A pleasant 12 km circular walk starting from the Castle of Lavaux-Sainte-Anne
The tiny village of Lavaux-Sainte-Anne, near Rochefort in the province of Namur, is famous for its beautiful and well-maintained castle, the first stones of which were laid in 1450. The castle in turn is famous for being a major heritage site of Wallonia. Also, readers who are tennis fans might be interested to know that the castle is where Justine Henin married in 2002.
Lavaux-Sainte-Anne was the destination last Sunday for me and my youngest daughter Suzanna. We had planned a 12 km walk in the morning, and a visit to the cooler castle in the afternoon when temperatures were due to rise to 27°C. This post is about the walk. If you want to know how we got on when we visited the castle, read this post.
We parked in the castle’s free car park and set off, following the route clockwise:
You can download the route here from RouteYou. Here you can get the GPX file for your GPS device. Or you can download the PDF of the route here.
As you can see from the map, it has a nice combination of open fields and hills, with some wooded areas that offered some pleasant shade as the temperature rose. I indicate an alternative path on the map because the footpath was flooded. If this is the case, just walk uphill about ten metres, exactly where the arrow is pointing. You will come to a fence. Walk along the fence parallel to the footpath and you will be OK (see photo below).
A HIGHLY RECOMMENDED 12K WALK
The walk is 12 km so can be completed in a morning or an afternoon. Although of course you can take your time and spend the day walking. We enjoyed a leisurely picnic sitting on the bridge over the La Wimbe. The route has a slight climb but nothing too strenuous.
All in all, this is a highly recommended walk which, combined with a visit to the castle, made a full and very enjoyable day out for Suzanna and I.
As mentioned earlier, check this post for my description of the Castle of Lavaux-Sainte-Anne.
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I always enjoy a bit of sunshine with you, Denzil, and it’s nice to meet Suzanne too 🙂 🙂
Thanks Jo. And also for tweeting my walks
Sorry- Suzanna! 🙂 🙂
Beautiful landscape , i’m curious about the castle Denzil !
Thanks Leen. All will be revealed shortly!
What a beautiful landscape for reinvigorating the mind and body!
Yes Rosaliene I always return from Wallonia refreshed
You had a beautiful day for a walk and the route looks easy and enjoyable. The orchids are pretty. Are they quite small?
About 20 cm tall Carol so a lot smaller than the orchids in florists
Looks like a picturesque walk, and nice of the little horse to pose, too.
Yes the horses are very well trained to respond to tourists
Looks like a lovely area around there. So, yet another ‘proud daddy walk’; I hope to resume mine soon. Saw quite a few wild orchids on my hike in the Hunsrück last week. Regards!
Such beauty you encountered on your walk. That palomino would have enchanted me too – always wanted a palomino horse when I was a kid. (I ride like a drunken sailor, but still…) I doubt I could make such a walk in a morning – I’d be stopping to investigate everything. Thanks for taking me along, Denzil.
A pure black stallion was always my dream Sharon (Zorro!). But actually I’ve never ridden. Prefer to keep my feet on the ground. Thanks for stopping by.
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Thank you for this, Denzil. I have just completed the walk, and enjoyed it tremendously.
Great to hear Tonio, thanks for your feedback.
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