin and Meeffe, passing through Ambresin. The most pleasant section is undoubtedly the one that runs alongside the Mehaigne (known asthe"Sentier de la Mouhagne"), but the country lanes, lined with tall hedges that provide ideal shade along the route, also have their charm.

A bucolic walk steeped in history, following in the footsteps of Marlborough.