Springhill Stories

This beautiful  12 km walk takes you through lush hollow roads in the rolling hills between the small ancient villages of Bossut and Nethen, into the forest and even a rare small heath zone. Some good walking shoes and long pants are recommended as some parts can be a bit overgrown and you don’t want to give ticks a chance. There is no real signs for this walk, but you can download the little map I made to find your way.

We start our tour in the beautiful old village Bossut, part Grez-Doiceau. This village is already mentioned in the 11th century and still has a lot of beautiful old houses and farms dotted around. It got its part of bad luck and got hit by the pest and looting in its long history. The current church dates back to 1786, but the farm behind it has traces from the 13th century. You can park your car at the Place de Bossut opposite the church.

You leave the square leaving the church behind you and after a few hundred meters you turn left in the rue de Nethen. Where the road takes a turn to the left you go straight into a path through the fields (1). It’s one of the first hollow roads. This part can be a bit overgrown, but it will be much better once you crossed the rue du Grand Royal. You keep on heading straight and you can take in the beautiful views over the surrounding hills. In front of you you can see the Meerdaal Forest in the distance. After a while the path becomes more hollow and the vegetation more lush. You are now meters under the ground level of the fields and you really have the impression of being in some tropical jungle with ferns and large liana.

At the end of the hollow road (2) you go a few meters to the right and then to the left on the rue de Hamme-Mille. Where this road turns you can see an old lime tree ( Tillieul Hollandais) and there you go right. You cross the Nethen stream and go left straight up a cobblestone road (Chavée Bal). Where the cobblestones end you turn right on a small path until you reach Chemin de la Trace. You turn left and keep walking along this road. Where the road starts to go down steeply, you turn in small path on your right. You are now entering a very sandy heath area and dive into the forest (3). Here it can be a bit confusing, but try to keep to the right as much as possible until you bump on an old wall surrounding the grounds of a castle. You now keep on following these walls, through a field, all the way down, where you bump into a gate in the walls. Don’t go in, but enter the forest in front of you  and keep on following the wall. After a while a meadow in the forest (4) opens up in front of you. Walk along this meadow and once you are on the highest point you go back in the forest. Keep on going straight on the path until you get to a T-crossing. Here you go left and will walk along the old wall again, pass the rather impressive gate, cross the Nethen stream again until you end up at the “chemin de savenel”. You follow this cobblestone road next to the wall that leads you to the village center of Nethen. At the end of the road you go right and then right again. You now reach the church of Nethen, with its overgrown cemetery.

In front of the church you go into the rue de Pécrot and after  about 50 meters to the left into a beautiful field road ( 5 : sentier bio). Along this hollow road you can admire an enormous range of wild flowers in spring and summer. Now you keep on going straight, cross the avenueFernand Labby and enter a small forest (6). You keep on descending and when you come at a crossroad of paths you go left (chemin des meuniers). This path leads you back to Bossut (7) In the village you leave this path by going to the left in the “Val du puits”. At the end of this road you are back at the avenue Fernand Labby and you go right. You are back at the church and this is the end of this beautiful tour.

Hope you’ll enjoy it as much as we did