Cycling around Foal

Apples and pears are at the heart of this tour along Haspengouw's orchards. And if it's still spring, enjoy the impressive flowery sea. Along the way, you notice from the activity that there is work in the orchard in all seasons. You pass Borgloon, the heart of fruit growing, and pass some castles, such as the magnificent castle of Hex with its rose garden.

1. Head to the Gothic Church of Our Lady of Foal. Exit at the Kerkstraat and go down to the Kasteelstraat. Follow it to the left and stay right at the fork. You pass in front of the castle of Donnea. Turn left onto the T - you still pedal into Kasteelstraat - and turn left at the intersection. You now pedal through the Veulenstraat, a wide road, without worrying about side roads. You pass the Klein-Gelmen name sign and on the T turn right. Here, too, the street is still called Groeneschild. On a triangular square with chapel you can go directly into the Daalstraat. At the intersection with the Klein-Gelmen church, you continue straight. You ignore all the side streets, cross the Herk and climb higher on a hollow road, between the orchards. At the fork, you keep left and pedal to the church of Groot-Gelmen. Here you turn right via the Groot-Gelmenlaan until you reach the Helshovenstraat, direction Hoepertingen. You always cycle straight, passing De Motte Castle, between the orchards, above the crossroads where the Helshoven Chapel is located and is now called Helshovenstraat, until you can turn right into the Hoenshovenstraat. This is the way to Heers. You now pedal between fruit trees and fields on a concrete road until you reach the roundabout where you turn left. It is the Roman pavement that will take you to Voort. You pass Tornaco Castle with a gatehouse with 1590 tower and a 19th century manor house.
2. Past a Borgloon nameplate, you arrive at a pitchfork with a chapel. Keep left in the Benaetsstraat and prepare for the climb. Stay in the Benaetsstraat until just before the modern church (1964) in Hendrieken where you take a narrow, paved path down to the right. This turns into a concrete road. On the T, you cycle left into the Neremstraat and between the orchards you continue to pedal straight to the end of the road. Here you make a sharp right turn. You follow a busier road with a separate bike path. Past the broekom nameplate, you go down in front of the gasthuiskapel where you take the Koekelbronstraat on the left, direction Heks. The name of the street became Sassenbroekstraat, then Heksenlaan. Pedaling on the concrete and climbs of the Heksenlaan, you pass the church and castle of Heks, which was once a hunting lodge for the prince-bishops of Liège.
3. Continue cycling towards Vechmaal, where you take the Heurnestraat on the right, direction St.-Pieterskapel-Heurne. In the bend continue to follow the Heurnestraat on the right, direction chapel. Now take the first street on the right and you will arrive at St. Peter's Chapel in Horn, the oldest parts of which date from the 13th and 14th centuries. Turn left onto the T. You descend at an intersection that crosses you to continue pedaling through the Tongerestraat on the other side. At the end of the street you turn right into the Vechmaallaan. Follow this road to the busy Waremme-Tongeren road. Cross this stone road, the Roman sect, and continue to the other side which is called Lauwstraat here. You stay in the Lauwstraat which becomes a hollow road until the intersection where you pedal right into the Hesbeinstraat to cross the language border. You pass in front of the church of Otrange. Ignore a first intersection and turn right at the next intersection. Continue to follow this road until after a farm, on the right, you can take the paved road rising Thier du Mont. Go up it, ignore a street on the left and turn left at the first intersection, with modern chapel. Continue straight until you can take the first street on the right. At the Y-junction, continue straight ahead and cross the busy road again. Continue straight on Horpmael Street, which takes you back to the other side of the language border. Past the sign of the name of Horpmaal, you pedal on the smooth cobblestones of the Dumontlaan. Continue to follow this road until you reach a crossroads with a chapel. Here you have to turn left into the Haspengouwlaan, where you pass impressive square farmhouses. At the fork, keep the Haspengouwlaan on the right. You continue cycling directly to the centre of Heers where you cycle right onto the Nieuwe Steenweg towards Veulen. On the left, notice the church and castle of Heers, built on foundations of the 14th century.