Through the Mehaigne valley

Park near the police station annex of the town hall in Braives. The walk begins at the town hall of rue Cornuchamp (V). With the Maison Communale on your right, go down Rue Cornuchamp. At the crossroads with the old signage, follow the direction of Ville-en-Hesbaye and you will soon arrive at Mehaigne 1 by the Thier Depas. This tributary of the Meuse, with its own tributary the Burdinale, forms a natural park of 11,000 ha included in Natura 2000. This is the European network of nature reserves of significant value. • Cross the Mehaigne and walk straight, ignoring all secondary roads, to the old Braives station and the RAVeL 127 2. This former railway line connected Landen to Statte and was used as a passenger railway until 1963. Braives station is one of the few remaining stations on this line and is now used as a cultural centre and library. • Turn right and follow the RAVeL past a playground to a football field on the left. Here you turn left and through this narrow path you reach the rue de Brivioulle. Turn left here and now always straight. Cross the track to Ville-en-Hesbaye and continue on Rue du Bois Mouton. On the left a house where a surveyor lives: it is immediately for a moment the last dwelling on the promenade. Climbing slowly, you find yourself in the vast expanse of Humid-Haspengouw. The very fertile loamy soil has almost made this region the breadbasket of Belgium. You cross the intersection, follow the local BR02 promenade and the yellow diamond. On the right, you see the yellow sign Ville-en-Hesbaye. Near a single tree, you can enjoy a 360° panorama. About 100 meters after the single tree, take the exit on the right 3. This road is the first 5 meters unpaved. The road descends gently and in the distance you can see the roofs of the first houses of Villeen-Hesbaye between the vegetation. Ignore the secondary road on the right and go further down to the Bolland valley, a tributary of the Mehaigne. At the next road junction, turn right and via Rue du Bolland, you walk to the center of the peaceful village. Ignore all the secondary roads and through the Rue du Bolland, with some majestic hotels in the local architectural style, you will reach the church of Ville-en-Hesbaye 4. In front of the church and the First World War memorial, we cross a park with two benches, a regular bench and a curved bench around a maple tree. • Via a one-way street, you climb slowly with a didactic orchard on the right. You will pass a picnic area and the cemetery. In a huge farm, ignore the exit on the right and continue to follow the road until the T-junction. Here turn right to turn left at the crossroads, at the chapel under the linden tree. This is the rue aux Thiers. A dead end road that you continue to follow for about 100 meters to the white house with the number 5. Turn left here. It remains the rue aux Thiers to accommodate the numbers 2 to 13. You leave the built-up area and find yourself in an open landscape of an agricultural nature. Continue to follow this road and ignore all secondary roads. • You walk towards the village of Avennes and join the Mehaigne, at the water mill of Vélupont 5. With a bit of luck, you'll spot a kingfisher here. Continue walking to the RAVeL and turn left. Where the RAVeL crosses a road for the second time, turn right. You can easily reach the rue de la Chapelle, near the house with house number 1. Walk gently out of the Mehaigne valley. At the chapel in honor of Our Lady of Lourdes 6, located on a hill between three lime trees, turn right. You walk between the fields again and after a few hundred meters you get a view of a beautiful tumulus on the left side of the road. In this cemetery of the Gallo-Roman era, there is a burial vault with all kinds of objects. Always straight ahead and past two tennis courts, you will arrive at Mapayon Street. You continue to follow this restaurant Pourquoi Pas and the church. In this way you reach the intersection with Cornuchamp Street where you started the walk.