Mullemstraat 1, 9700 Mullem
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Preview waypointsStart in Huise and follow the meandering of the Rooigemsebeek towards Lede, Wannegem and lovely Mullem with this nature walk a stone's throw from Ghent. Highly recommended for anyone who loves wide landscapes, windmills and romantic castles.
The village of Mullem, a sub-municipality of Oudenaarde, is picturesque. The village centre is listed and consists of the Romanesque Sint-Hilarius Church with its walled cemetery, a presbytery and an old municipal school.
This would not be a route in the Flemish Ardennes if you did not come across chapels in several places. Many of them are painted bright blue, a reference to Mary to whom the chapels are dedicated.
A walking path along a walled farmhouse immediately takes you into the meadows and shortly thereafter into the green valley of the Rooigemsebeek. The reservoir along the route was constructed in the 1990s to protect Mullem from flooding. An ecologically important marsh has since developed on this site.
This late 18th-century castle is sometimes called the 'Petit Trianon' of Flanders, after Marie-Antoinette's pleasure garden of the same name at Versailles. The builder Alphonse Baut de Rasmont wanted the neoclassical castle to be an ideal living environment with nature and culture in the lead role, completely in the spirit of the Enlightenment. The plans came from French architect Guimard, who had also designed the Royal Park and Place Royale in Brussels.
The Frenchman chose an English-style castle park, with an orangery, a pheasant cage, a pavilion and a pond, complete with an island. The Wannegem-Ledestraat runs right through the park, which is protected as a monument and landscape. Until 1996, the castle was owned by the old noble de Ghellinck family, but it is now in the hands of a private owner.
Just past the park you can already see the Schietsjampettermolen on the left, which you will pass again later. A windmill stood on this hill as early as the 16th century. In 1708, it served as a watchtower for the army commanders during the Battle of Oudenaarde, but it collapsed in 1959. The mill that stands there today was dismantled in Houtave, West Flanders, in 1981 and moved to this site. The mill owes its curious name to a trigger-happy "champetter" (constable) who shot a bullet in the mill chute following an argument about it.
Further up, you will also pass the Huisekoutermolen, a beautifully restored wooden 'stander' mill that has also been grinding regularly since the end of 2016. This mill was also originally located in West Flanders, in Waregem to be precise, where the municipal council sold it in 1971.
You'll now walk until you reach the castle domain de Gerlache. The road passes an ochre-coloured wall containing the chapel of the Ast. Above the wall is a curious tower built during the First World War as an observation tower, from where you could see both Ghent and Oudenaarde. During the interwar period, the tower served as a chicory drying plant or 'ast', a name that carried over to the surrounding area. In the park stands the Kasteel ter Ast or Kasteel de Gerlache, a French-style pile inhabited by the descendants of Antarctic explorers Adrien and Gaston de Gerlache.