The GR12 again (31-7-2007)

Looking at the map Grimbergen-Mechelen did not appeal to me. I am a backcountry lover. This preoccupation was enforced by losing my way in awaking Mechelen. The GR markings were poor, hidden or not at all present. So, when a saw a bus going to Grimbergen just 5 min. after arrival at the railway station I decide to walk from the south to the north. After changing to bus 821 I arrived in full sunshine at the centre of Grimbergen where it was easy to pick up the trail. Off I was. Going north had to be the right direction. After just a few hundred meters the tar road changed into a small unpaved track and soon I entered the undulating corn fields. Almost 70% of this stretch of the GR runs along small paths. This was a real delight. Once at the Zenne near Mechelen I lost track again. The path is running down from the river dyke!
Within the town’s boundaries lies the beautiful provincial domain called Vrijburg park. It provide the needed sun. By now I followed my GPS since being led by the red-white signs was rather frustrating and made me feel like a young dog walking up and down.
Mechelen is a nice town with lots of historical buildings and nice parks. It gave me a feeling of dignity and tranquillity although the town is very close to Brussels.

Under the windscreen of my car I found what looked like an official document nicely wrapped in plastic. There is lots of parking space if one overlooks the ticket booth.

Distance: 24 km. Almost flat track. Personal rating: ***

GR12, balsamina and pigs dung

25th July 2007 in beautiful Lier. This little clean town in the Kempen has ancient narrow streets, nice church, colourful clock tower and a cosy Begijnhof. The start at 9.30 could not be better. Above that, the sun shone and we had a light breeze. With other words: perfect hiking conditions.
I left town from the south walking along the Nete and hiked through fields and small woods. Many roads were unpaved and some very grassy to Mississippi’s delight. On approaching Mechelen there are many glass houses. The yellow-white GR signs were often at odd places but with some intuition I was lucky not to get too far off track. I entered Mechelen along the Dyle river and hit a main street where I took bus 561 to Lier railway station, walked some distance on the cit wall to my car and at 17.00 off we went to a cool Leffe beer (at home)

I enjoyed this part of the GR12.

Total distance: 30 km. Flat. Ratio: crows flight/distance: 2,3. Avg.speed (rest incl.) : 4,0 km/h.
Personal rating: ***

GR12. 2nd lap from the BD border

18^th July 2007.

From Rivierenhof restaurant to Lier railway station. The weatherman’s forecast became true. Warm and dry. At 10.00 exactly I parked the car at the Sterckshof museum. We (the dog and I) walked up to the Rivierenhof restaurant. Here the GR5a and GR12 cross. The park is quiet but stopping meant being a target for the hungry mosquitos. The noise of the E313 left up gradually and the green surroundings of Fort 2 was obviously a good place for people making the paths a means to do some sporting activity. In Wommelgem I almost lost track at the roundabout south of the church. The red-blue marking was hidden in a little alley. The town itself I found not very attractive but the surroundings were nice with many pathways between the houses.

After 8,5 km. we took a rest because it was getting quit warm nearing midday. We entered fields and passed a some woods before entering Ranst. In Broechem the dog looked desperately for shade and we took another rest and some food at km 17 at the corner of a street . Passers by looked amused when the saw the old man and his dog. At least that is what I interpreted from their facial expression. Just byond Emblem I hit the Nete canal and Kleine Nete river and went in, to my surprise, northerly direction. The sun was not in for a compromise when walking the
banks of the river but lots of shade was waiting in the wetlands and the Kessels heath where I
lost the signs again and had to follow the highway in NE direction to get onto the right track again. The fort of Kessel and the Lier fishing clubs “battlefield” were the last spots of interest before I reached the bus stop at the Lisper Steenweg. Bus 423 did not arrive and I took one of the frequent trains back to Antwerp. Bus 21 brought me near the Sterckshof. It started raining.

Distance covered: 32 km. Length of GR: 29,3 km. Flat. Ratio crow’s flight/distance path: 2,5!!

