The Transardennaise leads the hiker straight through the thickest forests of Belgium. These dark woods are perhaps the only ones in the country where you can wander for hours without meeting anyone. A seven-day crossing of the Ardennes is adventurous and rough, but on a human scale. Allons-y!
Au pays de mon père on voit des bois sans nombre.
In my father’s country one sees countless woods.
(Paul Verlaine, poet)
We heave a sigh of relief when we see a man crawling on all fours through the woods. No, he’s not looking for a lost lens, he’s picking blueberries. The sight of the forager reassures us. It’s day three on the Transardennaise and we haven’t seen a living soul since we left Saint-Hubert this morning. We already feared that we had entered a nuclear winter that only we had no knowledge of. But apparently, it’s perfectly normal in this part of the Ardennes to spend hours alone on the road, with only nature as a companion.
This is probably what the Germans mean by Waldeinsamkeit. Forest solitude, the feeling of being alone in the woods. It’s possible here. While you need no more than half an hour to get through the most extensive Flemish forests, those meagre patches of green, you can easily roam half a day in the Ardennes without encountering any sign of life. From Saint-Hubert, you can even walk all the way to Germany or France without ever leaving the forest. A comforting thought.
A hundred years
Two days earlier, we receive a map of the Transardennaise in La Roche-en-Ardenne. In seven days, this route leads us through the thickest forests in Belgium, from La Roche to Bouillon, but it does give us the chance to rest our fey bodies, slowly walked into destruction, every evening in a hotel or a B&B. As our eyes glide over the map, we radiate with anticipation. We love hiking maps, crazy about their yet unfulfilled potential. What are all those names concealing – Le Gros Bois, Derrière Le Gros Bois, Haie Madame? Which scrambles are hidden in the contour lines? As a young boy, our family vacations alternated between the Belgian coast and the Ardennes. Nothing against go-cart races on the dike or Brussels waffles with whipped cream and North Sea sand, but the Ardennes always made our child hearts beat the fastest. What’s left of that?
Enough with all the drooling, time for action. We leave the last terraces of La Roche just behind us when the trail crawls steeply up a mountain. It offers a view of the ribbon of mobile homes that stretches along the Ri de Bronze, a tributary of the Ourthe. As soon as we reach the ridge, those white dots disappear from view. Civilisation is gone, hello nature! The hike leads through fairytale forests, where the moss is so bright green that it looks like it’s been drawn on the trees with a fluorescent marker.
We trudge along fields and roads and through lovely nature villages built out of natural stone, where the last post box is lifted at ten in the morning and where the dial-a-bus only passes when requested. Here a snail still has a chance to safely reach the other side of the street. A ghost town, we suspect for a moment, that’s how quiet it is, until we hear a brushcutter roar in the distance and a tractor with a hay cart overtakes us painfully slow.
A week earlier we rushed to the doctor with acute stress symptoms, but half a day on the most leisurely of paths in the Ardennes has melted those unpleasant feelings like a popsicle in the Sahara sun. In these small villages and even smaller hamlets – Cens, Masbourg, Our, Beth – we can easily see ourselves living to a hundred years. This is the ultimate slowing down, living to the rhythm of your own steps. We realise this all the more a few days later, when the maîte d’ picks us up with his car at the end of the fourth stage. For one night, we do not sleep along the trail. The landscape flies past us at lightning speed. We are disoriented for a moment, like a lens of a camera that needs to refocus, and realise what privilege it is to move through the landscape at four kilometres per hour.
Space for everyone
The biggest strength of the Transardennaise is its enormous variety of landscapes. Now we walk through seas of ferns, between which a fox frolics, then we follow a hollow way, a gurgling stream through a carved-out gorge, or a boardwalk along a pond. Pastures full of Belgian Blue cows first give way to dark coniferous forests, where the light barely touches the ground, then to majestic beech forests and oaks like cathedral columns.
We pick blueberries and wild raspberries, inhale blissfully. Wildflowers colour the landscape – creeping thistles, cornflowers, poppies and hundreds, thousands of foxgloves. Nature at full speed. On a ridge, we come across a monument to King Albert I, who, according to the inscription, rested on this spot during a solo journey through the woods. We imagine the majesty as a royal Chris McCandless, wandering, with a three-week stubble and a rip in his pants, and we think: that’s what we would do with an endowment.
We lied when we wrote that we didn’t see any other hikers. Because when we jump into the Western Ourthe in Wyompont, a village so small that it’s named after its bridge, there are suddenly hikers on the bridge, cameras ready. But otherwise, we hardly encounter walkers. Not that we consider ourselves so special, but there are simply enough paths in the Ardennes for everyone. No need for queues. The Great Forest of Saint-Hubert covers 100,000 hectares, half of which are wooded, and has 1500 kilometres of trails.
