Monstreux - Arquennes

Delightful, quiet walk on the border of Walloon Brabant and Hainaut, through a rolling landscape of meadows, fields, castle farms, small villages with natural stone houses, patches of old forest, springs, brooks, small rivers, and sharply carved little valleys. The centerpiece is the old Brussels-Charleroi canal, where fifteen old locks overcome the significant height difference (the inclined plane of Ronquières - which you can actually see from the route - has taken over their work) and whose surroundings have meanwhile been reclaimed by nature. The paths are largely unpaved and car-free. In the last part, there is a stretch of RaVel, which you share with cyclists (although we hardly encountered any on a beautiful All Saints' Day). There is one obstacle on the route: the Pont de Félix over the Ry de Pont-à-Mousson in the Bois du Planti/Bois de l'Hôpital near the village of Monstreux did not survive the floods of August 2021. We crossed the brook without a bridge, but the detour along the brook upstream and along the edge of the forest to the right over the Chaussée de Soignies is also a pleasant walk (about 1 km extra). There is parking at the start and end point, at the place where the RaVel path crosses the Rue du Gendarme (for GPS: Nivelles, intersection of Rue du Gendarme x Chemin d'Arquennes). Enjoy!