A fourth delightful walk in the Geographical Arboretum of Tervuren, this time to spot some of the trees of Eastern America.
Yesterday, it was time for me to revisit the Geographical Arboretum in Tervuren. So far I’ve done three walks through this exceptional place, covering the Mediterranean, West America, and Asia. This time it was back over the Atlantic Ocean to visit Eastern America.
Recently, I was asked which of the walks through the Arboretum could I recommend for young children. I really couldn’t choose one. They are all excellently signposted and maintained. Some of them are a bit muddy in places, especially at this time of the year (November). So you need to take waterproof shoes or boots. But all are suitable for children. In some places it will be difficult to push a buggy.
The Eastern America Walk starts from the car park at the end of Jezus Eiklaan, Tervuren. I explain how to reach it by car or bus here.
A few words about this map – and all the RouteYou maps that I include on this blog. You can save/print the map as you see fit. You can get the GPX track for your device from my RouteYou page. Alternatively, you can scan the QR code on the top-right of the map above. This will activate the route on your smartphone. If you have already installed the RouteYou app on your smartphone, your device will detect it and open the route in the app. Otherwise, the map will open in your smartphone browser. Either way, once the route opens, you can click on “START” and you can follow the route in navigation mode.
How to scan a QR code on your phone, by using your phone
“Ah,” you say, “if I’m looking at the map on my smartphone, how do I scan the QR code with the very same smartphone?” A good question. At first sight it seems like the similar impossibility of using your phone to take a photo of your phone. But it’s easier than you might think.
The process may differ slightly depending on the type of phone and browser. I use the Chrome browser on my Android phone. If I’m looking at a RouteYou map with the QR code in the top-right corner, I long-press the QR code. I then select ‘Search image with Google Lens’ from the menu that pops up. This will then display the URL found within the code, which you can press, and hey presto you have the route in front of you! You can press START to follow it (if you have the RouteYou app as I describe above; otherwise it’s in your browser). So, if the technology works, that’s a quick and easy way to follow a route “live” on your smartphone. However, I’m fully aware that saying the phrase “if the technology works” is no guarantee that it’s going to work!
Eastern America starts here!
But back to the walk. In the car park, there are three entrances with gates like this. This walk starts from the one on the far left (when you have your back to the road):
The walk is only 3 km long, so if you get a good pace up you’d finish it in less than an hour. However, it’s one of those walks and areas that deserve taking your time over. It took me two hours, although I spent a lot of time taking photographs, listening to the birds, watching a couple of roe deer in the distance, and generally staring into space thinking what a beautiful, enchanting place this is.
The Arboretum website says that on this walk it’s possible to see such typical Eastern American trees as the hickory or bitternut (Carya), tupelo (Nyssa), sweetgum (Liquidambar) and tulip tree (Liriodendron). However, as I’ve mentioned before, unless you’re a tree expert and know what to look for, it’s difficult to identify these trees as they are not (in general) labeled. So just enjoy the atmosphere and soak up all this pure oxygen that these magnificent trees are producing!
Unfortunately, as you can see, the sunshine stayed hidden behind thick cloud. Just imagine what the colors would be like on a sunny day! Perhaps you’ll be lucky when you go there! As always, if you have questions, drop me a line or a comment below. And if want to get email notifications of new posts, just add your email below:
I live near the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, and your tree pictures look very accurate to me. Beautiful!
Now I’ve got the famous song going through my head…
Lovely photos Denzil and useful advice re the App, which I must download. I recognise some of the places so I must have wandered around here in a slightly lost way a few times!
Thanks Sel. Well the place is a maze of footpaths so you probably have wandered along some of these. When I’ve finished these smaller signed routes I’m going to make one big walk through the whole of the arboretum. Around The World in 3 or 4 hours!
Fabulous. What I like about the forest round here is that there’s always something new to discover. Have you also been to the arboretum at Groendaal? That one has labels on the trees ?
I’ve passed through it but never spent time in it. Thanks for the suggestion.
Your photos are beautiful, Denzil. The autumn colours are glorious.
Hi Denzil – I grew up in the northeastern U.S., and this section of the arboretum looks familiar and very pleasant to me.
Was thinking of you while I was on the walk Robert. There, our secret’s out!
Ha, thanks Denzil.
Although this time of year, it’s deer-hunting season, and if they want the authentic northeastern experience, they should add shotgun blasts and discarded beer cans along the trails.
Don’t give them any ideas Robert!
Hi Denzil…Yes, the trees in this section of the park are quite familiar. However, looking at your photos made me sad because the trees in one of North Carolina’s most beautiful state parks have been going up in flames for the past few days due to our extremely dry and windy weather. Summers fires were common when I lived on the West Coast of the USA, but this is a very rare phenomenon here in the Southeast. A harbinger of our climate future I fear for many regions.
That’s bad news Henry.I grieve when I hear and see news reports of the great forests of North America going up in flames and the centuries-old redwoods and sequoias disappearing, amongst other species of trees.
Gorgeous autumn colour. I do love arboretums, you can travel the world in just one walk!
Absolutely, carbon-neutral too!
Exactly 😀