Ardennes: Hiking and Castles

We are currently on vacation in the Ardennes, a lovely natural area in the south of Belgium. I used to come here lots to go climbing and caving, but in the winter when those things are not possible we like to come here to hike!

So it has been super rainy and windy for the past week, but today it cleared up so out we went! We decided on a loop of just under 10 km, good to get a feel for what the trails were like but also so we wouldn't get too cold and we would avoid the rain predicted for the afternoon!

We started in the village of Anseremme, near Dinant which is a beautiful town!

As you can see it's by the river (the Meuse) and on the side there are beautiful rocks (great for climbing when the weather is dry). You follow the river on a nice path that is slightly muddy at the moment. Then after about 4km we passed a castle! I love castles. This is Chateau Freyr. It lies on the riverside while the side you walk on has big walls used for climbing as well.

We walked on and couldn't help but have a play on the rocks ourselves.

After that you walk down to the other river in the area, the Lesse, known for its kayaking. We followed that river via a very nice track back to the town of Anseremme and our car.

Here is an overview of the route we did:

The length was perfect and despite the day being a bit grey it was lovely to get out, get active and be in nature!