That lack of people does not mean that we do not experience unexpected encounters. A pair of buzzards uses thermals to soar through the skies. A screeching skylark takes off like a helicopter over a prairie of wildflowers. Don’t expect silence in this desolate region. The finches and nuthatches chirp too loudly for that. A concert for hikers. Step by step, the in-betweens of the map are filled. As we walk, our world keeps getting smaller and bigger at the same time. First, we only see the names on the map, then the landscapes. And now we even pay attention to the toads in the Fõret de Saint Michel, no bigger than beetles who try en masse to avoid the soles of our walking boots.
Thanks, tumble dryer
Okay, it differs a bit in scale, but we consider the Ardennes to be the Yukon of Belgium. The most rugged region, full of fast-flowing, icy mountain rivers. The kind of forest that attracts poets, like the Italian Francesco Petrarca, who in the Middle Ages marvelled at “a forest so dark that it freezes the soul.” Or Paul Verlaine, who spent his holidays with Aunt Henriette in Paliseul and who was inspired for the rest of his life by the forests, the mists and the streams of ‘my father’s land’.
This is the part of the country where the population density is the lowest, but the natural density the highest. And where people are still close to nature. You know about un Ardennais that he regularly pulls a trout out of a river with his bare hands, or that he wrestles a wild board towards a barbecue. Fier, fort, fidèle, like the motto of the province of Luxembourg. And they are friendly, too: you won’t pass a person here, however scare, without a hello. Unlike the Yukon, the Ardennes are manageable for hikers who don’t consider themselves Bear Grylls. Good for us. When we miss a turn at the end of day four, there is still the horticulturist with his chainsaw or the fisherman, knee-deep in the river Lomme, to show us the way.
On the Transardennaise you can, if desired, spend each night in charming Ardennes hotels that advertise themselves as hiker-friendly. But the proof of the pudding is in the eating. Or in this case: in entering the lobby with muddy boots. Le Moulin de Daverdisse successfully passes the litmus test when we arrived as two drowned rats. Shoes at the door, wet clothes in the tumble dryer and just sit down for a hot meal. These are the little joys of a hiking holiday. Just like the moment when you see the village church of Lavacherie peek through the greenery.
The ultimate reward follows at the end of a forest trail on day seven: a wooden watchtower that rises just above the pine trees and that pins our view at the meander in the Semois in which Bouillon lies. According to Google Maps, you can drive from La Roche to Bouillon in 49 minutes. It took us seven days on the Transardennaise. And we know what to choose. We quickly run down the hill and into the city via the gothic stone bridge. Godfrey of Bouillon, the most famous parishioner, never returned home after his crusade to Jerusalem. Had he done so, we suspect, he would have felt the way we do now. Like crusaders returning from an epic journey: proud, satisfied, but above all so tired that we won’t get out of the couch for at least two days.
This article first appeared in Dutch in Pasar Magazine.
Practical information under the picture gallery.
Practical information about the Transardennaise
What is the Transardennaise?
Since the 80s, the Transardennaise, or Transardennes route, slings from La Roche-en-Ardenne to Bouillon. Various sources speak of a distance of 153 to 164 kilometres. The majority of hikers take seven days to complete the Transardennaise, in stages that vary from 18 to 27 kilometres. The route leads through endless forests and past charming villages, although some parts stay on asphalt (30% of the route is paved) and wide forest paths for too long. Nevertheless, it is a beautiful walk. Although in some places the Transardennaise runs parallel with the GR14 from Malmedy to Paris, this is not a GR hike. It’s organised instead by La Maison de la Randonnée. Please note that the signage is not everywhere at the level of your average GR, so a topographical map will come in handy along the way. There is also a variant of the route for mountain bikers.
Agency Europ’Aventure puts together tailor-made packages for all or parts of the Transardennaise. They can arrange accommodation, meals and luggage transfers. A two-day trip, with two overnight stays based on half pension, costs 291 euro. For the whole trip, you pay 896 euro. (Prices were accurate in 2020.) The route is accessible in all seasons, although you should take shorter hiking days and possible detours due to hunting into account in autumn. Self-sufficient planners can hike (a large part of) the Transardennaise unsupported, but they must prepare themselves thoroughly. Some days are spent entirely in the forest. The villages along the way often don’t have a bakery or butcher’s shop, let alone a village shop. Sufficient provisions are necessary.
