Appointment at De Helix (V), a nature and environmental education center of the Flemish government at Hoogvorst in Grimminge, a district of Geraardsbergen (www.dehelix.be). Leave the parking lot to the right. Soon you will have a beautiful view on the left of the Raspaillebos and on the right of Onkerzele, another district of Geraardsbergen. At the T-junction, turn left and go uphill, then turn right after 200 m along the edge of the forest and downhill. Now go straight for 2 km and ignore all side streets. First, you will pass the Raspaillebos on the left, a remnant of the coal forest that was used for wood harvesting and firewood for centuries. The landscape is calm, green, and very diverse: poplar avenues, pollarded willows, and kilometers of panoramic views alternate. The wide dirt path turns into asphalt and later back into an unpaved path, leading you to the main road after 2 km, ending with a steep ascent. Turn left along the road, leave Brusselsestraat on the left, and cross N495 after another 400 m. Go straight into Oude Steenweg and after 75 m turn left into Driepikkel. After 200 m, take the stairs up to Oudenbergkapel 1. The Oudenbergkapel is already mentioned in writings from 1294, and the miraculous image of O.-L.-Vrouw from Oudenberg is over 350 years old. This chapel has been a popular pilgrimage site for centuries with its numerous ex-voto’s. A few meters above the chapel, there is a column and a stone orientation table. The panorama from Oudenberg (110 m above sea level) is truly extraordinary. Pass the chapel, before Café 't Hemelrijck, turn right onto a steep (be careful) path and then continue along a wide cobblestone path downwards. Turn left onto Vesten after 300 m and right towards the market after another 300 m. Geraardsbergen is one of the oldest cities in Flanders, and the market with the neo-Gothic town hall and Sint-Batholomeuskerk is a beautiful testament to that. In front of the town hall, you will also find the Marbol, the market fountain, and the only surviving Gothic fountain in East Flanders, and especially Manneken Pis. The statue was created in 1459 and is 160 years older than its famous brother from Brussels. Next to the town hall, you find De Permanensje, the tourist information office of the city and region, in the former cloth hall. You can also take a break in one of the numerous cafés on the market or buy a delicious Mattentaart, the specialty of the city. Then return on your steps towards Vesten. At the top of Vesten, turn right towards Muur 3, the monument of Geraardsbergen and until recently the highlight of the Ronde Van Vlaanderen. Follow the signs to the Oudenbergkapel and also climb the Kapelmuur. Pass the Driepikkel chapel and then turn right back to Edingseweg (N495). Cross the road and turn right, then after 100 m at house number 14, turn left uphill onto a wide gravel road. The gravel road turns into a field path and takes you through a beautiful green setting to a wide asphalt road after 900 m. Turn right and go straight for 800 m along the two-lane concrete road. Follow the curve to the left and continue straight for another 40 m into Atembekeweg. Pass house number 18 and turn right into Hazendans, then continue on a narrow path between the forest edge and field for 800 m. Enter Raspaillebos through a pedestrian passage, cross the gravel road, and choose diagonally left (sign with red square). Here, spring blooms on the left. Continue keeping right at the intersection. This will take you to N91, which you cross diagonally to the right. Rue de l’Etang will lead you to a dazzling white rustic courtyard, one of many large yards in Nodebais. There, choose the downhill rue Draey to the right. At the bottom of the curve, turn left onto a beautiful avenue of pollarded willows, chemin du petit Brou. At the end, cross the road diagonally to the left, then go right along the inner path next to the fish pond. You will arrive at the village square of Nodebais 3. Rest benches, water point, boules game under the plane trees, only a French café terrace is missing here. After the break, sharply turn right into chemin Jacotia. This narrows briefly to a church path, but then widens again. Further on is chemin des Soeurs: always straight ahead. At the next intersection, the imposing ferme d’Agbiermont rises steeply to the left. Continue straight: chemin de la Petite Chapelle, keeping left. This 'little chapel' further up, chapel Gosin 4, is not so small but unique inside. A feast of faïence. Decipher especially the inscriptions with the true story of Marie-Thérèse Gosin (1831), who is said to have brought the first stone in her doll carriage at the age of five. Turn around the chapel to the right and follow the cobblestone path uphill, to N91. Cross the busy road and continue straight. At the first intersection, choose right, and at the next intersection, a few steps later, turn left. Continue straight at the field crossroads. To the southwest, you get a glimpse of the military airfield of Beauvechain. First follow the edge of the forest for a short while, then turn right into the Beausart forest at the T-junction. Immediately steer left onto a wide forest path between beech trees. Just before the edge of the forest, turn right at the intersection. Again, green hilly panoramas. The last open space before you abruptly plunge into the densely populated area of Grez-Doiceau over a hollow path. Just continue to descend straight ahead, then you will find the church square with a wealth of beautiful wild daffodils, wood hyacinths, and wild garlic. Follow the signs with the red square and exit the forest after 400 m. Turn left at the intersection after 450 m (sign 19 Natuurpad De Helix) and after another 250 m turn right (sign 24) towards De Helix. On weekdays, you can visit one of the permanent exhibitions about nature and the environment here.