Park the car at the church of Wanne on one of the car parks around the small roundabout with the picturesque signpost.  Start your walk in the direction of Vielsalm (blue signs). You pass the holiday cottage "Château de Wanne" and at the signpost that sends people wanting to go to "Logbiermé" to the left, you take the path to the right that leads you through the fields. From now on, you have to follow the red rectangles all the time.

 

A little further on you will pass the "Wégimont Cross" at a height of 490 m.

You continue to follow the red rectangles and descend to a height of 400 m, where you will meet the "Croix de Spineux". On this cross you will also notice the inscription "Cross of Jean Malheur". The real name of this gentleman was "Jean Richode", one of the local farmers who rebelled against the French occupiers during the French Revolution.  Alas! His campaign led him - and his fellow fighters - straight to the guillotine.   The French authorities, under the pretext of a trial resulting in a death sentence, did not hesitate to carry out this judgement immediately and every time a comrade went up the scaffold Jean shouted: "Woe! Woe to you! Woe to you!  " . This explains why he has entered the history books under the name 'Jean Malheur'.

 

We follow the red rectangles to the right and go from the French Revolution to the Second World War .... When you come to the main road, you will see on the corner a monument commemorating those who fell in the Battle of the Bulge.

This 'Ardennes Offensive' was launched by Hitler in the winter of 1945 in a last-ditch attempt to turn the tide of war in his favour. But the Allied forces, American and British, held off the Germans in a battle that was later called 'the Battle of the Bulge'. The name refers to the bulge in the front line.

The memorial here in Spineux pays tribute to the 112th and 424th American regiments who managed to hold their positions and liberate the area. 

 

The red rectangles invite you to climb up, but it is really worth turning around half way up, because the splendid panorama justifies a few moments of adoration.

 

A little further on we follow the red rectangles to the left and enter a rural path towards "Wanne Castle".  Stop from time to time to enjoy the silence..... and the beautiful views that regularly appear.

 

Look out for the red rectangles at each junction which keep you on the correct route.  Coniferous and leafy woods follow one another until you come to a tarmac road. Here you turn right, still in the direction of "Château de Wanne".

 

You immediately take the first country/woodland path on the left, which climbs slightly. You are now on your way up and down again. In the middle of the woods you will come across a "Hunters' Area", which is not surprising because you are in an exceptionally rich hunting ground.

Don't miss the peculiar construction next to the house, which looks like a swing and is actually used to hang up the game to gut it (remove the entrails).

 

Also during the last part of the walk, you continue to follow the red rectangles. The forest road finally leads to a rural path between fields (and cows) and you will find yourself in Wanne after passing a farm.