Neighborhood-on-the-leg walk LOKEREN-ZUID -Every step counts!10 000 steps walk.

We leave at the picnic spot at the end of the Jozef De Veusterstraat. This street is part of the "Missionarissenwijk" on Spoele. We know Jozef De Veuster better as Father Damien (1840-1889) who worked as a missionary with the lepers on the Molokai Islands. He was beatified in 1995. We walk back out of this street and turn right in Spoele. We follow it to under the railway. We arrive in the Lokerhoutstraat where after 100 meters we turn right into the cycling and walking path. We follow the arrows "Industry E17" and "Zele". This beautiful cycling and walking path crosses the Driesstraat. In the Driesstraat we notice on the left the beautifully restored chapel of Our Lady of Perpetual Assistance, which is already mentioned in the 18th century. We come from the walking path in the Bokslaarstraat. We have been walking next to the LokerenZele-Dendermonde-Brussels railway line all the time now. In the Bokslaarstraat we cross the railway and after 50 meters we turn right in the Spieveldstraat on the footpath through Everslaarbos.
The city of Lokeren and the Agency for Nature and Forest joined forces 17 years ago for the purchase and realization of a buffer forest of 30 ha between the industrial park E17-3 and the residential area. Only native trees were planted in this forest and a cycling and walking path winds through the greenery. The forest is landscaped with a number of open spaces in which a pool and some play hills provide recreation. We follow the entire wide hiking trail of Everslaarbos to the end. Here we turn right into the Rolandstraat. This chapel of Our Lady of Troost was demolished and rebuilt in 2009 by the city of Lokeren. It is still known by the popular name Bakkerskapelleken after the family that has maintained the chapel for decades. At the end of the chapel we turn right into the Everslaarstraat. We have now walked 3.4 km. We follow the Everslaarstraat for about 450m and then turn left into the so-called "Kongowegels". This wegel can be found between the building of Jehovah's Witnesses and the house with number 13. We follow this road to the cobblestone road where we turn left for a while and then arrive at the petanque field in the Lenenstraat. At the end of the Lenenstraat we turn right into the Naastveldstraat. After 200m. we turn left into the Sterrestraat and then walk into the Zonnestraat (first street on the right). We follow the Zonnestraat past the central square and turn left into the Mercuriusstraat. We follow it straight ahead and cross the bridge to the Koningin Fabiolalaan. On the Koningin Fabiolalaan we turn right and follow the ring road until just before the railway bridge. Before the railway bridge we walk right, we go up the dirt road over the canal and walk under the railway bridge to the Hovenierstraat. We turn right in the Hovenierstraat, and then at the end we come back into the Lokerhoutstraat and turn right. Via Spoele we return to the picnic spot, our starting place.