Charming ride along the winding Dender with picturesque locks and drawbridges, through the Bois d’Acren and over calm, rural roads between meadows and fields with beautiful vistas.

Text and photos Stan Verelst

The route

Meeting at KP 32 on Place d’Ostiches in Ostiches (V). Depart with the church on your left, ignore the little street to Wannebecq on the left and then turn left onto Rue de Flobecq, direction Rebaix, and cycle until KP 36. Go straight, towards KP 40. ● Mill lovers can cycle 100 m to the right here, to visit Le Blanc Moulin d’Ostiches (1), with information boards in four languages. You continue cycling towards KP 40, past the end of the Ostiches agglomeration sign, over the Chemin de Pidebecq. Ignore the side streets and after a turn to the right, turn left. ● You are still riding through the Chemin de Pidebecq, past a brick field chapel with tiles and a field cross behind it and past the name sign of Rebaix. Then cross the A8-E429 highway and cycle along the Rebaix agglomeration sign, between speed bumps and next to a playground to Place de Rebaix with the St. Amand’s Church. Cycle with a left-right curve next to and around the church. ● At the next intersection, turn left into Chemin de Tenre. You descend and a bit further, the road has been made car-free with a boulder. Cross the Rieu d’Ardenne and climb to the crossroads with the large crucifix at a white house. In the garden just before it on the left, there is a Sacred Heart chapel with pillars and temple-like features. Turn right onto the N56 and cross a railway, and on the other side turn left and at the T-junction, immediately after turn right. ● Cycle past the buildings of the former Moulin de Tenre (2) to the Dender. Cross that via the drawbridge and you're at KP 40. Turn left, towards KP 39.

Neglected castle

Now follows a delightful stretch of cycling along the winding Dender. You cycle past a lock adorned with flowers, ride under a bridge, cross La Sille, and then arrive at the drawbridge with KP 39. Keep following the winding Dender straight ahead, towards KP 35. Cycle under the A8-E429 highway to KP 35 at the drawbridge and the lock of Papignies. ● Turn right, between the fields, towards KP 38. You’ll be there already at the first crossroads. Turn left, towards KP 39. Why? You’ve been there already. Right, but this is a ‘different’ KP 39. You cycle past a thicket, and at the next intersection, turn left and cycle on a narrow concrete road between the fields, and if the corn isn’t too high, you can see a beautiful 360° panorama. At the T-junction, the left leads to a farm, so turn right and continue through the open landscape to the priority road. ● Turn left along the agglomeration sign of Ollignies over the narrow bike path, next to a wider concrete road. At the first crossroads, turn right until you reach the busy N57. Turn right onto the dotted line bike path. After 200 m, turn left opposite the neglected castle of Ollignies (3), towards Bois-de-Lessines. You cycle past Café du Centre and a square with petanque courts until you reach KP 39 at the mini roundabout in front of the modern St. Agathe Church of Ollignies. ● Cycle through the roundabout almost straight ahead, left along the church, and then turn left into Rue des Combattants, towards KP 40. You’re there already after 300 m at the railway crossing and the old station of Ollignies. Until 1960, a train ran here between Bassilly and Lessines. Go straight, towards KP 41.

Lock of Deux-Acren

The asphalt becomes a concrete road and you climb between loose development and fields. At the intersection with a dead-end forest path on the right, continue to follow Rue des Combattants on the left, along the edge of the forest. You cycle along the agglomeration sign of Bois-de-Lessines until a priority road. Turn right to a mini roundabout. ● Turn left, second exit, and at Place de Lessines, just before the church, turn left again. Climb along a high wall and at the first little junction, go straight over the wide concrete road until you can turn left onto Rue de Gages. At the intersection with KP 41, turn left towards KP 46. ● You descend and cycle through the forest and past Château de l’Estriverie (4) and a little further, left behind a field, the beautiful Chapelle Saint-Joseph (5), which belongs to the castle. Ignore a road to the left and turn right at KP 46, towards KP 32, over a road for local traffic, first between the meadows, then through Bois d’Acren. ● You pass the name sign of Deux-Acren and after the forest past the agglomeration sign of Deux-Acren. Ignore all side roads and continue cycling until you reach Rue du Pont. ● Turn left and further on, cross the drawbridge over the Dender. You are now at KP 32. Turn right, past café Le Stade, towards KP 28 and Grammont for cyclists. You cycle past the lock and weir of Deux-Acren and follow the Dender until you arrive just before a bridge at KP 28. ● Under the bridge, it goes further to Grammont, Geraardsbergen, that is. Choose left, towards KP 21.

Open agricultural landscape

You ride past the soccer fields of Stade André Vandermonst, where Royale Entente Acren Lessines plays its home matches, and a thicket with Canadian poplars. ● Ignore all side roads and continue cycling until you reach the center of Deux-Acren at a T-junction. Turn right until you reach St. Martin's Church and then turn left. You cross a railway and continue straight ahead. Ignore the side roads until you reach a mandatory stop. Cross that straight ahead, towards Ghoy. Leave a dead-end road on your right and continue straight ahead, through the open landscape until you reach the crossroads with KP 21. Go straight, towards KP 20. Ignore the side roads, cycle past the cemetery of Ghoy and descend to the intersection with a brick chapel on the left and KP 20. Turn right, towards KP 19. ● Climb through Laisette to KP 19. Diagonally left, towards KP 50. The road still bears the name Laisette. Continue cycling on the wide concrete road, past a brick chapel and past the end of the agglomeration sign of Ghoy. Further on, you cycle past the name sign of Ogy and after the agglomeration sign of Ogy, you arrive at KP 50. This is located on the old railway bed of Line 87, left leads to Lessines and Ath, right to Renaix, Ronse that is. ● Go straight, towards KP 18 until you can turn left next to the church at Place des Combattants. Continue cycling to the mandatory stop. Cross the busy N57 straight ahead and continue towards Papignies. At KP 18 go straight, towards 21. You cycle past a brick chapel and then take the first road left. ● Follow this road for local traffic through the open agricultural landscape and ignore the side roads until you reach KP 21. Go straight, towards KP 24. At the first intersection, go straight and at the next, after the first house, turn right and continue until a priority road. Turn right, past a white chapel with tiles and then, in the bend of the road, at KP 24, turn left, towards KP 33. Ignore a side road to the right and continue cycling until you reach KP 33. Go straight and 200 m further, turn right, towards KP 32. This is the Chemin du Tilloir. Pay no attention to side roads and enjoy the gently rolling open landscape. Cross the Trimpont and you can already see the Blanc Moulin of Ostiches standing in the distance. At the intersection in the village of Ostiches, turn left, along the church to the departure point. One-way traffic, but not for cyclists.