Bokrijk to Zutendaal: E2 Day 115

Another sunny day for a woodland walk.

Yesterday I left the GR5 at one of the entrances to the Open Air Museum, and then followed roads to the Youth Hostel. This morning I was more adventurous and took paths and cycle tracks through the woods to return to the museum gates, mainly on another marked route, the GR564. On my way I passed the entrance to the Bokrijk Arboretum. Impressed by the display of rhododendrons by the entrance I took a short walk through part of it among ponds, trees, yellow poppies and bushes. Nearby I also saw the castle, although it was not an ancient one.

Back on the GR5, the trail weaved around doing its circuitous best to keep me in woodland, by lakes and sandy heather clad heath, but away from roads full of housing. My route included yet another visit to the Albert Canal. Although the Ascension day public holiday was yesterday, a Thursday, schools and most people seemed to have also taken today, Friday, off as a holiday to make a long weekend. As the day warmed up lots of people came out to enjoy the sunshine.

People out for a cycle ride (without helmets).

Walking through woodland.

I did briefly touch on an urban section, where seeing bicycles stacked outside, I popped into a café for a coffee. No cake was available and I really did not need any having eaten a good breakfast and a big dinner last night. However, a nearby patisserie had a magnetic attraction, and I came out with a frangipane tartlet. I am pleased to say I resisted a later café near a sports complex. The complex included what looked like a ski jump. The red and white waymarks led me around its rear, where I could see flights of stairs to the top. A few people had climbed up and were looking at the scenery from a landing so I followed their example and started up the stairs. Climbing up I admit to feeling a little vertiginous. The stairs and landings were made of grating that you could see through, and I looked down at people on the ground getting increasingly smaller as I ascended each flight. However, as I pointed out to myself, they were proper stairs with enclosed sides and handrails so there was no possibility of falling off. At the very top there were some lads, sitting down and whiling away a day's holiday. They said water was pumped down what I took to be a ski jump and then people went down on boards or tyres. I looked around from my airy viewpoint over what appeared to be a wooded plain, only a few tall buildings in the middle distance hinted at the large urban areas hidden from my view. On the horizon there were a few hills that looked out of place. The boys said they were spoil heaps left by mining that had now wooded over, and that you could climb them and get a good view. They also said you could go down the old mine. I could see what looked like a pithead in the far distance.

A large public sculpture in the woods called Sirtakki, It is meant to represent three people dancing with happiness. 

I reached Zutendaal about 4:00 pm. Maybe as a result of the Ascension Day weekend I had been unable to find any accommodation so I planned to wild camp. Wild camping is illegal in Belgium, although the various prohibition signs were principally concerned with keeping your dog on a lead, so I doubt if wild camping was a big issue. In their book "A Walk to the Water: Six Million Steps to the Mediterranean Sea" two brothers wild camped their way through Belgium so it should not be too difficult. Nevertheless I needed to be discreet to avoid offence or legal action. Not wishing to camp too early when lots of people were still about who might disapprove, I stopped at a café for a snack. However even after leaving Zutendaal after 5:00 pm there were still many families in the woods that followed. Fortunately they were visiting a woodland park with a café, insect museum and shop, after that the trail was quiet. Seeing an area of pines with some undergrowth to hide me, but not so much that there was no clear spot large enough to pitch my tent, I deviated well off the track and am now pitched under the trees. It am near an industrial area which is good as if it had been housing there would have been dog walkers about. My only problem is that there are quite a few mosquitos are about so I am hiding in my tent.