Walk: Lucien Hock
Relais des Fagnes-kerk Hockai-Monument L. Hock-"Toutes directions"-Ravel-Beau Site-Relais des Fagnes
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A comfortable 9km walk through the fields and forests around Hockai.
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A walk to keep your feet dry; there are no substantial differences in level to overcome and the condition of the paths is such that the route is ideal for children's cars. There are no obstacles for less able people.
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Time cards available at two points, after one quarter of the walk and after 3 quarters respectively (Café Ardennais, open most of the time and at the Hotel Beau Site, usually open during the WE).
At the exit of the Relais des Fagnes, turn right and follow the Route de Hockai into the village centre. If you wish, you can take a break at the "Beau Site" hotel.
Cross the bridge and pass the "Café Ardennais" (a good alternative when the "Beau Site" hotel is closed). Continue straight ahead (with the church on your left) in the Rue de la Fohalle and then turn right into the Chemin Grand Biseu, which descends in the direction of the "Tribunes". You are now walking in the "Fagnes Grand Biseu", which the Walloon Government designates as a "site, crucial for biodiversity".
A little further on you will notice a memorial stone on your left, at the edge of the wood. This is the monument that pays tribute to Lucien Hock, "painter of the fens". This master of the twentieth century, born in 1899 and deceased in 1972, is considered one of the great Walloon landscape painters.
Continue to follow this path which leads you under the motorway and becomes the Route des blanches pierres. You follow the curve to the right and then take the first street on the right, the Chemin de Tisimany. You walk first between the fields and then through the woods. It is well worth taking a little time to admire the picturesque meandering river Hockai to your left and right.
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You stay on this path until you reach a strange crossroads in the middle of the woods. Here you turn right in the direction of "Spa" or "All Directions". This path leads you back to a passage under the motorway. Keep walking straight ahead and follow the path as it bends to the left.
A little further on your route will cross the RAVel (Réseau Autonome des Voies Lentes) which can be recognised by a typical sign with a horseman, a pedestrian and a cyclist. This is a network of disused railway lines, which has been transformed by the Walloon Region into cycle paths and footpaths. You will take the Ravel by turning right.
While walking on the RAVel, it is really interesting to try to discover a stony path on your left that goes downhill. You will be able to see 2 beaver dams, which have formed a nice little pond. Locating the nearby base where they are hiding is feasible, but success requires some searching.
Continue your walk along the RAVel to the centre of Hockai. Go under the bridge and immediately up the slope to your left to arrive again in front of the hotel "Beau Site" (and "Café Ardennais" ....). If time permits, there is no reason to resist the temptation to take a second break.
After the break, you can start the last part of the walk by returning to the Hockai road, which you took on the outward journey (with your back to the entrance of the "Beau Site" on the left). There are still 2 km to go without any surprises to get to the Relais des Fagnes.
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