GR122 Friday 20th April 2007
Lesdain-Peruwelz. The weather forecast was favourable: that means is not going to be as warm as the previous and oncoming days. 15 degrees Celsius we found just right. And so it was.
The TEC bus took us at 10.14 from Doornik to Lesdain and from there we set off north into nursery country. Apparently, the sandy soil here is quite suitable for growing young trees. We went in south-easterly direction towards Brunehaut. From here we
followed the tranquil canalised Escaut river. The views were nice and on the east bank poplar stands broke the wind. After rounding a man made forest we took a rest at the local café at Peronnes were cargo vessels are being repaired and maintained at a lake were the disused canal Peronnes-Blaton-Nimy starts. At Morlies a bridge crosses another old canal named canal Pommereul-Antoing, a fishersman paradise that finds it origine at the same place as the previously mentioned canal. Both canals follow an easterly direction and the GPS showed that we were moving away from Doornik, our destination. We were on another leg of the GR122 than planned. But Peruwelz has good bus and even train connections so not to worry.
The sun still shone bright and sunburn seemed not unlikely.
The whole trail is extremely quite with an occasional cyclist and no hikers. Just 2 km before the road Peruweltz-Wiers we leave the GR to catch a bus to Antoing and Doornik where we parked the car nearby the railway station.
Distance: 22 km. Lowest point: 15 m. Highest: 50 m. Avg.speed: 4,0 km/h
Personal rating: ***
The TEC bus took us at 10.14 from Doornik to Lesdain and from there we set off north into nursery country. Apparently, the sandy soil here is quite suitable for growing young trees. We went in south-easterly direction towards Brunehaut. From here we
followed the tranquil canalised Escaut river. The views were nice and on the east bank poplar stands broke the wind. After rounding a man made forest we took a rest at the local café at Peronnes were cargo vessels are being repaired and maintained at a lake were the disused canal Peronnes-Blaton-Nimy starts. At Morlies a bridge crosses another old canal named canal Pommereul-Antoing, a fishersman paradise that finds it origine at the same place as the previously mentioned canal. Both canals follow an easterly direction and the GPS showed that we were moving away from Doornik, our destination. We were on another leg of the GR122 than planned. But Peruwelz has good bus and even train connections so not to worry.The sun still shone bright and sunburn seemed not unlikely.
The whole trail is extremely quite with an occasional cyclist and no hikers. Just 2 km before the road Peruweltz-Wiers we leave the GR to catch a bus to Antoing and Doornik where we parked the car nearby the railway station.
Distance: 22 km. Lowest point: 15 m. Highest: 50 m. Avg.speed: 4,0 km/h
Personal rating: ***
