Church Paths in Rossem

Small and slow roads are being fully restored in Flanders and often put back into use. Great for cyclists and walkers. Church paths also belong to these often centuries-old footpaths. Rossem, a hamlet of Wolvertem, part of the Flemish Brabant town of Meise, is rich in these traffic-free and green paths. You walk a bit on a GR and the Eddy Merckxroute. Nearby, in Meise, is the house and bicycle factory of our cycling hero. Nearby points of interest also include National Botanic Garden in Meise.

1. Appointment at the church of Rossem (V), hamlet of Wolvertem, borough of Meise. With your back to the entrance of the church you start. Just before a white house from 1752 you step left into the Kerkevoetweg. Follow it to the end. Now turn left around house number 65 and remove yourself via a narrow path from the road, where you just came to. You end up in the bend of a narrow concrete road, which you follow to the right. In the next bend, at the name sign Kleinendries, turn right again. You follow a dead end street, but not for pedestrians. Along glass construction you walk on a narrow path to the wide road, which you also touched earlier. Cross the road via the zebra crossing and follow it to the left for 50 m. Then turn right into Rossemhoek (1 to 28). Where it bends left, you step straight into the path next to the stream. You now follow a GR path, which ends a little further in the bend of a narrow asphalt road. Here you turn right. You follow the narrow, winding road, which turns past a farm (Rossemhoek) into a church path between the meadows. You now walk through the Meuzegemse Hoek, with a large farm complex on the right. This is the Pauwenhof (1), type Brabant square farm, built in 1970 by the Jos De Pauw family, of WDP (Warehouses De Pauw), a major industrialist in real estate and logistics. At the end of this beautiful path you come to a narrow asphalt road. Turn right to cycle junction 21.
2. You still follow the GR path and a part of the Eddy Merckx cycle route. Past a small farm you follow the asphalt road to the right in a dangerous bend, fortunately with mirror, and you continue through the Blakenberg. You ignore the access road to the Pauwenhof on the right and walk into the territory of Merchtem. Keep walking straight until you can turn left into Breestraeten. You step through an open agricultural landscape with beautiful views. Keep right at the fork. So you continue to follow the Eddy Merckx route and the Keureroute, 'a poetic project'. Leave a side road on the right and continue walking until you reach the St. Rochus Chapel (2). Walk straight ahead at the crossroads and follow the Pakespad from here on a narrow asphalt path between meadows and fields, over the Lindebeek to a wider asphalt road. Follow it to the right. At the first intersection, go straight ahead and continue to follow Terlinden and at the next fork keep left. You cross the Grote Molenbeek and continue walking through the agricultural landscape. At the next two forks, keep to the right. On a wall picture at a farm you can read that you are in the Bontestraat. Where it turns left, follow the asphalt road straight ahead. A little further on, this road makes a right-angled turn to the left. Here you walk straight ahead and continue walking on a grassy path. First between two meadows, then you go into the forest. Where the path comes to a T, turn left and a little further right and continue along a meadow. Then you walk along a timber wall to the Marselaersmolen (3) (18th century according to a sign of VTB-VAB, built before 1312 according to the Belgian Mill Database). It is certain that the mill wheel was removed in 1960 and that the mill has been protected as a monument since 1983. Here you turn right.
3. Cross the Grote Molenbeek and at the fork of field roads, go straight ahead for the grass path, which is forbidden for riders, but with a clear bicycle track, because this is where the Molenbeek Cycle Route meets you! You cross a field road, leave the Pakespad and continue walking along a rest bench and a pollard willow to a traffic road. Turn right and then the first field road on the left. You go into the bush. Past a dilapidated farm you walk back on asphalt to the Robbeekstraat. Follow it to the right until you can turn left into a narrow path between the fields. You can literally follow this beautiful church path to the church.