Introduction

You walk carefreely through the beautiful rural landscape of Merendree, past castles, the rectory, and through the Old Kale valley. The Romanesque-style church from the 12th century is the only church in Flanders dedicated to the Merovingian queen Radegundis. The rectory in Hammeken was the setting for the Flemish poetry days from 1939 to 1956 and attracted hundreds of poetry lovers. Merendree was also once the residence of several wealthy families from Ghent, hence the small castles along the walk.

The Old Kale, meandering through the meadows, is a protected natural area.

Directions

You start at the entrance of the church in Merendree. Past the entrance, you enter Hammeken and turn left; At the end (Veldestraat), you turn right; A bit further, at house number 112, you turn left (Ventwegel); In Ventwegel, continue until you reach Dobbelstatiestraat; there, you turn left and immediately right again; Continue into Dobbelstatiestraat; You walk straight on (Dobbelstatiestraat) until a T-junction. Here, turn right.

(Dobbelstatiestraat) and then follow the road to the left (Dobbelstatiestraat); You do not take the Melderenstraat, but the next right (Dopershoek); Follow Dopershoek and keep left until Veldestraat; Turn right (Veldestraat). Attention, busy road!; Past construction company Van Ackere, you turn left into the slow road; At the end of this dirt road, turn right (Durmenkerkweg). A bit further on, you pass 'Kasteel Te Velde'. On the other side, you see 'Kasteel Melderen'; You keep following Durmenkerkweg towards the center of Merendree; This will lead you to Gerolfsweg. Walk straight on Gerolfsweg; At the end of this street stands the bust of 'Basiel De Craene,' priest and poetry lover

(known for the 'Poetry Days'); You continue walking south. You return to the St. Radegundis Church; You cross the church square and turn left (Merendreedorp); After a few hundred meters, take the first street on the right (Eikendreef); And a little further, you turn left (Lowegel), a quiet road that leads you to the Kale valley); You continue to follow this path (Lowegel) and at a T-junction, you turn right; You walk along the path until it becomes an unpaved road (Meersstraat); Here, you turn right (Meersgat), and you return to a narrower path. You now cross the idyllic river Kale. The path Meersgat becomes 'Windgat.'; You approach a triangular square (Biezestraat); Keep to the left, and at the corner of the square, turn left (Biezestraat).

At the end of Biezestraat, turn right (Langenakker); About 100 m further, turn left onto the quiet road (Overpoeke); You continue to follow between the meadows until you reach Broekstraat; At Broekstraat, turn right and head west until a walking path; You turn right into the walking path (There is a no entry sign except for pedestrians and wheelchair users); At the end of the walking path, turn left (Langenakker); At the end of this street, turn right (Veldestraat); You now follow the main road (Veldestraat) and cross the Old Kale again; At the next intersection, you see castles on the left and right. On the corner of Diepestraat, you get to know Kasteel Kervijn de Merendree', dating from the late 17th century. Opposite this castle is 'Kasteel ter Wallen'. It is hidden behind an authentic drawbridge and an entrance gate crowned with battlements; Past Kasteel Ter Wallen, turn right (Dreef). Continue straight on (Dreef) until you reach the St. Radegundis Church.