Personal rating:***

GR12 from Brasschaat castle to Deurne Rivierenhof cafe.

About 1 year ago Simone and I walked from Putte to Brasschaat and now I went with the dog from here 14 km further south. The relentless snoring sounds of the motor ways were never far away. Yet, most of the time I had trees lining my path and I trod mainly honest grass and soil. That went on right before I entered Deurne. At the Rivierenhof cafe I met Simone and we sat at the rather cold terrace having a hot coffee. The weather had been rather unpredictable with virtually no sun, an occasional mild shower and temperatures peaking at 18 degrees.

All in all not a bad section of the GR12.

Distance: 14 km. Flat. Avg. speed: 4,8 km/h.

Personal rating: **

GR129

From bus stop Ooike Loweg (line 83) to bus stop Schoonbroekstraat (line 21) on the GR129 was 24 km. The first bus on this Sunday left at 9.45 from the railway station at Oudenaarde. It is cool and bright when I start off. After leaving the busy main road the GR takes to the fields west of the city. It appears that all Belgians got on their racing bikes to tour this area but only few take the hiking paths. An old man with no bell nor proper brakes gets a near accident with the dog. I felt very upset not having Mississippi on a leash and started arguing with my conscious.

Oudenaarde is a beautiful city with lots of marvellous buildings. The carillon made my lunch after some 10 kms on the banks of the river Scheld a serene event. After crossing town we went east of the railway line down south. I walked mainly surfaced roads but they were extremely quiet. The undulating fields with mainly maize and beets and the interspersed hamlets made me think of the Ardennes. Via the Muziekbos we (me and my dog) arrived at the Kanarieberg where a real Chimay beer made me slightly dizzy but the last part of the track was only 1,5 km and went downhill. I had to wait for 45 min. at the bus stop and felt happy when the dark clouds gradually drove towards Ronse. Bus, train and car took me after 6 hrs back home.

Total distance 24 km. I went 326 m uphill with a maximum altitude at 134 m

Personal rating: ****

20th June 2007 GR129

The weather forcast was almost right: up to 25 C. I went this time alone without Simone nor the dog. I drove to Kruishoutem in Belgium and parked the bike at the to the crossing of the GR with the N494 drove on to the crossing of the 128 and 129 near Aarsele and started in bright sunshine on concrete roads along numerous houses. The countryside had a quiet atmosphere but there was nothing spectacular to be seen.

I arrived after 13,3 km at Kruishoutem and decided to walk on to the place where the GR crosses the N459 just north-east of Oudenaarde. Since 95% of the path was paved I took the bike with me. The landscape changed and became slightly hilly and less built up. We passes a castle and an old dismembered mill. The sun shone relentless and the temperature rose to 29C. I started to run out of water. So I knocked at a door and a friendly person understood my request for the precious fluid. In the mean time I walked 30 km and drank 1 l of water and ate a big apple. I guess that this amount is insufficient. So, another lesson was learnt. Fortunatly after getting the extra supply of water I hit road N 459 and mounted the bike to speeded up to the starting point of my trip. The fierce wind helped me. In Opsele I could not withstand the attraction of a big sing advertising Leffe so I visited a local pub. The rest of the trip went fast and I felt very pleased to get to my car at 16.00.

Total distance on GR129: 29,3 km
Uphill: 230 m. Time needed: 6.30 hours.

Personal rating: *** . The stretch north of Kruishoutem: *

GR129 and 128

Tuesday 12th June 2007. The sound of birds and smell of pig’s dung. Concrete back roads and overcast. These are the main characteristics of this combination of 128 and 129.

Leave your car at the railway station in Deinze and take (app. hourly) bus 87 to Lotenhulle. Go to the Hoeke castle garden at the south end of town and you are on the right track.

