The coal that powered Belgium came from a ribbon of pits across Hainaut, and Bois-du-Luc is where the story is told best. The mining company here, the Societe de Bois-du-Luc, was founded in the late seventeenth century, making it one of the oldest in Europe, and it kept going until the pit closed in 1973. The site is now a museum and heritage centre, and it is listed by UNESCO as one of the Major Mining Sites of Wallonia, together with Grand-Hornu, Bois du Cazier and Blegny-Mine.
What makes it special is that the whole community survives. In the nineteenth century the company built a workers' village around the pit, with rows of neat brick houses, a school, a church, a bakery and a communal hall. It was an early example of the company town, and a model of paternalistic planning. The idea was that decent housing would produce a stable workforce, and the result is a lovely, orderly little district. Walking through it feels like stepping into a toy town, though the work done by the miners was anything but light.
The landscape around here is shaped by coal. Slag heaps, called terrils, rise from the plain as conical hills, now covered in birch and scrub, and they are a recognisable feature of the region. Nearby, the Canal du Centre has a famous set of hydraulic boat lifts, also on the UNESCO list, which were built to move barges up a steep slope. If you are interested in industrial heritage, this part of Belgium is one of the best places in Europe.
The roads are flat and often cobbled, running through small towns of brick houses, and the surface can be rough in places. Traffic is moderate, and the weather is changeable, with rain at any time of year. La Louvière, the nearest big town, has about seventy-six thousand people and all the fuel, food and repair services you need, and Le Roeulx has an old castle and a quiet main street. The region is also home to the carnival of Binche, with its Gilles in tall ostrich feather hats, held before Lent. Come in spring or autumn, and give yourself a few hours.