Deep hidden in a fold of the Fagne-Famennedepression lies the Domaine de Massembre. Reporter Eddy was a guide here for many years and mapped out a fine walk.

Text and photo Eddy Vlyminck

This beautiful holiday domain, located just steps from the French border, has been a premier destination for youth camps for decades. In a green and wooded area, many tens of thousands of young people have enjoyed rewarding holidays here with plenty of activities in the unspoiled nature. Meanwhile, recent renovations and the addition of various outdoor activities (regular and water playground, obstacle and rope courses, donkey walks, wildlife park with deer and wild boar, etc.) have ensured that families and adults also find more than their hearts desire here. Today we will walk through the beautiful forests of this domain.

The route

Start at the church Mesnil-Saint-Blaise (V), reachable by bus line 25, Dinant-Beauraing. With your back to the church, cross the square toward the white house (no. 14). There, turn left. A bit further, at the fork, turn right. Directly in front of you, you see the cooling towers of the Chooz nuclear power plant in France. Follow the curve of this road and at the public BBQ area, turn left onto a narrow path next to the fence. A short climb leads you to a small monument with a cross. Continue straight. There’s a short stretch of asphalt that quickly turns into a hardened road. The hardened road makes a 90° bend to the left. Follow this road for a while, with open arable land on your right and barbed wire on your left. Eventually, you enter the forest. Ignore the first side road to the right. Gradually, the path becomes rockier. At an open space on the right, ignore the wide path to the left. After a sometimes slippery stretch over rocks, you reach a narrow side road to the right (1). On the left, there's a sign with a red diamond. Here, turn right. The path descends quite steeply to a narrow river valley. Ignore all side roads. You will eventually reach the river valley. Bend left and follow the rugged path along the river. Eventually, you arrive at a T (2) at a wide gravel road. Right in front of you is the enclosure of the wildlife park with deer and wild boar. Turn right here. Follow this winding road uphill. At an intersection with a view of the domain’s buildings, turn left. Walk down along the buildings of the domain. At the parking lot, keep straight. Where the road bends right, continue to follow the blue diamond. After passing a rope course and pond playground, you reach a stretch of concrete. Cross this and follow the forest path to the left, past a pond (3). Continue along this wide forest path. At a meadow, keep straight. At the end of the meadow, cross the river via a small bridge. A bit further, again a small bridge. Follow this path, through meadow and forest, until you reach a third bridge (4). Immediately after the bridge, turn left and go uphill. Via a rocky path, you climb out of the valley. Ignore all side roads. You walk past 2 houses on the left side and further ahead a house on the right side. This marks the end of the long climb. Keep straight to Mesnil. At a farm, ignore the side road to the right and continue straight, past the sign indicating the village center, until you reach the church.