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A bit of Crupet

— Looking for a way to enjoy the rest of the summer after our holiday, we began our Belgian weekend walking adventures here.”

Watching the weather all week, we figured the conditions ought to be right for a longer walk.

Thus we headed for Namur province and the kooky little village of Crupet, famous for its Grotte de Saint-Antoine: a bizarre man-made grotto which contains large, doll-like statues of certain religious figures.

• Walking route: Crupet – Durnal – Spontin – Crupet (loop)
• Distance: 18km (19km with errors due to bad directions!) Detailed commentary
• Original source: Escapades.be; we found the commentary to be unreliable

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A bit of Crupet

Armed with dodgy directions from an old website, we set off walking from Crupet to Spontin and back on a sunny day in Wallonia.

Larger map of this route at GoogleMaps

Detailed commentary

Rewritten based on original source

1. From the parking spot, take the first left and cross the little bridge over the stream.
2. Very soon after the little bridge the road splits, so take the left road which gently descends and curves around to left, passing the hotel Moulin des Ramiers.
3. Crossing another small bridge, turn right and then take the first left up the Rue du Comte, passing a working water wheel attached to a private house on the left.
4. Having climbed to the junction with the little chapel to your right, take a left onto the Rue Haute, heading into the village on a mild slope.
5. There’s a jeu de balles on your right – an asphalt court for what translates as ‘Frisian handball’ – and you should turn right here onto the little Rue du Dessus.
6. At the end of the Rue du Dessus, turn right and the road quickly ends with a tree-covered path up the hill: it almost looks like a tunnel so densely packed are the trees!
7. Follow the path up to the top of the hill, where you’re out in the open for just a moment before entering the woodlands.
8. Descend through the woodlands until you reach a T-junction with a little road called Herleuvaux: turn right onto it here.
9. Follow Herlevaux until you see a clearly-defined grassy path starting between the houses (between house numbers 8 and 6); take this path.
10. The grassy path climbs between fields up to the football pitch at Durnal just after which, passing fruit trees, you find yourself at a T-junction with the Rue Bonny d’au Ban; turn left here.
11. Rather than follow Rue Bonny d’au Ban much further, take the first right (Rue Elisabeth) and descend gently until you take the first right turn onto the Rue St François.
12. The Rue St François descends gently until it finally joins the Rue du Baty de Crock at the bottom, at which point you can turn right onto this.
13. Within a few metres, just after the last house at this end of Durnal, you’ll find a track on the left which you can take. In summer you might now be within earshot of the toot of a distant steam engine. The Dorinne-Durnal station is not far off.
14. Descend sharply through the woodlands – passing long disused yet somewhat eerie quarry works – until you reach the Chansin road, turning left onto it once you get there.
15. At the bottom of the hill, you’ll find a bridge over the Bocq river. Cross the bridge. Ahead of you is the Dorinne-Durnal station but you should take the gravel path immediately to the right.
16. Follow the path past a former quarry that’s now a popular climbing spot; pass under the railway bridge and keep walking on this main path until you find a distinctive grass-covered bridge under the trees to your left.
17. Use this bridge to cross the Bocq and take a left on the main track ahead of you.
18. Follow the track to the end, where you’ll find a small car parking area on your left and the main road ahead. Take a left as if to head back to the Dorinne-Durnal station but before you cross the railway bridge, take the road ahead of you instead. This road passes parallel with the opposite side of Dorinne-Durnal station platform before continuing arrow-straight on into the woodlands.
19. After what might seem like an eternity, this road meets up at a T-junction with the main road to Spontin; turn right here. If you don’t want to visit Spontin, you can turn left and instead, cross the Bocq, start climbing the hill and continue following the commentary from 24 below.
20. Follow this road into Spontin passing the mineral water plant on your left (be sure to stay on the verges, this road can get quite busy); or alternatively look out for a little path on the right side of the first bend (not indicated on the map) which follows the Bocq, passes a small waterfall and leads you into Spontin via the Avenue Louise.
21. Take a break in Spontin; there’s an extraordinary château here with a moat formed by the waters of the Bocq, but word is that it’s no longer accessible to the public. It was certainly inaccessible during our visit too, but you can snatch some good views of it from the little park on its southern flank (which also doubles as a nice picnic spot). Spontin is also home to a significant source of mineral water, the plant for which we passed on the way into town.
22. Retrace your steps back to that plant (via the Rue des Rivières), turning left under the railway bridge and passing the mineral water source plant on your left. It isn’t what you’d call idyllic, but the veritable city of bottle crates might be equally fascinating to you.
23. When you rejoin the main road on a hill, turn right and follow it for a short while (it helps to cross the main road because there’s a good verge to keep to on the other side as you climb the hill).
24. Take the first left (note the signposts for lots of accomodations including, importantly, the Camping de Durnal) and climb this road out of the woodland, passing a curious effigy of Christ.
25. As the road curves around and levels out, you’ll see the first signs of the Camping de Durnal ahead sandwiched between the road and a track leading off and up to your right. Since that track to right is the one you want, take it when you get there.
26. Climb up this grassy track steadily with the campsite always on your left until you leave it behind and reach eventually a road, the Rue de Thomas, onto which you can turn right briefly.
27. The Rue de Thomas arrives quickly at a T-junction with the Rue de Mianoye at which there’s a large roadside chapel. Cross straight over and pass the chapel on your left as you take the continuation of the track.
28. The track descends then rises again eventually after the distinctive little group of trees to your left. At the top of the rise is a T-junction among a few houses. Turn left onto the road, which is called Herbefays.
29. At the crossroads, with another little chapel set back from the road to your right, turn right onto the track and descend down, gradually at first then more steeply.
30. At the bottom of the track, you’ll turn left onto the Rue Inzefy which heads off in the direction of Crupet; it’s quite a long, flat road and eventually it descends past houses on the left.
31. At the bottom, turn left at (yet another) roadside chapel onto the Rue St Joseph, which climbs back into the village of Crupet.
32. Coming out onto Rue Haute and heading straight on, you’ll see on your left that odd grotto described above and you might want to have a look.
33. We’re almost finished, so let’s continue a little further on Rue Haute and take the first right onto the descending Rue de Messe which curves around to the left.
34. At the apex of the curve, a path to the right descends quite steeply through relatively dense trees to the Rue Basse at the bottom. Turn right onto the Rue Basse and catch a glimpse of the beautiful donjon of the Château des Carondelet, which like Spontin is privately owned and nigh-on possible to get close to!
35. After admiring the donjon, turn left, pass the tourist information office and find yourself back at your parking spot!