After a 2 kms you leave this lovely estate and move into pig keeping country with here and there a herd of masculinized cows. I didn’t hear the disturbing sounds of highway traffic. At the rail line east of Deinze is the crossing between the GR 128 and 129 (N50 58 59.5 E3 26 01.6). For 2,5 km the path follows the old course of the Leie and one enters the outskirts of Deinze. The GR passes the church in town and goes further east along the Leie. Here I leave the path to go back to my car which I parked at the Delhaize’s super market parking lot.

Distance covered: 21 km. Flat. Average speed: 4,3 km/hr.

Personal rating: ***

GR129 Drie Koningen to Lothenhulle

Sunday 10th June 2007. Overcast and 17 °C. Transport was secured by putting a bike near the church of Lothenhulle and driving to the parking place of Bulskampveld at Drie Koningen. I hit the 129 right away by walking 30 m south. The one time arid area was now planted with trees mainly beech but also pine. A few joggers and others seeking the benefit of the morning. Here and most of the track beyond mostly the sounds of nature were heard. App. 60% of the trip went through forest and 11 km of the 28 was on unpaved roads!!!!. The narrow tar and concrete roads were almost devoid of motorised traffic and cyclists. The track is almost flat.

There was little sun but on warm days the woods may bring some cooling. A fantastic trip which ended by a cycling back for 16 km to my starting point.

Total distance: 28 km. Elevation: 5-27 m.

Personal rating:****

Wenduine to Varsenare on the GR5a

From Varsenare to Wesduine by bus 52 and the frequent coastal tram took 1.30 hr. In Wesduine the GR5a comes from Bruge and joins the coastline. I walked east instead. The fog shrouded the whit clad farms. The flat lands were covered with enormous fields planted with grain. As the mist cleared the cool wind drove away the excess body heat. The sun shone bright.
Apart from the church, pub and wetlands in and around Meetkerke there was very little surprise along this trip. Only 4,2 km of the 21 was unpaved and it looked that all young, old, thin and fat Belgians, male and females alike, got a new bike at Pentacost.
It was too hot for Mississippi and although she drank enough water she was fully exhausted when I took a nice cool Rochefort trappist beer (one of the few still brewed by trappists themselves) at the local pub in Varsenare.

Length: 21 km. Flat.

Personal rating: *

Shiny Thursday. 24th May 2007.

From Wesduine (the point where the Gr5A from Brugge hits the coast) to Oostend along the GR5A. The destination was not known until after arriving in Ostend and it need not be because along the entire Belgian coast there runs the "Kusttram" The sun shone and because of Simone's radiculitis I was forced to go alone. Mississippi was my only companion.

To my surprise we walked a very large stretch in coastal pine forest although the traffic was eminently present. Only when the path followed the beach the dunes prevented stopped the noise of oil consumers. The trip up to Ostend was perfect as well as the part where one traverses the local park. A final Trappist (here apart from clergy also the name of a beer) and the ride on the tram made the trip well worth.

Distance: 19 km. Total average speed: 4,0 km/h. Flat.

Personal rating: ***

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: ***

GR126 Dinant to Godinne

This Monday 26nd March 2007 spring started with 2 °C when the sun rose above the outskirts of Brussels and 22 °C in the afternoon in Namen.
The 8.35 train took 11 min. to bring us from Godinne to Dinant.
Just a 100 m east of the top of the cable way we started on the 126 proper. It lead us down the old ramparts of Dinant back down to the river Meuse.
We passed the Leffe brewery and went uphill onto the plains above the Meuse valley (289 m). There was abundant sunshine and we had to take off most of the warm clothing. The paths through the forest were extremely muddy but this did not adversely affect our mood.

We descended again into the valley to the lovely hamlet of Houx (91 m). After a short rest at the cemetery (!) we went up into the woods again but this time the path was fairly firm. The small village of Evrehailles had a butchery but not a café were we had hoped for, so we descended once more. This time to the stone quarry at Ivoir.

A steep ascent followed by a gradual descent to Godinne brought us back to our car after we passed the narrow long tunnel under the road and railway station.

