Lumaj wandelt

Intro:

Reaching the Flemish Ardennes, the GR 122 trail suddenly turns into an interesting and captivating experience. Although the distance indicated in the topoguide was underestimated by almost 4 km, we barely noticed it because we were simply enjoying the hike.

We got to see a picturesque stretch of the river Escaut, a good part of the valley of the Zwalm, the Mineworker's Path, the Toep Chapel at Brakel, and a host of rural villages such as Sint-Maria-Latem, Munkzwalm, Sint-Goriks-Oudenhove and Roborst. We owe all this to Omer Wattez, the guy who invented the name 'Flemish Ardennes' and who placed teh region on the tourist maps.

Back and forth:

Baaigem can be reached by bus, but only during the week. Bus 42 starts at the train station of Gent Sint-Pieters at 7.44 am. If you miss it you won't make it to Baaigem before noon. The terminus of the line is Baaigem Bosstraat, only a few hundred meters away from the start of this hike on the road Gent - Zwalm (N444).

We ended the hike in Nederbrakel on the Tenbossestraat (N493). A few hundred meters down that road you reach the main traffic road around Brakel. You're looking at the bus stop Brakel Station. There are regular busses going to Oudenaarde and Ronse.

The hike:

It was early and cold. The winter sun had slowly started its climb above the horizon and was bathing the landscape in warm deep colours. Through the wide open slightly sloping fields we headed for the Prinsenmolen. A bit further the Sint-Bavo church of Baaigem caught the first sunrays. It was the start of quite a long hike.

(click the picture for more images on Picasa)

The farmlands were covered with a thin layer of frost. The asphalted roads were quite slippery as long as the sun couldn't reach them. The dirt roads were slippery too, but there it was because of the mud. We had quite a bit of rain the last few weeks. Just before Dikkelvenne we walked passed the castle Boudries and then started a slow descent towards the river Schelde. We reached the river at Meilegem where we followed an old arm of it. The lowlands had to swallow a lot of water and at several places they were inundated.

A panel next to a nature center tells us we're now entering the Flemish Ardennes region. That was about time because the two previous hikes on the GR 122 trail were not a success. The region around Gent couldn't tempt us at all, but given the solid reputation of the Flemish Ardennes as one of the most beautiful hiking regions in Flanders, things could only get better from now on.
We left the river and came to a little bridge over the Stampkotbeek (a brook). The bridge and a huge mill stone are all that's left from the water mill that used to exist here. Water mills were once typical in this region, but most of them have long gone and the remaining ones are now attractive halting places for hikers and cyclists. However, on this weekday in winter most of those places were closed and deserted.

At Sint-Maria-Latem we descend into the valley of the Zwalm river. Long ago this waterway counted 13 mills. During our hike we met two of them: the IJzerkotmolen and the Zwalmmolen. Near the latter we also noticed the monument for Omer Wattez, the man who placed the Flemish Ardennes on the tourist maps. Walking along the small river we pass by the villages of Munkzwalm and Roborst. Somewhat further we leave the valley to walk passed the hamlet of Knutsegem. This is where the famous bandits leader Jan de Lichte was born. Maybe it was his offspring who had destroyed the new hiker's gate we saw here.

We cross an old railway bedding that was used by the locals to travel to the Walloon Borinage region to work in the coalmines. Now it's an asphalted cycling path, promoted under the name Miners Path. It looks neat, but as hikers we're glad we don't have to follow that straight line.
GR 122 leads us to Sint-Goriks-Oudenhove. In this village the regional GR VA trail (Flemish Ardennes) joins our path. Next to the church we finally find an open café. After a welcome break we start the best part of the hike.
According to the topoguide it's a 2,4 kilometer hike to the Sint-Franciscus College, but that distance is largely underestimated. The trail goes up and down using small countryroads. Now and then we're treated with nice views on Michelbeke. The trail is really worth it, so we don't mind the few additional kilometers on this part of the trail.

At the Sint-Franciscus College we're back at the Zwalmbeek. This is where GR VA leaves us again to go its own way. The Miners Path passes here too and this time there's no escaping it, GR 122 starts following that path during 2 kilometers. During the weekends there's probably lots of bikers here, but today they don't bother us at all, we can count them on one hand. The path ends on the outskirts of Brakel. We're standing in front of the Top bottling company. We now know where the Top drinks come from.
The white/red signs don't lead us to the center of Brakel but take us high up the slopes of the Toppark. The path is stricktly fenced off because the park is off-limits. The Top sources are well protected. Top refers to the hill we're climbing. In the local dialect they pronounce it 'Toep', however the company preferred the official word.
At the top we follow an asphalt road and pass by the elegant 'Toep' Chapel. Deep below us we distinguish the typical pear-shaped tower of the Sint-Pieter-in-de-Banden church.

The trail now descends towards Brakel and on reaching the Tenbossestraat we're at the end of our hike. According to the topoguide we should have walked 24 kilometers, but the track shows a distance of 27,6 kilometers. A solid hike, but worthwhile.