A short but sweet country walk starting from the Roeselberg Chapel in Houwaart, Tielt-Winge. Ideal for a morning or afternoon weekend stroll with the kids.
Houwaart is a small municipality about 8 km south of Aarschot and 20 km east of Leuven. Starting point is the Roeselberg Chapel. This is easily accessible by car from the N223 which zooms between Sint-Joris-Winge and Aarschot. There’s plenty of car parking space in the grounds of the chapel. By public transport you’re going to have a bit more fun (= it’s not straightforward). You need to find your way to the Houwaart-Roeselberg bus stop by using De Lijn bus 374 or 392. From there, it’s just a short walk to the chapel.
Officially going by the title “Kapel Onze-Lieve-Vrouw-ter-Stokskes” the chapel is more easily known as the Roeselbergkapel. Its oldest bricks date from the 17th century when it was a popular pilgrimage site. Its benefactors for centuries were the Lords of Cleerbeek. It had a serious facelift in the 1960s, including a new Way of the Cross which you can visit in its grounds.
Below is the map of the route, downloadable as a PDF. The GPX track is available as always from my RouteYou page. Most of the route is on soft ground, some of it is on quiet country lanes. Most of the northern part of the route goes through the Walenbos, a thick deciduous forest.
From the chapel you can go clockwise or anticlockwise. Liz and I went widdershins, thus heading south, although you can see from the photo that it wasn’t too clear which junction we were heading towards:
There’s not a lot more to say about the Roeselberg Chapel walk. It’s very pleasant. A bit muddy in parts so you need strong shoes or boots. Good for the family. Children might have fun navigating from numbered node to node (234-239-240-241-242-231-232-233-234). Here’s some pictures to enthuse you.
I’d love to know how you get on. Add your comments below. Send me your photos and I’ll be happy to add them to the post. Or contact me if you have a question.
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thank you for ever wonderful suggestions of where to spned precious time outside during the COVID pandemic
Thanks Mike! I find it incredibly beneficial to get outside and walk during these times, and I’m happy to share.
In not-covid times there’s also a yearly second hand market around the Roeselberg chapel.
I didn’t realize that the ‘Walenbos’ was so close to the chapel.
Visited Walenbos starting from Houwaart centre, in the vicinity from point 231.
The path in the forest between 242 and 232 is also worthy to walk (with boots only).
Thanks Jacques, I will keep an eye open for the market when next it’s held. And thanks for the tip: yes, the Walenbos can be a bit wet in places over the autumn/winter.
I can’t say how grateful I am for all these ideas walking ideas – my sanity depends on them! Thank you Denzil
Thank you for your kind and appreciative comment Marion, and I wish you well in these challenging times.
Beautiful autumnal views Denzil!
Thanks, it’s been an outstanding autumn. No wind to blow them off too. Yet.
What a beautiful mushroom! That alone made the walk worthwhile. 🙂
Yes that is a mildly hallucinogenic one Rosaliene,!
Beautiful autumn walk, pretty chapel too.
It looks very pretty with all the trees wearing their autumn colours.