Slow Paths of Houtem

The walk begins at the Church of St. Antonius-Abt. Leave the church behind and cross Haesendonckstraat. Turn right at the square with the tall trees. Almost at the end of the square, directly in front of the old farmhouse, take a field path on the left. We follow the Steenmolenvoetweg, which leads further into the forest. In the forest, you turn right and follow the Houtemveldvoetweg. We cross the Kautesteenbeek for the first time.

We continue our way to Haesendonckstraat, which we cross and shortly follow to the right. Then we turn left onto Grensstraat. We follow Grensstraat until just before the sharp bend at the height of the E19 motorway. Then we turn right onto Driestenbosstraat. This winds between some residential houses and takes us to the new Kom op tegen Kanker forest.

We continue along Houtemboskerkweg and cross Kautesteenbeek for the second time. Now we walk straight through the open field along Wijnputvoetweg towards the "new" neighborhood. Just before the neighborhood, we turn left and follow Keiputvoetweg, which brings us over Kautesteenbeek for the third time.

We continue straight next to the forest and follow the path that makes a 90° turn to the right. We run parallel to Grensstraat and also briefly follow Grensstraat until we can turn right into Buitingstraat. At the treatment plant of the barracks, we cross Kautesteenbeek one last time.

Next to a beautifully restored farmhouse from 1654, we turn right onto Wijnputvoetweg and head back towards the "new" neighborhood. Just before the neighborhood, we turn left and go along Hondenbergvoetweg, which leads into Hondenbergstraat. At the end of Hondenbergstraat, those thirsty can quench their thirst at Café Het Voorhof.

We cross Damstraat and continue our way along a small passage next to the newspaper stand. This Kleine Kapellenblokvoetweg leads us to Kruipinstraat. We follow this to the right until we find a narrow footpath on the left side next to house number 37. Roosbrekersvoetweg automatically brings us to Tweebundersvoetweg. Turn right and take Kleine Tweebundersvoetweg, which leads into Tweebundersstraat. You now reach Schoewever and turn right. We return to the residential world and turn right into Kluitingstraat. At the end of Kluitingstraat, we turn left into Damstraat.

At the roundabout, keep to the right. This is Haesendonckstraat again. Next to house number 6, take the right onto Achtervoetweg, and this leads you to Karel Trekelstraat. Turn left and it brings you back to the Church of St. Antonius.