Total distance covered: 22 km. Uphill: 678 m. Mx. Height: 289 m.

Covered road surface: app: 20%

Personal rating: ****

Thursday 15th February 2007

After a full day rain the weather forcast was promising and we took to the N8 where we parked our car 2 km from OLV Lombeek. Bus 128 brought us to Ninove and the train to Zandbergen. At first we went south with the sun shining in the eyes. The wet surfaces were shiny and the muddy paths took most of our attention. It was a real mix as well in the sense of the scenery as well the trail itself. App. 50% was surfaced and more or less than 20% of the trail was shaded by trees. Although houses were all around us it was remarkle quiet and the sound of tyres speeding on the concrete was seldom heart.
The marked GR stretch was 19,5 km. But from OLV Lombeek to the car took another 5 km.
We climbed 244 m with the highest elevation at 94 m and the lowest 42 m.
Personal grading: **

LAW 11 on Saturday 3-2-7

We had been waiting for sunny days and this Saturday was predicted as such. So we took our hiking boots, dog and day pack and hurrierd to our local bus station where LAW 11 or "Grenslandpad" hikers in Easterly direction had to take the bus in order to cross the Westerscheld.
We took to the west. The noise and smell from the giant Dow factory were blown by northerly winds in our direction.
The castrated Braakman creek was in the process of renovation yet again by man's intervention. Anyway, it look somehow promising. Finding trail markings got a new dimension and was quite fun. Tarred road and speedy cars followed us like stinging insects until we had crossed the main traffic road in Zeeuws-Vlaanderen and entered the Braakman woods again. By that time evil smells and noise was greatly diminished and we enjoyed a real forest feel. This part of the trip was great. At the crossing of the N560 with the Isabella canal we left the trail and walked for 5 km towards Philippine where we took the bus to our starting point.

Distance (total) 19,5 km. Flat. Quite a bit of tar, noise and bad smells.

Personal rating: *

GR512 OLV Lombeek to Halle

After 1 month of clouds rain and storm the weather turned more hiker friendly.

We drove to Halle (B) and bus 163 took us in 35 munutes to OLV Lombeek.

Just south of the church we met 512 and followed the well marked trail up to 3 km north of Halle. Sometimes very muddy but otherwise very scenic paths lead us through slightly hilly terrain. Most of it was unpaved. It is not very shady but this was difficult to assess because of it being wintertime.

The whole trip covers 28,5 km of which 24 was the GR. We had no proper rest because the restaurants were all fully booked on this bright Sunday.

The lowest point was 20 m above sea level and the highest altitude 80 m. Our average speed was 4,0 km.

Personal grading: ****

Walcourt-Famouilx

The GR12 runs from Amsterdam to Paris. On Saturday 12th November the 2 hrl. train brought us in 14 min. from Famioulx to the starting point. The weather forecast was good and sunshine and strong winds accompanied us when we left Walcourt to enjoy the rolling hills. Many of them still covered in green. The trees are partially devoid of their green foliage. After mere 1 km we were stopped to continue our path into the forest because of hunting. A victory of the appreciation of man's primitive roots. It took us a good 7 km (2 hrs.) to circumvent the woods using concrete roads. nevertheless, the landscape was beautiful and hills were followed by wind breaking forests. The sun left us and in darkness we entered Famioulx.
An very enjoyable stretch of the GR12 with lots of ups and downs.

Our rating: ****

Saturday 21st October 2006

A south westerly wind made the big pine trees sing. It felt a bit spooky. They were planted to cover the land dunes. A large section of the GR564 we did today ran through this kind of landscape.

We took bus 180 from Lommel and got out at Hechtel’s major road crossroads. It took some serious deduction to guess where to find the GR markings. Eventually we found them east of this little village. The signs where rather poor and the track followed tarmac and concrete roads. Not to our liking. After crossing the main Lommel Hechtel road from east to west we got into a military area and at a distance we heard the shooting. Somewhat further north we joined a newly made concrete road obviously created for cyclists and reached the huge and equally impressive German war cemetery of Lommel.

