Spring in Belgium looks a lot more like an autumn in any other country, still gray and rather rainy. But once the sun finally remembers this small portion of the world, the land is transformed. Everything turns green, the days are longer, with the sun still above the horizon late into the evening, even the air gets lighter as it fills with aromas of linden, acacia and elderflower.
There is no better way to witness and enjoy this transformation than going for a walk. While seeing all the Brussels terraces full again can be energizing in its own way, in the precious sunny days, it’s better to escape the city and head just over its borders, where Flemish Brabant awaits.
To guide curious explorers through its lands, the tourism office of Flemish Brabant releases a walking brochure every year in early spring. Usually only in Dutch, an English version has also been prepared this year, offering information on 12 routes that delve into the region’s unique landscape, traditions and history.
The walking brochure can be ordered for free (with just a €3 shipping fee) and is complemented by a “Nodemapp Hike” app to help those whose analogue map reading skills are not very fresh. In the meantime, below is a sneak peek into the brochure.
1. Ironstone walk
This 13.3 km walk meanders through Hageland, with its characteristic rust-coloured ironstone. Traditionally, the stone was used to build churches, parish houses and other buildings of note. Now, however, the soil’s ironstone is perfect for ripening vineyard grapes, as it absorbs the sun’s heat during the day and locks it in the soil substrate, releasing the warmth into the night. Therefore, along this walk, wine tasting is a must.
A small 800 metre detour from node 61, the Hageland Wine Visitor Centre is nestled in the former town hall of Wezemaal. The interactive wine museum allows guests to immerse themselves in the region’s colours, fragrances and flavours. Those who book in advance can also enjoy a wine tasting in the museum’s cellar.
3. Warande walk
Those looking for more of a stroll rather than a walk could choose the 5.8 km Warande route. Going to the Tervuren Park, the walk combines the enchanting nature of the French style gardens with the history of St Hubert’s Chapel, the Het Spaans Huis mill house and, overlooking them all, the Africa Museum.
The Royal Museum of Central Africa, renamed the Africa Museum, has been standing in Tervuren for over a century. Having started as a colonial exhibition of King Leopold II, the museum has gone through major changes over the past years, reopening in 2018 after a 5-year renovation process aimed at decolonising the exhibitions.
2. Norbertine walk
This 9.3 km walk takes visitors to Averbode’s Norbertine Abbey and through its surrounding forests with their Seven Sorrows of Mary in the Maria Park and Weefberg’s natural beauty. The abbey was founded in 1135, at the behest of Arnold II, the Count of Loon. The Gothic gatehouse, built in the second half of the 14th century, is its oldest standing building.
East of the abbey, the walk goes through the Averbode Bos en Heide (Averbode Woods and Heathland) Nature Reserve, which houses fens, heathland, dunes, forests and grasslands. Although beautiful year-round, the reserve transforms in late-August and early-September, when the blooming heather flowers turn the plains into dazzling shades of mauve.
The walk starts and ends at the abbey, offering the perfect way to finish an adventure – with ice cream. Averbode Abbey is famously home to the Ice Cream Lane, or the Lekdreef, a traffic-free street lined with ice cream trucks during the summer.
