Why this ride
193 km from Blégny to Blégny, about 3 h 50 of riding. It goes by way of Béguinage de Tongeren, Beguinage de Sint-Truiden, Sint-Germanuskerk met Stadstoren and Stadhuis met Toren.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Blegny-Mine and Stadhuis met Toren
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 193 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 3 h 50
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Scenic road chapters
Belgian Ardennes Scenic Loop
Expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast. For about 34 km this is Belgian Ardennes Scenic Loop, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 34 km
- Named road
- Belgian Ardennes Scenic Loop
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Blegny-Mine
Blegny-Mine is one of the few places in Europe where you can still go down a real coal mine in the lift cage, with former miners as your guides. The mine, in the Pays de Herve northeast of Liège, closed in 1980, and it was soon turned into a museum, with guided tours that take you down to galleries tens of metres underground, where you can see the machinery, the narrow seams and the conditions in which miners worked. In 2012, it was listed by UNESCO as one of the four Major Mining Sites of Wallonia, along with Grand-Hornu, Bois-du-Luc and Bois du Cazier. It is a powerful reminder of how coal built the industrial wealth of Belgium, and at what cost.
Read the complete Blegny-Mine write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Blegny-Mine is where the day begins. Next is Béguinage de Tongeren.
2. Béguinage de Tongeren
Tongeren calls itself the oldest town in Belgium, and it has a Roman name, a Gallic hero and a weekly antiques market to back up the claim. Under the Romans it was Atuatuca Tungrorum, and in the main square stands a romantic nineteenth-century statue of Ambiorix, the chieftain who gave Julius Caesar a very bad winter. A few minutes' walk from all that pomp lies the béguinage, a quiet quarter of low brick houses, cobbled lanes and small gardens that once housed communities of beguines, religious women who lived a semi-independent life without taking the full vows of nuns.
Read the complete Béguinage de Tongeren write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Béguinage de Tongeren comes up about 34 km into the recorded legs. Next is Beguinage de Sint-Truiden.
3. Beguinage de Sint-Truiden
At the edge of Sint-Truiden, a market town in the fruit country of Haspengouw, a ring of low brick houses surrounds a large grassy courtyard with trees and a Gothic church in the middle. This is the béguinage, one of the Flemish béguinages listed together by UNESCO, where for centuries communities of laywomen lived devout lives of prayer and work without taking permanent vows. It is one of the largest and best preserved in the region, and it has a calm, almost village-like feel.
Read the complete Beguinage de Sint-Truiden write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 57 km into the recorded legs you reach Beguinage de Sint-Truiden. Next is Sint-Germanuskerk met Stadstoren.
4. Sint-Germanuskerk met Stadstoren
Tienen means sugar to most Belgians. The town in the east of Flemish Brabant has been the home of Belgium's largest sugar refinery since the nineteenth century, and the smell of sugar beet being processed hangs over the town in autumn during the campaign, when trucks loaded with beets roll in from the surrounding fields. The Sint-Germanuskerk, the church of Saint Germanus, with its massive tower serving as the town's belfry, stands near the huge Grote Markt, one of the largest market squares in Belgium, and it is part of the UNESCO listing of the belfries of Belgium and France. The tower, a mix of Romanesque and Gothic, has a carillon whose bells ring out over the town.
Read the complete Sint-Germanuskerk met Stadstoren write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Sint-Germanuskerk met Stadstoren, about halfway. Next is Stadhuis met Toren.
5. Stadhuis met Toren
Sint-Truiden's Grote Markt is one of the largest market squares in Belgium, and at its centre stands the town hall with its belfry, a tower that has watched over the town since the Middle Ages and been rebuilt and remodelled several times. The belfry, with its carillon, is part of the UNESCO listing of the Belfries of Belgium and France, inscribed in 1999 to honour these civic towers that symbolised the freedom and wealth of the medieval towns. Climb it if you can, and you will see the whole of the Haspengouw region spread out around you, a gently rolling landscape of orchards and fields.
Read the complete Stadhuis met Toren write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Stadhuis met Toren sits at 103 km, about halfway. Next is back through Sint-Germanuskerk met Stadstoren.
6. back through Sint-Germanuskerk met Stadstoren
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Sint-Germanuskerk met Stadstoren write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Sint-Germanuskerk met Stadstoren comes up about 116 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Beguinage de Sint-Truiden.
7. back through Beguinage de Sint-Truiden
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Beguinage de Sint-Truiden write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 135 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Beguinage de Sint-Truiden. Next is back through Béguinage de Tongeren.
8. back through Béguinage de Tongeren
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Béguinage de Tongeren write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Béguinage de Tongeren, late in the day. Next is Blegny-Mine.
9. Blegny-Mine
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Blegny-Mine write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 193 km.
Leg by leg
Blegny-Mine to Béguinage de Tongeren
Blegny-Mine → Béguinage de Tongeren is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Béguinage de Tongeren to Beguinage de Sint-Truiden
Béguinage de Tongeren → Beguinage de Sint-Truiden is 23 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Beguinage de Sint-Truiden to Sint-Germanuskerk met Stadstoren
Beguinage de Sint-Truiden → Sint-Germanuskerk met Stadstoren is 20 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Sint-Germanuskerk met Stadstoren to Stadhuis met Toren
Sint-Germanuskerk met Stadstoren → Stadhuis met Toren is 19 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Stadhuis met Toren to back through Sint-Germanuskerk met Stadstoren
Stadhuis met Toren → back through Sint-Germanuskerk met Stadstoren is 20 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Sint-Germanuskerk met Stadstoren to back through Beguinage de Sint-Truiden
back through Sint-Germanuskerk met Stadstoren → back through Beguinage de Sint-Truiden is 19 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Beguinage de Sint-Truiden to back through Béguinage de Tongeren
back through Beguinage de Sint-Truiden → back through Béguinage de Tongeren is 22 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Béguinage de Tongeren to Blegny-Mine
back through Béguinage de Tongeren → Blegny-Mine is 36 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.