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Last Thursday was a public holiday in Belgium. I actually found myself in London for the day with work and since I had the Friday off, I had thought about heading straight from London to the Midlands for another weekend of Welsh Hewitt bagging. However, I decided instead to return to Brussels and spent Saturday exploring some of the trails around Dinant. Belgium is covered and crossed by various GR trails, easily identified by their red and white markers and for this walk, in a big circle around Dinant, I spent roughly half the time following the GR125 northwards on the east bank of the Meuse and the other half moving southwards on the GR129 on the river’s west bank.
Dinant is beautifully located on the Meuse and is overlooked by a citadel that was the scene of fierce fighting in the opening weeks of the first world war. It’s under 2 hours from Brussels by train and an ideal destination for a day hike away from the capital city. Steep hillsides and crags (many popular with rock climbers) rise up from the riverbank and surround the town. Whoever said Belgium was flat was lying. It may not have any mountains but has plenty of steep terrain, especially in this part of the country, on the very edge of the Ardennes.
My walk began with a steep slog out of the town to gain the citadel, before descending towards the town centre again near to the Abbaye Notre-Dame de Leffe, where the eponymous beer was originally brewed (today it’s brewed at the Stella brewery in Leuven, along with loads of other InBev brands). Next the route climbs out of the town to the north east, skirting a large quarry before crossing plateau to the village of Awagne. Here I stopped to consume my sandwich lunch. The weather was extremely hot; around 30 degrees and blazing sunshine so I was glad to find a shady spot near the church. I was concerned that with just one litre I was not carrying enough water.
From Awagne, the GR125 runs through fields and woodland to reach the railway bridge at Houx. Here I had to decide whether to continue on the GR125 northwards to Godinne (from where I could catch a train back to Brussels) or to cross the Meuse and loop back into Dinant itself. I decided on the latter option mainly because of the water situation. I had passed Godinne on the train in from Brussels and there didn’t appear to be much near the station by way of shops or cafes. In Dinant there would be no shortage of choice for post-walk refreshment which I knew I would be desperate for by the end of the walk.
I crossed the rail bridge by a small pedestrian walkway and then had a pleasant stretch of walking right along the Meuse itself before crossing through a pedestrian tunnel under the railway and picking up the GR129 footpath climbing through woods again. I was by now down to about my last 300ml of water so was glad to be walking in shade. The latter stages of the walk involved quite a bit more up and down and by the time I reached the centre of Dinant I was exhausted and extremely thirsty. I plonked myself in the first cafe I saw and enjoyed several soft drinks - in my state of dehydration a beer would not have been a wise choice.
Too tired to think about exploring Dinant’s diverse tourist attractions I headed straight for the station to catch the first train back to Brussels. By the time I reached home I was nicely rehydrated and able to enjoy a couple of Hoegarden with dinner. So, another great walk in Belgium. Certainly demanding enough to count as solid training for the Alps.
