Source forests between Everbeek and D'Hoppe

Walk along junctions through spring forests west of Everbeek-Boven. Departure in Everbeek-Boven and through the Everbeek forests (Steenbergbos and Hayesbos) and the Livierenbos to D'Hoppe (Pottelbergbos). Return to Livierenbos to return via the Trimpontbos (Everbeek forests) back to the start.

Junctions: 1-96-95-98-97-29-27-26-43-38-14-9-6-5-51-34-29-85-87-35-36-3-4-7-6-2

Everbeek

Everbeek is a place in the Belgian province of East Flanders and a part of the municipality of Brakel. It is located in the Flemish Ardennes in the southern part of the province, close to the border with Wallonia, and in the Dender region. The old village center is located in the south of the district, and is called Everbeek-Beneden. A younger and separate parish is located in the north and is called Everbeek-Boven. At the official establishment of the language border in 1963, the then municipality of Hainaut was transferred to East Flanders.

Everbeekse bossen

The Everbeekse Woods are a recognized nature reserve in the Flemish Ardennes in Southeast Flanders (Belgium). The 34 ha large forest area is located in the municipality of Brakel (district Everbeek) and is managed by Natuurpunt. The Everbeekse woods currently consist of four separate forests: the Trimpontbos, the Steenbergbos, the Parikebos, and the Hayesbos. Through the Hayesbos and the wooded Buistemberg, the Everbeekse woods connect to the Walloon Livierenbos (Bois de La Louvière) in Vloesberg (Flobecq) in the Pays des Collines.

The Everbeekse woods are situated on witness hills in a typical Flemish Ardennes landscape: rolling valleys, deeply cut valleys, and wooded hilltops. In the rapidly flowing spring brooks of, among others, the Verrebeek (which springs at the Hayesbos) and the Terkleppebeek (which springs in the forests around Trimpont), extremely rare fish such as the brook trout, the river knight, and the brook lamprey live. The reserve also provides habitats for various species including the black hairstreak, the leather beetle, the large and small butterfly, the emperor moth, the elm hairstreak, and the skewflower white. The dead wood in the Everbeekse woods provides food and shelter for various animals such as fire salamanders, brown frogs, common toads, alpine newts, small water salamanders, smooth newts, and blindworms. The bird population is also extensive with, among others, buzzards, wasp eagles, kestrels, tree falcons, sparrowhawks, hawks, peregrine falcons, tawny owls, little owls, barn owls, long-eared owls, hawfinches, and nuthatches... Common mammals include roe deer, edible dormice, pygmy mice, weasels, stoats, polecats, and foxes. The beech forests are especially known for their exuberant spring flora: wild hyacinth, wood anemone, wild garlic, wild daffodil, Solomon's seal,... Other species such as snowdrops, bittercress, golden saxifrage, slender sedge, pendulous sedge, giant horsetail, bitter field cress, one-flower, purple toothwort, and dark stork's bill are also common.

Livierenbos

The Livierenbos (French: Bois de la Louvière) is a forest on the border of the Flemish Ardennes in Southeast Flanders and the Walloon Pays des Collines in Hainaut (Belgium). It is part of the forest belt on the witness hills of the region (including the Brakelbos and the Everbeekse woods). The forest area lies directly on the language border in the area between the municipalities of Brakel and Vloesberg (Flobecq).

The forest is almost entirely located in Vloesberg, with only its outcroppings (including on the 'Buistemberg') lying in Brakel. The forest is recognized as 'Site de Grand Intérêt Biologique'. The Livierenbos is (together with the Pottelbergbos (Bois du Pottelberg), an offshoot of the Flemish Brakelbos in D'Hoppe (La Houppe)) protected as a European Natura 2000 area under the name 'Vallée de la Rhosnes' (on the Flemish side the outcroppings of the Livierenbos on the Buistemberg (Hayesbos, Everbeekse woods) and Tenbergen (Upper Zwalm) are protected as 'Forests of the Flemish Ardennes and other South Flemish forests').

The Livierenbos is situated in the very hilly landscape of the Flemish Ardennes and the Pays des Collines, with steep valley sides, rolling hills, and deeply cut stream valleys. The toponym Bois de la Louvière, in Dutch Livierenbos, has a Romance origin and indicates a dwelling place of wolves. Wolves were sighted here until the 17th century, leading to fierce hunts each time. The forest was also known for its large quantities of medicinal herbs. The Livierenbos provides shelter for numerous animal species, including the middle spotted woodpecker, wasp eagle, buzzard, roe deer, and fox. The Livierenbos is a so-called Atlantic beech forest ('cathedral forest') that primarily consists of beeches. The area is characterized by spring bloomers. In the spring, the woodland hyacinth creates a colorful patchwork. Among the dense undergrowth, other plants like ivy, male fern, and lady fern thrive.

D’Hoppe

D'Hoppe (French: La Houppe) is a hamlet in the Belgian province of Hainaut. It is a predominantly Dutch-speaking hamlet belonging to the municipality of Vloesberg (French: Flobecq). It lies on the Pottelberg, with the Rhodesberg to the east. The municipality of Vloesberg has long been a disputed area between Flanders and Wallonia, previously between the counties of Flanders and Hainaut. In those days, it was referred to as the Debattenland. The municipality of Vloesberg remained with the establishment of the language border in the province of Hainaut and thus in the French-speaking area. However, the municipality has language facilities for Dutch speakers who request them.