Heersemmolen walk

Start
We leave at the Sint-Pieterskerk in Erps-Kwerps.
Those who come by public transport can use bus lines 352 (Kraainem-Leuven), 516 (Meerbeek-Haacht), 522 (Kortenberg-Heverlee), 528 (Tervuren-Kortenberg-Winksele), 530 (Kortenberg-Zaventem)
More info: www.delijn.be
For groups of walkers there is a parking lot on St. Peter's Square opposite the church.
The walk
Of course you can pick up anywhere on the hiking trail. But our starting point is at the Sint-Pieterskerk in Erps-Kwerps (more info: The Sint-Pieterskerk in Kwerps). We enter 250 m into the Kasteelstraat. At house no. 16 we turn right into footpath 76. At the first fork we keep right and that's how we get to the Vissegatstraat. There we turn left. We take on the right footpath 88 which runs between the gardens. Before we would come straight on the street we turn right and walk footpath 85 to the end in the Haaggatstraat. We turn left until the end of the Haaggatstraat and turn right. In the bend we turn right into the Galgenveldstraat. At the chapel of Our Lady in Velde we immediately turn left to footpath 44. A little further at the fork we keep right and take footpath 39, which we follow for quite some time. At a T-junction we take a left and follow this for about 50 meters and at the forest at the level of a house we turn right. We follow the designation of a bridle path that is in fact footpath 40 but which is only indicated at the end. There we turn left into footpath 39 until the end. In case of rainfall, this part is very soggy.
We cross the Diestbrugstraat diagonally to buurtweg 33, a only beautiful piece of nature. We arrive in the Donkerstraat which we continue to follow straight ahead. We follow a beautiful passageway to the old water mill Heersemmolen.

We go without disturbing the residents over the courtyard to the Leuvenstraat. To the right of the chapel we certainly go up the stairs to admire the old installation (fish pond with slate drain to the mill etc.). We return to our steps.

The Heersemmolen, which is first mentioned in 1356, takes its name from the Frankish place name "Hendersem", residence of Hendrik. It is located on the Molenbeek, which was already artificially raised over a distance of 2 km during the Middle Ages to ensure the water supply of the mill. The oldest parts, built in orange Spanish brick and white sandstone, date from the 15th century. Over the next 500 years, it was regularly rebuilt and expanded. In the facades one can clearly see the various construction periods. Inside, the construction is still in good condition. In 1986 the mill was restored and milled again. The Heersemmolen is now a residential area and protected as a monument and village view.

In the Leuvenstraat we turn right. After 650 m we turn right and into a path with a row of tall conifers on the left. Here we find the signage of Natuurpunt (yellow sphere and arrow). We follow this path to the field chapel dedicated to Our Lady of Banneux at a crossroads. There we take the path (footpath 50 on territory Herent) in the direction of the church of Veltem-Beisem and thus arrive in the Kerkstraat. We turn right. After the reedbed you will find the start of the Molenbeek valley nature trail on the left. We take the bat path that is a bit slippery in rainy weather. After a bit through the forest we arrive via a paved road in the L. Van Veltemstraat. We turn right. Over the bridge of the Molenbeek we turn left into the Diestbrugstraat. At the triangle square we go straight ahead into footpath 1 which after a while becomes neighborhood road 23. We always go straight ahead and after 1.5 km we arrive in the Haaggatstraat. We turn left and after 150 m turn left again into the Procession Road. We arrive in the Kouterstraat and turn right and reach the Sint Pieterskerk again, where we left.

For the thirsty there are two cafes nearby and as it fits on a real Flemish square, a fries stand.