Walenbos and vineyards

Appointment under the Church of Our Lady of Tielt (V) in Tielt-Winge. Below, because the old pilgrimage sanctuary dominates both the village and the surrounding Hageland from its hill. Directly across the white Christ you descend the Sint-Barbarastraat. Down at the intersection continue diagonally straight (>25). You arrive at the walled Waterhof 1, or what remains of the original farm: the old stables behind the rebuilt house and the square moat. In which a variegated water population splashes and squats all day: ducks, moorhens, geese, gulls and a pair of swans. •Past the house on the narrow path continue through meadows and sheep pastures to the T of the Postweg (no sign) and then to the right. You walk straight ahead via the Bleukerweg to junction 24 – with a carved horse in blue stone – and turn to the right (>23). Then you dive into the Walenbos, a nature reserve in the valley of the Grote Motte. Typical are the vast seepage areas (with rising groundwater) – which have become quite rare in Flanders today – and the variety of forest types, from alder and ash trouser forest to mixed oak forest, with wet grasslands in between, each with their own biotope. Hikers can practice identifying bird sounds here. Attention: some paths are soggy after rainy weather. • At a few houses you come back on the asphalt of the Bleukerweg. At no. 27, follow the right turn (>23). At junction 23, just before the bridge, turn left (>243). A left turn, another to the right and then another intersection. Here you forget junction 243 (so do not turn left), you keep walking straight ahead. You follow that wide forest road until it has made a long right turn and narrows. How to bump into a T: turn left here (>231). • Once out of the forest, Houwaart comes into view, a Hagelands wine village. You reach junction 231 and turn right (>229). Then you end up in the Haldertstraat. Left goes to St.- Dionysius church 2 . The very old church tower (ca. 1300) is partly built in iron sandstone, just like the substructure of the nave and many old churches and monuments in the Hageland. Above the church door, the legendary St. Dionysius carries his severed head. You walk along the front of the tower to the new cemetery and choose on the left (>228). In front of you now appears the famous Houwaartseberg, the south flank overgrown with vines. Down on the west side of it, the chapel of St. Joseph rises under the Linden 3, a beautiful resting place in the wide Hageland valley. You turn right to the first field intersection; Turn left there. And then climb between the vineyards. The northernmost of the continent, it is claimed. The Hageland wine is (predominantly) a dry white, with a fruity aftertaste. • At the top, follow Wijngaardstraat to the right. Number 58 is a treasure of a Kempen farm. Furthermore, you will meet the Bergweideweg on the left, which also descends. Turn right at the bottom of the T. Along the way, the Hageland shows its juicy side: fruit orchards everywhere. Turn left into the earth road along the edge of the forest (>222). Keep following, until you get back to asphalt at a T; Here you step to the right. At the next T, turn right again. You reach the intersection Kaaskorf 100 4 with junction 222. Follow 221 via the forest path, which descends again to the valley (>221). Past (the road to) the Danouise winery you leave the forest and walk to the Haldertstraat. Then turn left to junction 221, 180 meters away. The Sluiweg branches off to the right (>21). • At a secluded house, the same road crosses the Mottebeek and then crosses a piece of Walenbos. After that you end up in Tielt village again. At the B&B Silentium turn right into Sint-Annastraat. Opposite No. 63, you squeeze through the turnstile of a meadow. The sloping road takes you heavenwards again to Our Lady of Tielt.