Intro
This is not the kind of hike you'll never forget. You'll see a few interesting places along the walk (Zoerselbos and Lovenhoek), but most of the time you'll cross housing quarters and a fragmented unattractive agricultural area.
Nevertheless, if you plan to hike the full GR 5 (E 2) trail this is part of the game too. At least it gives you something to compare the rest of the trail to …
Travel information
Start and finish of the hike are easy to reach by public transport.
From the Rooseveltplaats in Antwerpen bus 410 drives you straight to the Abbey of Westmalle. The name of the bus stop there is Westmalle Lacroixlaan.
At the church of Grobbendonk (bus stop Grobbendonk Dorp) you have a choice between busses 420 and 427. Both take you straight back to the center of Antwerpen.
The hike
The first 4 kilometers of the hike take you zig-zag through the residential quarters of Sint-Antonius, a village belonging to the community of Zoersel. In sofar public paths still exist in this kind of areas, there's always the threat of privatisation (officially as well as unofficially). At one moment we had to ignore the plastic ribbons that were closing off a path between two houses. If the white/red signs didn't tell us to follow that path, we wouldn't have dared to enter it.
Ten to twenty years ago this was a quiet rural region. One of the first youth hostels in Flanders was built here which means it must have been an attractive recreational area at the time. The youth hostel (named Gagelhof) still exists, but today it's situated in the middle of a residential quarter where noisy lawnmowers sing their monotonous Civilisation Blues.
At last the trail enters the protected Zoersel forest. The next two kilometers take us through this forest to the wellknown Boshuisje (a tavern). This is an important place for GR 5 hikers, because this is where the northern west and east branches of the European E 2 trail meet. You'll find more information about the place in our report on the GR 565 hike Deurne – Zoersel (Renier Sniederspath).
(click the picture for more images on Picasa)
A bit further we cross the busy E34 (Antwerpen – Eindhoven) highway and the national road N14 (Oostmalle – Lier). The hike now leads us through a very fragmented and dull rural landscape. In the distance a windmill is reminiscent of times gone by. We're now heading for the nature reserve Krabbels (locally called Lovenhoek).
This is the second nice part of the hike. It's good to know a lot of efforts are invested in the conservation and restoration of this green treasure.
Much too soon the nature reserve lies behind us. We're now walking through the outskirts of Pulle and the residential quarters of Grobbendonk. The trail signs are not always clear, but the map in the topoguide helps a lot.
The trail is heading for the Kleine Nete (a small river). Above the trees we notice industrial buildings. That's where the Albert Canal must be situated. However, both waterways remain invisible. A fish pond and a small lake is all we get to see before we arrive in the center of Grobbendonk.
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