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Ourthe Valley

— Bright autumn colours deep in the folds of the Ardennes.”

When daylight started to fade, the bright autumn colours that had dazzled us throughout the day now deepened quite suddenly. The sun fell behind the steep valley side leaving us only greys and browns. Nature, resplendent in the sunshine of the day, now took on a look that seemed to us vaguely sinister. So if there are few places left to call wild in Belgium, this bit of the Ourthe Valley is perhaps one of them.

• Walking route: Nadrin – Bérismenil – Le Cheslé – Hérou – Nadrin (loop) detailed commentary
• Distance: 20km

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Ourthe Valley

Walking along the tight meanders of the brown Ourthe river, on thickly forested hillsides.

Outside the village of Bérismenil, there’s a monument to the crew of a bomber that crashed nearby during the Second World War. The monument consists of the actual propeller of the aircraft. On the return leg of a sortie over Schweinfurt in Germany, the bomber was severely damaged and the gunner did not survive.

The rest of the crew bailed out safely, each landing in different locations but each with the same instinct for undetected escape. Most were eventually taken prisoner by the occupying German forces and waited out the war in POW camps, but two actually made it to freedom in Switzerland.

In the valley below, in the steep, thickly wooded river valley at Le Cheslé, the remains of Celtic fortifications have been discovered. In 600BC the area seems to have had considerable strategic significance and the ramparts are now being carefully restored.

Detailed commentary

This is quite a difficult walk: it has several steep climbs and descents as well as other technical sections to negotiate.

Larger map of this route

1. From the parking area, go uphill on the Rue du Hérou to the end of the road and turn left onto the Rue de la Villa Romaine. Stay on the pavement that runs gently uphill along the left side of the road. On a shallow bend, there’s a yellow signpost for the Roman villa which can be found at the end of a grass path. If you would like to visit the Roman villa, just head back to the main road when you’re done.
2. Continue uphill on the Rue de la Villa Romaine and turn left onto the Rue du Tier at the Outdoor Centre. Once past the Centre, take the left fork when the road splits (marked blue square #1) and eventually the road becomes a grassy path at the edge of the forest
3. Follow the track downhill as it narrows to a grassy path (marked – not very clearly – red square #2) and then climb quite sharply to a clearing and a junction with another grassy path. Turn left here (marked green cross #9) and head back into woodland. A steep descent leads to a beck at the valley bottom. Cross the beck and turn right onto a narrow grass path (marked yellow cross #6), climbing initially steeply and then more gently as the path becomes a wider track. Eventually the track levels off once clear of the woodland, running through fields to a junction with the main road and the Chapelle Sainte-Gotte. Turn left here towards the village of Bérismenil.
4. Walk through Bérismenil and take the second left (marked – not very clearly – yellow cross #8) at the far end of the village onto a road running along a plateau of fields. Pass the Monument of the 40th (discussed above) and continue downhill. The road becomes a track as it heads into the forest. Heading down towards the river, pass a grassy track going left and then take the next sharp left onto a solid track (marked – not very clearly – yellow diamond #1). Follow this track as far as a junction and turn left uphill onto a wide track, again into the woodland
5. At the junction, cross over the stream (it’s not really a bridge) and go right uphill towards Le Cheslé, passing the main ramparts on the left and a great view down the valley on the right where there’s a seat. Just after the main ramparts, the track splits so go right (GR, red/white stripes) and continue on the track as far as the next, smaller, secondary set of ramparts at the far end of this headland of a river meander. At the ramparts, don’t follow the GR down the steps but continue on the path, looping gently back towards the original set of ramparts via the other side of the headland. The path narrows and there are three panoramic vistas on the right. Care should be taken at these as there are no safety barriers.
6. Passing the main ramparts again, this time on the left, the path narrows and there’s a fairly technical descent (marked – not very clearly – green cross #9) past another vista and eventually to a junction with a signboard. Turn right here onto a descending grassy path and go downhill – steeply at times – until coming upon the beck mentioned earlier, now further downstream. Turn right here again and the path is very narrow: if it’s hard to follow just keep the beck to your left and it will become clearer again shortly. Eventually, you’ll reach the river again, so turn left there (still following green cross #9).
7. Follow this path alongside the river on a technical section – lots of tree roots and mossy rocks – and it eventually widens just before the next junction. Continue right, on the green cross #9 beside the river and it becomes quite narrow and technical again.
8. Round the peninsula of the next meander and the path gets rockier. At one point, the path appears to run out but it’s actually a matter of negotiating a small section of rock just above the shallows of the river. For left-handed people (like me!) who tend to put their left foot first it might seem a little daunting, but it’s not dangerous. Continue on below the sheer cliffs of the Rocher du Hérou and eventually the path turns gently away from the river and into the woodland. Take the first right in the woodland and up a short, quite steep path to a t-junction. Turn left and climb again to the next junction and turn left there. Eventually the track joins a tarmac road and meets the Rue du Hérou. Turn left and head to the parking area.