39000 Soldiers are buried here. We were told that each cross represents 3 soldiers. The entrance is a typical German contemporary building and the rather strong massive monument at the head of the actual grave yard made God part of the war. Most dead are boys just short of their twenties. So, probably only parents, by now already a long time dead themselves, were the main people who grieved.

This cemetery is a stark witness of the crime we call war.

We reached Lommel city app. 7 hours after we left Hechtel. This walk was about 26,5 km.

Personal rating: ** maybe *** in summer.

8-10-6 Staartse heide

It felt like summer apart from the thin mist which gently covered the fields in between the woods.
We left for Ossendrecht and followed a self made route using the new topographic map from Garmin. The churchgoers went home and contrasted with our hiking outfit and probably our appearance too.
North it went and soon we entered the pine forest from where drinking water was pumped to dryer areas. It was quiet and the pungent smell of the mushrooms made it more than clear: it was autumn.
After rounding the Zwaluw meer we crossed the main road from Bergen op Zoom to Antwerp and entered the "Staartse heide". My route went into a protected area and passed the foresters home. Not even the noise produced by walking on the gravel that surrounded the house apparently alerted anyone.
Obviously, the paths were hardly trodden and our conscious minds made the trespassers felt a little awkward. Just along the Belgian border we were in non reserved territory.
In 5 hours we covered almost 18 km on this most fantastic day hike.

Our rating **** (including the forbidden track) otherwise ***

16th September 2006. The GR12

Putte-Brasschaat. A stretch of the GR 12 just into Belgium. It was a bright sunny Saturday. At 10.45 the bus dropped us in Putte at a stone throw from the Ravenhof, a beautiful castle bathing in the morning sun and surrounded by a medium sized park. The sun still got filtered by some mist. It felt idyllic and was a very relaxing start. We were the masters of the silence.

We followed the WW1 anti tank ditch while the sun battered our heads at temperatures around 23 degrees Celsius. The ditch itself was marked with concrete bunkers but the surrounding water was clear and looked full of life. The abundance of trees provided enough shadow.
It was a big contrast with the posh houses with its Belgian and Dutch cars parked on the paved driveways. These houses and the tarred roads formed a background of our trip we definitely did not like.

The GR was not well marked on the Franselei so we walked an extra 2 kms. In the forest we fortunately retrieved the track which compensated for our pessimistic mood. The rest of the trip was fine again and at the castle in Brasschaat we left the GR which runs to Schoten and walked another 5 km to our car at the Donk church bus stop in Ekeren.

All in all a nice trip on a fantastic September day but unfortunately too much in a build up area.

Total distance covered: 28,9 km. GR12: 18 km.

Personal rating: **

GR129j trekking

What was supposed to be 3 days in the Haut Pays of the Belgian province of Hainaut became a 2 day trek. The new junction GR between the 122 and 129 called GR129j runs over a distance of 51 km south of Mons.
We left the car at Givry, at the connection with the 129, went by bus to Mons and from there by train to Quervain and again by bus to Angreau (2,5 hrs).
To start on the western connection in France at 3,8 km looked too difficult to organize transport to. So we started off around 16.00 in full sunshine and went off to a B&B which happened to be in a little town just short of Athis called Fay le Franc just half a km from the border with France.
The whole route was beautiful, hilly and the Bois l`eveque was a stiff go. Virtual no other hikers (as usual) The slightly hilly countryside provided no difficulties with the lowest point at 45 m just after Angreau and the highest at km 30 with 160 m. The large fields were partially ploughed while others were still green.
The track passes many small rural villages which forms a nice variation of the scene.
After a good night sleep the next day was a long one. We did not find a place to spend the night and decided to go back to our car in Givry at 31 km from the starting point. The last kms could have been more pleasant if we had not felt too tired.

All in all rating ***