At the border between Hainaut and Walloon Brabant lies ’s Gravenbrakel or Braine-le-Comte. We went out for a walk along a maze of paths.

Text and photo Guido Elias

The Grand Place of Braine-le-Comte, the vibrant Hainaut town where football stars Eden and Thorgan Hazard are from, is the starting point for a walk along winding paths through fields and farmland. Expansive forests, such as the Houssière forest, are also along the route, and it often goes steeply up and down. Along the way, several charming hamlets like Henripont, with its notable church, warmly welcome the hiker. Eventually, you find yourself back in the cozy bustle of Braine-le-Comte. Around the beautiful kiosk that dominates the view of the Grand Place, you'll surely find a terrace to recover from the exertions. Do watch out for traffic along some busier roads on the way. It’s 600 m from the Grand Place to the station.

The route

The starting point is the tourist office at the Grand Place (V). Cross this square, turn left onto Rue Eduard Etienne, immediately turning slightly left. At the end, turn right and follow the N533/Rue du Viaduc. Under the Viaduc and at the roundabout, take the Chemin de Feluy to the right. To the left are several ponds in a park. Continue following this road for about 3 km, past the Chemin des Dames, bend left, then turn slightly right, past a dead-end street and at the junction follow the Chemin des Loups to the left (sign Station Géodésique - 1), through a small piece of forest and take Rue Triherée to the right (hollow road), then the first left (Rue Castia). The route goes up and down continually. Always keep right, ignore the Rue d’Henripont to the right, and enjoy the expansive view stretching to the Inclined Plane of Ronquières. Rue Castia becomes Rue d’Henripont/Rue des Héros. Soon you reach the beautiful church of Saint-Nicolas in Henripont (2), a picturesque hamlet of ’s Gravenbrakel. You can rest for a moment on the bench in front of the church. Continue straight through the village until the T-junction with N533 (Av. du Marouset), here turn left. Be careful of traffic here, the road is quite busy. After about 1 km, take the sharp left turn and the Av. de la Hêtraie, entering the Houssière forest. Again up and down, and to the right into the asphalt path Drève des Chevreuils. At the end (T-junction) follow Rue Oscar Denayst to the left. At the next junction, turn right onto Av. des Châtaigniers, then at the end at the T-junction turn left and 100 m further turn right onto Chemin des Dames. After about 300 m, you will reach the Av. du Marouset/N533 again. Watch out! Cross this road and continue through Chemin des Dames until the T-junction. There turn left and follow Av. de la Houssière until you reach Rue Latèrale. You will arrive at a railway. Take the pedestrian tunnel under the track and you will find yourself on the other side in Rue du Moulin, follow that for 300 m. You will then come back to the roundabout shortly after the start of the walk and reach the Grand Place again via Rue Edouard Etienne, the endpoint of the route.