Sleeping on the Transardennaise
We used Europ’Aventure’s package with accommodation in small-scale family hotels. Camping is usually also possible, provided that you show a healthy dose of creativity and planning. These were our sleeping places, with an alternative for the happy camper wherever possible:
>> La Roche-en-Ardenne. Hostellerie la Claire Fontaine (Rue de Vecpré 64). A cosy little hotel where the tablecloths are starched and the waiters soft-voiced.
Camping alternative: many options, including Camping Benelux (Rue de Harzé 24).
>> Lavacherie. Auberge de Lavacherie (Place de l’Eglise 3). The antlers behind the hotel building prove that we ended up on hunting grounds.
Camping alternative: Domaine de Wachirock (Wachirock 1) or Camping Tonny (Rue de renettes 1).
>> Saint-Hubert. Le Cor de Chasse (Avenue Nestor Martin 3). In the European capital of hunting, of course we stay in Le Cor de Chasse (the hunting horn), a guesthouse with a friendly patron, near the basilica.
Camping alternative: Europacamp (Europacamp 3).
>> Nassogne. Le Beau Sejour (30 de Masbourg). Nassogne is known as a “haven of tranquillity” and so is this elegant hotel.
Camping alternative: bivouac zone Nassogne (Rue Château du Bois).
>> Mirwart. Shuttle to Gaussignac (37 Rue de l’Eglise, Hatrival). Friendly B&B run by a welcoming couple.
Camping alternative: provincial domain of Mirwart (Rue du Moulin), only for groups. There is no option for individuals.
>> Daverdisse. Le Moulin De Daverdisse (61 Rue de la Lesse). Built from natural stone and idyllically located next to the Lesse.
No camping alternative.
>> Paliseul. La Hutte Lurette (64 Rue de la Station). Charming family hotel with seven rooms, best known for its gourmand’s table.
No camping alternative.
We stayed for an extra night in Bouillon, sleeping in the comfortable Auberge de Jeunesse (youth hostel). Camping Halliru and Camping du Moulin la Falize are the campings closest to the city.
Planning your trip
Getting there
The start of the Transardennaise is in La Roche-en-Ardenne, an hour and a half drive from Brussels. Take the train to Marloie (IC train to Luxembourg from Brussels, once an hour), and then the bus to La Roche. A bus runs from Bouillon to the station of Libramont-Chevigny, where one train per hour takes you back to Brussels. Europ’Aventure can also arrange a shuttle from Bouillon to the starting point in La Roche.
For time tables, check NMBS (train) and TEC (bus).
Eating and drinking
The route runs largely through woods and tiny, sleepy villages. Do no expect a bar or a restaurant every five kilometres. Most of the hotels offer a bite in the evening, even if you are not staying there. Tourist hotspots such as La Roche-en-Ardenne, Saint-Hubert and Bouillon have bars and restaurants, Otherwise, you’ll only find something in Redu. We drank a local wheat beer in a cosy pub that also serves regional dishes (L’Auberge gourmand, Rue de Transinne 25), but there are few other addresses.
Things to do
During a hike, travel and sights merge into one another. If you still want to break up a day, these are some options:
>> Castle of La Roche-en-Ardenne. Medieval ruin on a rock (roche) that towers over the city. In summer, there are bird shows. Open from 10 am to 6 pm in summer, shorter visiting times the rest of the year. Rue du Vieux Château 4, La Roche-en-Ardenne.
>> Fourneau Saint-Michel. Iron and open-air museum about rural life in the Ardennes, Lorraine, Hesbaye, Fagne-Famenne and Condroz. The Bokrijk of Wallonia. Open from Tuesday to Sunday. In summer also on Mondays. Rue du Fourneau Saint-Michel 4, Mormont (Saint-Hubert).
>> Euro Space Center. Learn about space travel and even walk virtually on the moon. Open from 9 am to 5 pm. Devant les Hêtres 1, Transinne (Libin).
>> Mudia. The book village of Redu is the best proof that a high-quality art museum does not only belong in the big city. Open Wednesday to Sunday, 10 am to 6 pm. Open every day during the summer holidays. Place de l’Escro 61, Redu (Libin).
>> Castle of Bouillon. Imagine yourself as Godfrey of Bouillon during a tour of this medieval castle. In summer, there are also bird of prey shows and evening torchlight hikes. Open from 10 am to 6 pm on weekdays, 10 am to 6.30 pm on weekends. Esplanade Godfroid 1, Bouillon.
More info
>> Travel agent Europ’Aventure specialises in hiking tours through the Belgian Ardennes and can put together a tailor-made package. An extra day of rest, a cultural detour or a brewery visit, it can all be discussed.
>> You can find other tips about the region on the website of Wallonia Belgium Tourism.
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