GR 12 Dworp To Brussels

This story was posted under the categories: Stories, Walking the GR 12

If you’ve been following our series on the GR 12, you’ll have noticed that we’ve started in Dworp and moved south from there. Today we’re heading out into the other direction and go from Dworp to Brussels.

As we imagined, the beginning is pure pleasure, going along small paths and woods. We start off with a steep climb to the top of the hills between Dworp and Beersel. The scenary is absolutely breathtaking. It’s quite amazing that one can be so close to the capital of Europe and still be surrounded by farms, fields and woodlands. The only downside is the ominous background noise, caused by the Brussels’ Ring.

From there, it’s downhill into Beersel, where we pass the famous castle and it’s rustique tavern. Appearantly we were just a day early to witness a local barbeque contest. And as you could expect, a couple of kilometers later, i’m hungry… We head into the only place that’s still open - a friterie in Drogenbos – and with the lovely townhall in view, we dig into our french fries and bicky burger

The road changes and we’re continuously walking on asfalt now. It’s a big difference in comparison to the rest of the GRs we’ve done so far and i have to say that i was a bit disappointed. Okay, it’s a city and there’s not a cool street around each corner, but still, i feel they could have done a bit better in a green environment such as Uccle. Perhaps somebody will take it upon him to outline another route for the next review?

Just as we are about to give up, we arrive at Crabbegat, which is the discovery of the day. It’s a very old eroded road, dating back a couple of hundred of years and you can still see the remnants of gaz-lit lantarns on the side. It’s got a lot of charm and is said to have inspired artists throughout times.

The rest of the trip is uneventful and goes through the center of Uccle and Forest (near Altitude 100). We pass through a couple of parks, but they’re nothing compared to what we’ve seen in the beginning of the tour. At Saint-Gilles, we leave the marked route and head back home.

All in all, i’d say that it’s a nice walk, unveiling some hidden gems along the way, but it’s a different kind of GR than the southern part. I guess our next trip will be starting at Ronquières, rather than heading further up North.