In and around the Berendries walking route

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In and around the Berendries walking route

Length
12,7 km
Time
2u 15m
Terrain
58% Verhard

Sint-Hubertusplein 3, 9620 Zottegem

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Wandelknooppuntenbord

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In and Around the Berendries walking route

You won't come across any bears on the Berendries (Bear Square). But you will come across racing cyclists, as this hill is an icon of the course. If you come in the right season - midwinter - you can also sample the (locally) world-renowned 'geutelingen' here. Don't forget sturdy walking boots and pack lightly, as the route has a few tough climbs in store for you.

Starting point

SINT-HUBERTUS SQUARE

Koffie Hoorens.jpg

Koffie Hoorens is a household name in Flanders. If the name doesn't immediately ring a bell, we'll give you another clue: Panamarenko. That's right, owner Eveline Hoorens is the widow of the internationally acclaimed artist who passed away in 2019.

Eveline has run the coffee business for years on the Sint-Hubertus Square in the small village of Sint-Maria-Oudenhove. Here's a good tip for coffee aficionados to get you started: pop in after the walk to get your fill of artisanally roasted delicious coffee. Of course you're also free to just sample some coffee. But first, the walk!

 

Node 34-29

ELVERENBERG AND VOSSENHOL

Op en rond de Berendries (38) (1).jpg

You'll soon leave the small village of Sint-Maria-Oudenhove as you head towards checkpoint 34. To your right, the landscape stretches out before you in a broad rolling panorama. You can enjoy the view until you get a little further up at the Ravotters Forest, a one-hectare century-old beech forest that was narrowly saved from being completely cleared in 2019, thanks to a public campaign. Here you're on a flank of the Elverenberg, and you can look down on the green meadows between the village centres of Michelbeke and Sint-Maria-Oudenhove.

Node 29

MINERS' TRAIL

Mijnwerkerspad Zwalm 2 David Samyn.jpg
Mijnwerkerspad_DavidSamyn.jpg
Mijnwerkerspad_Zwalm.jpg

After the boardwalk on the Zegelaarbeek, you'll arrive at checkpoint 26 at the Jansveld nature preserve. A little further up at checkpoint 29 is the Miners' Trail, a former train route between Zottegem and Blaton in Hainaut that fell into disuse and was transformed into a hiking and cycling trail.

Trains full of miners passed through here in the late 19th century. The miners travelled to Wallonia clean and fresh, and came back from the mines exhausted and black. These days, it's mostly quiet walking here. The only thing you have to watch out for as a hiker is the occasional bike racing past. You are in the Flemish Ardennes after all. Aside from being a hiking mecca, it's also and above all a cycling mecca.

Node 38

Berendries

Berendries.jpg

At node 40, we leave the Miner's Trail and walk along unpaved paths to the Berendries, the highest hill in the Zwalm region (98 metres). Against all expectations, this famous climb from the Tour is no longer cobbled, but is nevertheless an icon of the race and the favourite climb of Greg Van Avermaet.

This walking route only goes over the Berendries for a very short distance, but it's enough for you to soak up the atmosphere and re-energize a bit. If you're really thirsty, you can quench it here (literally) in huge glasses, because in the middle of the hill there is actually a bona fide Tyrolean Alpine chalet. Here you can order half litres of pilsner, but you can also just sample a local beer or fruit juice, or grab a snack.

Michelbeke

Michelbeke keeps alive a centuries-old tradition honouring of Appollonia, the patron saint of good teeth. Every year around Candlemas, from late January to late February, fire ovens are stoked up here and in Elst, to bake 'geutelingen'. These are a kind of oven cake, which at their best can be compared to leavened pancakes. You eat a geuteling hot and fresh, with brown sugar, for example. In other words, February is one of the better months to come and enjoy this walk.

Node 36

SINT-HUBERTUS SQUARE