Fortresses, a cittadelle et abbaye de Leffe: on the shores of the river Meuse (Maas)

A panoramic and cultural hike in the Meuse valley - a visit "en passant" to Dinant and Leffe and its surroundings.  The Abbaye de Leffe is where in 1240 the monks first brewed the excellent Leffe beer. The reason was water sanitation: by fermenting they could be sure the water was safe to drink and they would avoid typhus and other nasty epidemics. The hike is easy but offers varied views of the valley and the river. Fortresses can be visited along the road and of course a stop for one beer is mandatory :) the area is soaked in history both ancient and recent, and the viewpoints throughout the valley are excellent.

 

Route

The parcours starts next to the castle in Houx and raises gently in the woods in order to emerge from the valley onto the surrounding pasture and farm land opening the views across the rolling hills. The path then lowers again, at the end steeply, to the Leffe Abbey, where I have a stop for a mythical Leffe Radieuse. The abbey is unfortunately closed for visitors.The path continues along the Meuse to Dinant where it climbs steeply to the Cittadelle of Dinant. This is an impressive fortresse dated 1530 build on top of a 100m limestone cliff to control the valley. Dinant suffered many destructions during history due to its strategic position on the river.  From the Citadel I followed the path along the edge and when descending the cliff I took a variant off traack through steep terrain, just to spice the hike up a bit. After crossing Dinant and the river the path raises again out of the valley in order to redescend into the pictoresque village of Bouvignes sur Meuse. Form there again I hike up a steep path to the overlooking ruins of an ancient castle overlooking the entire valley. The last part is again over farmland and, descending into the valley again, along the Meuse towpath back to Houx.

Character
The hike is long (22km) and it covers 800m vert elevation of up and down, dropping in and out of the valley floor to the surrounding plateau 4 times, which is more tiring than expected. The route is often along the marked GR routes and mostly on a path. The views of the valley and river are excellent. Dinant is one of the most well known attractions in Belgium and well worth a visit. 5h pure hiking, 6 h including breaks.