Walking route in Dinant : crossing the Colébi ravine to the Walzin castle on the banks of the Lesse

We started the route from the Gîtes kangourou de Dinant, joining Anseremme via a little-known path passing behind the houses of Neffe.

In its first part, it climbs until it passes under the Charlemagne viaduct. At this place, you can see the island of Love, sometimes busy in summer. The path descends gently, crosses the railway line and takes you along a small path to the Anseremme lock.

Having crossed this bridge, we arrive near theChurch of St. Anne, which can serve as an alternative starting point for this walk. Parking is available there, and it is accessible by train. Note, however, that this area becomes very crowded when the Lesse River is busy with kayakers.

Ignoring the Ste-Anne church, which we leave behind us, we take the towpath on the left. This tree-lined avenue welcomes many boaters in the summer.

Quickly, the path gives way to a small path, wedged between the last houses and the nearby bank of the Meuse.

This path takes you near the Priory of Anseremme and then to a small marina, managed by the Anseremme Yacht Club. A stone bridge allows you to cross the small channel that connects the marina to the Meuse River.

Continue along the path, passing behind the tennis courts. A fence forces you to join a track (Rue des Quèwées – you couldn't make it up!), which you take to the right. This track, now called Rue des Côteaux, passes behind the last houses of Anseremme and leads you to the entrance of the Natura 2000 reserve, near a parking area.

The path is then exclusively reserved for pedestrians and bicycles.

Once on the path of the nature reserve, let yourself be led by the path, sometimes flush with the bank of the Meuse. The trail is generally passable, except in certain places where your attention is required by more uneven ground... or a tree uprooted by violent winds.

When the weather permits, you'll encounter many climbers on this trail. It leads to the Freÿr Rocks, one of the most beautiful spots in Belgium for outdoor climbing. In winter, this area is obviously much less crowded. 

You can also appreciate the fauna and flora of this particularly preserved area. 

After walking about a kilometer, you will see Freÿr Castle and its gardens, located on the other bank of the Meuse, which is much less steep.

You will also notice that paths begin to invite you to climb on your left: ignore them and continue walking on the same path, still following the Meuse. You are also on a GR.

After passing Freÿr Castle, a difficulty awaits you. A rocky peak requires you to walk on a small ledge at its feet. One step aside and it's a plunge into the Meuse. Stay alert and hope there aren't too many people coming in the opposite direction...

The same path takes you to the fence of a meadow. At this point, two options are possible: either enter the meadow and continue walking along the Meuse, or take a path that runs along the fence on the left. This is the second option that we take, still following the GR route.

Very quickly, the path deviates from the Meuse and... above all... it sets off to attack the hill, lined with prominent rock heads. You can pass to the right or left of the rock that stands in front of you: it doesn't matter. This part is the most sporty and can be tricky to negotiate in wet weather.

After passing the rocky outcrops, the trail leads you to the right, towards a flatter area. You are now on the hilltop, near the Belgian Alpine Club's welcome point. A bivouac area is set up nearby and is used by campers in almost all seasons.

Leave behind the bivouac area of ​​the Belgian Alpine Club and its occupants. Continue the path, not without going to the viewpoint on your right. A breathtaking panorama of the Meuse awaits you.

The path will quickly leave the bivouac plateau to enter the woods on the way down.

Welcome to the Colébi ravine, a major geological curiosity of Wallonia and also a point of biological interest. Its scale is hard to grasp on foot. Spanning nearly 13 hectares, the ravine stretches for almost 600 meters. Given its dimensions, it's more like a canyon than a ravine!

In this area, vats or pots were shaped in the ground by the swirling waters of the Falmignoul stream, almost an eternity ago, when it still flowed in the area.

For the hiker, the route is hilly, but without major difficulty. The trail takes you to the bottom of the ravine, before extracting you from it, in graceful slaloms in the woods. Let yourself be charmed by this unique, uncrowded and particularly wild place.

After about a kilometer, you will hear the sounds of the road. This is proof that you are approaching Falmignoul, a village crossed by the N95 highway. The path will lead you to the first houses of this village.

Then, the route passes behind the houses which line the road. A channeled stream awaits you. It crosses the village, but we leave it as we approach the center, to take rue de la Houblonnière. Before joining the national road, you see a path on your right, running between two houses. Take it, cross the road to immediately take another path.

Passing between houses and gardens, this section climbs to take you, through meadows and fields, to Falmagne. Don't hesitate to cross the field that stretches between you and the first houses of the village of Falmagne.

Via rue du Baty, you reach the eponymous square, where the village church stands. On your left, after a tourist information panel, rue de la Restauration takes you outside the village, into the surrounding countryside.

We are at the highest point of the route, between the two valleys: that of the Meuse, which you leave, and that of the Lesse, which awaits us.

This second part of the route is the easiest for the hiker. The paths there are wider and more convenient than the paths taken previously. And the descent towards the Lesse is gentle.

After leaving the last houses of Falmagne, at the first Y crossroads, ignore the right branch and continue your walk on the right one. At the next crossroads, take the lane on your right. Quickly, the concrete gave way to rock. The path is wide and it enters the Baileu woods.  

After crossing a bridge over the railway, the path forks left and leads you to a crossroads. Walzin Castle and the Lesse River await you at this point on our walking route. Ignoring the two side paths, continue straight ahead. A footbridge allows you to cross the Lesse without getting your feet wet.

On the other bank, a path takes you to rue Pont-à-Lesse. We take it to reach the site of the Castel de Pont hotel in Lesse. After crossing another bridge over the Lesse, you reach the Villatoile campsite, which we follow while remaining on the same path.

After the campsite, the path bends to the left and slides gently between two meadows, into a valley with very steep terrain. The Lesse can be seen on your right and you rejoin it at a new bridge.

Before crossing the bridge, you can take a path which goes down on your left. It takes you to Anseremme, while following the railway line. This is not the option we take: we cross the river again and continue our walk straight ahead.   

After 100 meters, a path slides to the left: we take it. After 200 meters, it takes us back to the passable road. Quite quickly, you arrive at the first houses of Tienne Hubaille, near Anseremme. A few more steps and you arrive at the place where the Lesse flows into the Meuse.

We are back in Anseremme, near the church of St. Anne. We now only have to cross the culvert to reach the gîte.

We make the GPS track available to guests of Gites kangourou Dinant.

If you would like to obtain it without staying in our gîte, go to Komoot to download it for free.