Laforêt (The Legends Walk from one of the most beautiful villages of Wallonia )

À Laforêt

A - The Legends Walk Voir sur la carte

Laforêt has retained the typical character of southern Ardennes villages.

From the village fountain, as you go along you will discover, at the corner of a narrow path or a bend, the wild hunter, the white lady, the satyr, the devil, the gnomes or the werewolf...

Practical details
Distance: 2 km
Waymarking: blue cross
Difficulty: easy
Time: 1 h
Start: the Pinocchio workshop in Laforêt.

Tip Voir sur la carte

At the end of the walk, in Mawhotte, a picnic site has been set out.

Did you know? Voir sur la carte

Laforêt prospered when tobacco was grown on the alluvial banks of the Semois. Bearing witness to this past, a number of driers stand in the centre of this beautiful village, brimming with character.

À Laforêt

B - Walking Voir sur la carte

The ‘Trellis Bridge’ (Pont des Claies) through the ages

Below the village, a wooden footbridge made of trellises is thrown across the Semois in summer. This is the legacy of the tobacco growers, who once used it to reach the fertile soil along the river bank without having to go all the way round… The walk will take you there.

Practical details
Distance: 3 km
Waymarking: red rectangle
Difficulty: easy (N.B. the trellis bridge only crosses the Semois in summer)
Time: 1 h
Start: the walk starts at the church in Laforêt

À Vresse-sur-Semois

C - Vresse-sur-Semois Voir sur la carte

Vresse-sur-Semois, nestling on the banks of the Semois in a forest setting, has inspired many a landscape painter. This village, lying on the edge of the province of Namur, is on a human scale, as is the little Saint-Lambert stone bridge that takes you across into another world, that of the imaginary Ardennes.

Did you know? Voir sur la carte

The apron on Saint-Lambert’s bridge is so narrow that only pedestrians, cyclists and horse riders are able to cross! This architectural particularity is said to result from a decision taken by Saint Lambert himself, the patron of Vresse. He wanted to prevent Saint Agatha, patron of Laforêt, from coming and spreading the Christian faith in his lands – and she travelled only by horse-drawn carriage!

À Gros-Fays

D - One of the most beautiful villages of Wallonia Voir sur la carte

Far moved from the main roads, this quiet, peaceful village is the perfect place to walk. It is perched on the side of a hill going down towards the Semois. Its forest, full of beech trees, is one of its riches.  

Below the village, a number of shale quarries, widely exploited in the past, hollowed out cavities that can still be seen today. A few driers also bear witness to the tobacco once grown here.  

A seignory of the Duchy of Bouillon had its court of justice here and built a magnificent fortified farm in the 17th century. A wash house dating from 1865 stands in the centre of the village surrounded by a huddle of shale houses, many of which have been restored to look identical from the outside.

À Vresse

E - Reception and tourist information site Voir sur la carte

Maison du Tourisme de « l'Ardenne Namuroise » - www.ardenne-namuroise.be