At Freÿr Castle

This twelve-kilometre walk can be extended by a visit to Freÿr Castle. Admire the interior steeped in history or soak up the scent of the orange trees in the garden.

---------------------------

In the Dinant region, the Lesse Valley is particularly known and described for its many beautiful and lively attractions and hiking opportunities. On the other side of the Meuse, the natural beauty is also very varied, attractive and above all much quieter. We walk through a vast agricultural landscape with miles of distant views, in a beautiful mixed forest above the Meuse and in front of houses and hooves typical of the Ardennes. We also pass Freÿr Castle, a beautiful Renaissance castle with the oldest orangeries in the Netherlands. If you wish, you can visit the castle and gardens (info on www.freyr.be). We start the walk at the town hall of Onhaye. For GPS in the car: Rue Albert Martin in Onhaye.

The itinerary

Go up Albert Martin Street and, once at the top, go RA. Continue for 60 m RD in the rue du Forbot, ignore the exit on the right for 80 m and continue walking in the rue du Forbot. After 250 m, at the fork, stay on the main lane on the right, ignore Rue des Mésanges and continue walking RD along the football field. After 500 m, the track turns right. Enter the LA bend on a narrower concrete track. The concrete track becomes a paved gravel road and takes you into the forest, the Freÿr wood. Go into the woods at the T junction RA. After 400 m you have a forest house on the left. Walk RD and run 200m further to the left and down. The wide forest road descends clearly and after a left and right turn you walk parallel to the Meuse. A few hundred meters further, you have a bridge on the left over an old railway track. (If you want to visit Freÿr Castle, you go over the railway bridge to the Meuse, then RA and after 250 meters you are at the entrance of the castle.) The promenade runs along the RD at the back of the castle estate. Here you have a beautiful view of the castle and gardens.

On the other side of the Meuse you can see the Freÿr climbing massif, well known to sport climbers. Walk RD and get on the asphalt. Where the track, after half a kilometer, curves sharply to the right, you go RD on a narrow forest road. The forest road rises first and then remains at the same level. After 800 m you leave the forest. The path now continues next to the edge of the forest and eventually brings you back to an asphalt track. Go RA and go up. On the right you have a large farm with a farm cottage: Les Fermes de Lennes. Ignore the exit on the right towards Freÿr and walk RD. Also at the next two intersections RD. You now have a wide view of the village of Onhaye. At the crossroads with the rue de Frumont you still have the remarkable chapel of Our Lady of Good Hope. Again, RD. Go to the church, the church of Saint-Martin RA, then go up the rue Albert Martin.